It has been used in titles like Doom (2016), The Surge 2, and various Linux game ports. Vulkan is a multi-platform rendering API that is maintained by the Khronos Group and is based on AMD’s Mantle API. Red Dead Redemption 2 offers both Vulkan and DirectX 12 APIs within its graphics menu.
Instead of the developer having to write unique code for a Radeon RX 5700 XT, Radeon RX 580, and GeForce RTX 2080, a graphics API translates information and commands to the hardware. These APIs allow the developers to have the game engines talk to the hardware without the developers having to code directly for each specific variant. When it comes to video games on the PC, developers almost always use one of the popular APIs to bring the games to life on the platform. Should you choose Vulkan or DirectX 12 in Red Dead Redemption 2 Vulkan and DirectX 12 allow for communication between the game and your PC hardware.ĪPI is short for application programming interface. What do these APIs do and which is best for you? Both Vulkan and DirectX 12 are selectable from the graphics options menu. In addition to settings for increasing draw distance of objects, the precision of physics simulations, and the quality of graphical effects, the game also offers PC users two different graphics APIs. Like most multiplatform games that release on PC, Red Dead Redemption 2 offers visual upgrades and options not available in its console counterpart.
Now that Red Dead Redemption 2 has finally made its way to the PC platform, thousands of players are hopping into the game to get a taste of the wild west.