14 DAY TRIAL // Just a short time ago, Microsoft broke hearts all around the world when it said that the AMD Mantle API would not be supported by its Xbox One console. Now we know why, and it's not really such a shocking explanation.
For those unaware, Mantle is an application programming interface that Advanced Micro Devices revealed last week.
It is meant to be a sort of alternative to DirectX, one that makes games run much better on systems with GCN graphics cards.
GCN is short for graphics core next, the technology at the basis of AMD's Radeon HD 7900 series and Radeon R9 290 series graphics cards.
Mantle promises a massive improvement in game performance over DirectX, through better optimization and process distribution among the number crunching units in AMD GPUs.
We'll have to wait until Battlefield 4 comes out and gets tested by a few people before we can make sure, but AMD wouldn't make such claims idly.
Microsoft said that AMD's Mantle wouldn't be supported by its Xbox One console though.
We didn't really expect it to, really, but there are enough people who did, or hoped for it, and we can't deny that it would have been good if that performance boost could be applied to the console.
Alas, this won't happen, and AMD made sure to say that quickly and clearly. Essentially, while Mantle is a development environment similar to those of consoles, it is not for consoles.
Instead, it is a means to improve the time-to-market and reduce development costs for PC games, in addition to improving rendering efficiency and, by extension, overall performance.
“What Mantle creates for the PC is a development environment that's _similar_ to the consoles, which already offer low-level APIs, close-to-metal programming, easier development and more (vs. the complicated PC environment),” AMD said.
“By creating a more console-like developer environment, Mantle: improves time to market; reduces development costs; and allows for considerably more efficient rendering, improving performance for gamers. The console connection is made because next-gen uses Radeon, so much of the programming they're doing for the consoles are already well-suited to a modern Radeon architecture on the desktop; that continuum is what allows Mantle to exist.”