what is game porting toolkit 2?

Generated on 8/1/2024

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The Game Porting Toolkit 2 is an updated set of tools introduced by Apple to help developers port advanced games to Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It includes several enhancements and new features based on developer feedback to accelerate the porting process and improve compatibility with advanced gaming technologies. Here are some key features and improvements:

  1. Improved Compatibility: The toolkit now supports more Windows games, thanks to improved compatibility with technologies like AVX2 and advanced gaming features such as ray tracing. This allows developers to evaluate a broader range of games on Apple Silicon before starting the porting process.

  2. Metal API Improvements: The toolkit includes highly requested API improvements in Metal, making it easier for DirectX developers to port their existing graphics code. This includes better management of Metal resources and the ability to debug and profile the source of original HLSL shaders directly in Xcode.

  3. Human Interface Guidelines: The toolkit provides an expanded set of human interface guidelines to help developers adapt their games' UI for various Apple devices, ensuring a great user experience across different display sizes and input methods.

  4. Sample Code and Tutorials: The toolkit includes new sample code and interactive tutorials that guide developers through the main elements of the porting process, such as converting gaming subsystems, building shaders, and handling game input.

  5. Metal Shader Converter: This tool within the toolkit helps developers convert their shaders to Metal, supporting all shader stages, including ray tracing and mesh shaders. It also assists in porting resource layouts to Metal, significantly reducing development time.

  6. Evaluation Environment: Developers can use the evaluation environment to see their Windows games running on Apple Silicon, providing a better idea of baseline performance and shader conversion success before starting the porting process.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the sessions:

Relevant Sessions

  1. Platforms State of the Union
  2. Port advanced games to Apple platforms
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Platforms State of the Union

Platforms State of the Union

Discover the newest advancements on Apple platforms.

Port advanced games to Apple platforms

Port advanced games to Apple platforms

Discover how simple it can be to reach players on Apple platforms worldwide. We’ll show you how to evaluate your Windows executable on Apple silicon, start your game port with code samples, convert your shader code to Metal, and bring your game to Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Explore enhanced Metal tools that understand HLSL shaders to validate, debug, and profile your ported shaders on Metal.