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The Mesa3D project released today the Mesa 23.1 open-source graphics stack for Linux-based operating systems, the first major update in the latest Mesa 23 series that brings many new features for existing graphics drivers, as well as improved support for numerous games.
Mesa 23.1 comes with support for several new Vulkan extensions for the Radeon Vulkan driver (RADV) for AMD Radeon GPUs. These include VK_EXT_pipeline_library_group_handles, VK_EXT_image_sliced_view_of_3d (GFX10+), VK_KHR_map_memory2, VK_EXT_discard_rectangles version 2, VK_EXT_graphics_pipeline_library, VK_KHR_fragment_shading_rate (GFX11), and VK_EXT_mesh_shader.
In addition, the Radeon Vulkan driver got support for Vulkan Video decoding, support for Vulkan Graphics Pipeline Libraries (GPL), support for the fullyCoveredFragmentShaderInputVariable and primitiveUnderestimation implementations on GFX9+, the extendedDynamicState3ColorBlendEquation implementation, as well as RGP support on GFX11.
On top of that, Mesa’s own OpenCL implementation Rusticl is now officially supported for AMD Radeon graphics cards. A bunch of Asahi fixes are present as well in Mesa 23.1, which also brings various updates to the PanVK, LLVMpipe, RadeonSI, and Zink drivers.
The Intel Vulkan driver (ANV) also received support for Vulkan Video decoding and support for the VK_KHR_map_memory2 Vulkan extension, and the Radeon r600 open-source Gallium3D graphics driver got support for the GL_NV_alpha_to_coverage_dither_control OpenGL extension for Evergreen-based hardware.
As expected, Mesa 23.1 brings improvements for many games, such as Rise of the Tomb Raider’s Ambient Occlusion and Soviet Installation, The Last of Us Part I, Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, GTA IV, Rogue Legacy 2, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Deep Rock Galactic, Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Demo, Gotham Knights, Steel Division 2, DOOM 2016, and Quake II RTX.
Games like Immortals Fenyx Rising, A Plague Tale: Requiem, X-Plane 11, Project Zomboid, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Prototype 2, Transport Fever 2, Unreal / Unreal Tournament 99, Minecraft, Hi-Fi Rush, Monster Hunter Rise, State of Decay 2, Return To Monkey Island, and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines should also work better with the Mesa 23.1 graphics stack.
Among other changes, Mesa 23.1 brings improvements for the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, Radeon RX 6900 XT, and Radeon RX 6700 XT graphics cards, better support for the VLC Media Player and Chromium apps improved support for the KDE Plasma desktop environment on Wayland, as well as improved support for Raspberry Pi 4.
Mesa 23.1 is available for download from the official website for system integrators and those who prefer compiling it from sources. The rest of the world would have to wait for the new Mesa release to arrive in the stable software repositories of their GNU/Linux distributions before updating the installations to enjoy a better gaming and 3D experience.
Last updated 11 months ago
