Vulkan 1.4.351 adds six extensions with ray tracing opacity micromap support

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Khronos releases Vulkan 1.4.351 with six extensions



Khronos has released Vulkan 1.4.351, adding six extensions to the graphics and compute API. The update includes

K_KHR_opacity_micromap,
VK_EXT_shader_split_barrier,
VK_AMD_gpa_interface,
VK_QCOM_elapsed_timer_query,
VK_QCOM_image_processing3 and
VK_QCOM_shader_multiple_wait_queues.

The main graphics-related change is VK_KHR_opacity_micromap. This extension is aimed at Vulkan ray tracing workloads that use transparent geometry. Instead of adding more geometry detail or running an any-hit shader during ray traversal, an application can attach an opacity micromap to geometry when building an acceleration structure.

Opacity micromaps store opacity data in a compressed format. Vulkan implementations can use this data to mark parts of triangles as opaque, transparent or a possible hit. Khronos says the format subdivides triangles into subtriangles, with each assigned either two or four opacity values.

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