Vulkan requirements check: clear message (and a qualifying-GPU pick) instead of a silent failure on old drivers #526

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opened 2026-10-07 21:15:00 +00:00 by sky_line · 1 comment

sky_line commented

2026-10-07 21:15:00 +00:00

Owner

A tester with an Intel HD 530 (Skylake) on driver 26.20.100.8142 (mid-2020, Vulkan 1.2) couldn't run Slipstream and got no useful message.

Problem

Slipstream needs Vulkan 1.3 plus a set of features (vk_device.cpp): dynamicRendering, synchronization2, bufferDeviceAddress, descriptor indexing (runtime arrays, non-uniform sampled-image indexing, partially bound, variable count), timelineSemaphore, drawIndirectCount, multiDrawIndirect, drawIndirectFirstInstance, imageCubeArray, samplerAnisotropy (+ the optional ones already probed).
pickPhysicalDevice doesn't check any of it: it picks a GPU, then device creation fails or std::abort()s with a stderr line the user never sees. "No Vulkan devices" also aborts silently.

Fix

Before creating the device, check every Vulkan physical device for API version >= 1.3 and every required feature/extension; pick the best qualifying device (prefer discrete, then integrated), so a laptop with a capable dGPU and an old iGPU driver still works.
If none qualifies: a clear OS message box (before any window/UI exists) saying which GPU(s) were found, their driver/Vulkan version, what's missing, and what to do: "update your graphics driver" with the vendor-specific hint (Intel: Intel Driver & Support Assistant / 6th-10th gen package; NVIDIA/AMD: their driver pages; Linux: Mesa version), plus a link to a wiki page. Then exit cleanly (no crash report / no abort).
Same for: no Vulkan loader / no ICD (vkCreateInstance fails), and vkCreateDevice failures (report the VkResult).
Log the full reason (Vulkan requirements: lines with each device's version and missing features) so bug reports show it.
Wiki: a short "Graphics requirements / updating drivers" page.

Done when

On a Vulkan-1.2-only driver the viewer shows the message and exits cleanly.
On a hybrid laptop where only the dGPU qualifies, it picks the dGPU.
The log names the device, versions and missing features.

A tester with an **Intel HD 530** (Skylake) on driver **26.20.100.8142** (mid-2020, Vulkan 1.2) couldn't run Slipstream and got no useful message. ## Problem Slipstream needs Vulkan 1.3 plus a set of features (`vk_device.cpp`): dynamicRendering, synchronization2, bufferDeviceAddress, descriptor indexing (runtime arrays, non-uniform sampled-image indexing, partially bound, variable count), timelineSemaphore, drawIndirectCount, multiDrawIndirect, drawIndirectFirstInstance, imageCubeArray, samplerAnisotropy (+ the optional ones already probed). `pickPhysicalDevice` doesn't check any of it: it picks a GPU, then device creation fails or `std::abort()`s with a stderr line the user never sees. "No Vulkan devices" also aborts silently. ## Fix - Before creating the device, check every Vulkan physical device for API version >= 1.3 and every required feature/extension; pick the best **qualifying** device (prefer discrete, then integrated), so a laptop with a capable dGPU and an old iGPU driver still works. - If none qualifies: a clear **OS message box** (before any window/UI exists) saying which GPU(s) were found, their driver/Vulkan version, what's missing, and what to do: "update your graphics driver" with the vendor-specific hint (Intel: Intel Driver & Support Assistant / 6th-10th gen package; NVIDIA/AMD: their driver pages; Linux: Mesa version), plus a link to a wiki page. Then exit cleanly (no crash report / no abort). - Same for: no Vulkan loader / no ICD (vkCreateInstance fails), and vkCreateDevice failures (report the VkResult). - Log the full reason (`Vulkan requirements:` lines with each device's version and missing features) so bug reports show it. - Wiki: a short "Graphics requirements / updating drivers" page. ## Done when - On a Vulkan-1.2-only driver the viewer shows the message and exits cleanly. - On a hybrid laptop where only the dGPU qualifies, it picks the dGPU. - The log names the device, versions and missing features.

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2026-10-07 21:15:00 +00:00

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2026-10-07 21:15:00 +00:00

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