When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works .
(Image credit: Piranha Bytes / Steam) Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Flipboard Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Vintage game emulation just got another slight boost, thanks to the release of D7VK version 1.1 . This Direct3D-to-Vulkan translation layer makes it possible to run old Direct3D 7 games on contemporary hardware, and it got some meaty improvements, including a new front-end, and experimental support for Direct3D 6.
In case you're a little confused, D7VK is a translation layer that turns Direct3D 7 calls to Direct X 9 running under Proton's DXVK layer, thereby taking advantage of DXVK's tried-and-true infrastructure and software ecosystem. Being a mere translation layer, it has a minor performance penalty and can run several times faster than a full emulator like WineD3D.
Alongside with a new front-end, the 1.1 update adds Direct3D 6 support as an experimental option. The author mentions that judging by its documentation, adding this API shouldn't be a lot of work. That's in sharp contrast to the lawless lands of Direct3D version 5 and under. Even as it stands, in their own words, "D3D7 is a land of highly cursed interoperability", with many games mixing Direct3D calls with older Windows APIs like DirectDraw and even GDI for 2D graphics.
New DirectX7 emulation tool brings more games to Steam Deck, SteamOS, and other Linux distros through Vulkan
Vulkan-to-DirectX 12 translation tool used in Valve's Proton now supports AMD's FSR4 and Anti-Lag, while Nvidia's DLSS4 remains unsupported
DOSBox Pure Unleashed is ready for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers after five years in development
In turn, this means that support for games is hit-or-miss, depending on how "hacky" the game was initially programmed. For example, this latest version adds a workaround specific to Sacrifice , which uses a wholly unspported depth buffer format. Likewise, support for strided primitive rendering makes Sacred playable, and fixes to mipmap swapping enable gamers to once again enjoy Gothic, Gothic 2, and Star Trek DS9: The Fallen as if they were just released.
Many popular Direct3D 6 titles have seen re-releases using modern APIs, including Final Fantasy VIII, Resident Evil 2, and Grand Theft Auto 2.
Additional fixes for games include workarounds for Conquest: Frontier Wars , Tomb Raider Chronicles , Darkan: Order of the Flame , Earth 2150 , Tachyon: The Fringe , and Arabian Nights . If you have a particular game that doesn't run well, visit the issues section in the D7VK GitHub to lend your feedback. In the meantime, if your game doesn't run or is too old to use even Direct3D 7, you can use Wine's WineD3D instead.
WinD3D ironically also works in Windows itself , making older games easy to run on contemporary versions of the OS. If your vintage title used old Glide or OpenGL instead, the author recomments nGlide .
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/d7vk-reaches-version-1-1-and-adds-new-frontend-and-experimental-direct3d-6-support-direct3d-7-to-vulkan-translation-layer-runs-old-games-with-native-performance#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
- Grab this RTX 4050 HP Victus gaming laptop for just $599.99 — save $300 on budget-friendly 15.6-inch laptop featuring AMD Ryzen CPU and 16GB of RAM
- NVIDIA Acquires Open-Source Workload Management Provider SchedMD
- Cyberpunk 2077 transformed into a stunning VHS visual experience using new ReShade preset — so 1980s real you start watching for mullets, another enthusiast ben
- Into the Omniverse: OpenUSD and NVIDIA Halos Accelerate Safety for Robotaxis, Physical AI Systems
- Corsair MP700 Micro 4TB SSD Review: A monster in the tiny M.2 2242 form factor
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.