We present to you an amateur translation of a post from the Valve blog dedicated to Linux.
I apologize for possible translation errors (especially since it is free).
I also apologize for the translator’s inclination (i.e. e. me) shorten some sections of the text. However, this does not change the meaning.
Faster, Zombie!
One of the most important factors influencing a player’s impression of a game is performance. Any software developer will tell you that increasing speed is a very difficult problem. This post is about what we learned about the performance of our games running on Linux.
To simplify the story, we ran all games on the following powerful configuration:
Iron:
# Intel Core i7 3930k
# NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680
#32 GB RAM
BY:
#Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit
# Left 4 Dead 2
# Ubuntu 12.04 32-bit
P. S. We are using the 32-bit version of Linux temporarily, and then we will get our games to run on the 64-bit version.
Running Left 4 Dead 2 https://ukcryptocasinos.co.uk/ripple-casinos/ on Windows 7 with Direct3D drivers, we got 270.6 FPS average.
These figures were obtained using our own internal speed measurement tools.
When we launched the game on Linux for the first time, making minimal changes to it so that it would just launch, we got 6 FPS. These are absolutely normal numbers for starting porting to a new platform.
What then are the main reasons for the decline in productivity?? We have identified three goals for improving FPS:
1 – Make Left 4 Dead 2 work better with the Linux kernel
2 – Modify the game to work better with OpenGL
3 — Optimize drivers for the video card
For example, the first goal involves rewriting our memory allocator to better use the capabilities of Linux. This was achieved by reworking some parts of the Source engine. The second goal involves reworking the graphics part of the engine, replacing DirectX function calls with OpenGL, and again optimizing.
The third area of optimization is the most interesting, since we worked with video card manufacturers to identify errors in their drivers and fix them, which has a positive effect on 3D performance in all games. As a result, our joint work with other companies has significantly improved firewood.
After all that’s been done, Left 4 Dead 2 runs at 315 FPS on Linux. The fact that zombies are rendered faster on Linux than on Windows – 270.6 FPS, somewhat illogical, especially since optimization in Windows previously took much longer. However, this speaks to the gigantic possibilities that lie behind Linux. By the way, having optimized OpenGL, Left 4 Dead 2 now runs on Windows with these parameters under 303.4 FPS.
OpenGL vs. Direct3D & Windows 7
All this leads to the question – why is OpenGL faster than DirectX??
We carried out analyzes and found that for each call to the batch function in DirectX there is a delay of several milliseconds. There is no such problem in OpenGL. Now we know we can do better and will look for ways to get rid of this delay and speed up zombies on Windows.
Working with iron manufacturers
We worked with NVIDIA, AMD and Intel to improve their graphics card drivers for Linux. When someone discovered a bug, we felt very pleased from our close cooperation.
This is all an example of collaboration between software and hardware developers, and our work should contribute to the further development of Linux as a platform.
Hm. Apparently, Valve is serious about porting. I wonder if she will choose Ubuntu, some other distribution, or make her own as the operating system for the Steam Box (an invented code name for their “living room computer”)?
***************************************
UPD: Small offtopic. A countdown has appeared on the official Ubuntu website, which should end today at 22-00 Moscow time. It’s unlikely that this is related to games, judging by the inscription, however… Something interesting will happen..
***
The countdown is over. A version of Ubuntu for smartphones has been released.
Ubuntu now fits your phone Introducing the superphone that’s also a full PC
***************************************