(http://i43.tinypic.com/30kyj40.jpg)
In a blog post Microsoft talked up Direct3D 11.2 which ships with Windows 8.1. The Xbox One will ship with a superset of Direct3D 11.2. Microsoft has worked on making a number of advances to Direct3D 11 (http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-062) on Windows, including:
• The introduction of Tiled Resources (http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/4-063), a new hardware feature for efficiently managing enormous volumes of data on the GPU more efficiently, enabling unprecedented levels of detail as well as more immersive open-world gameplay without making gamers sit through annoying “level loads.”
• Excellent tools in Visual Studio for analyzing and debugging (http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-141) code built using Direct3D 11
• Improved performance when accessing memory shared between CPU and GPU when executing compute workloads.
• Programming model improvements, including advances in HLSL that enables developers to write more manageable shader code, and reduce runtime cycles spent on shader compilation.
• Improved performance and efficiency on mobile form factors by reducing presentation overhead and enabling hardware accelerated overlays & scalers. This enables better game performance on high-resolution displays, and improved rendering latency.
Microsoft urges game developers to take advantage of the following resources:
1. Using Direct3D 11 for game development is your first step. The recordings of our presentations at BUILD on Channel 9 are a great way to get started:
1.<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--> What’s new in Direct3D 11.2 (http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-062)
2.<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--> Massive Virtual Textures for Games: Direct3D Tiled Resources (http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/4-063)
3.<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--> DirectX Graphics Debugging Tools
2. Your investments Direct3D 11 carry forward across of Microsoft’s devices. Direct3D is the starting point for games on Windows PC’s (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh769064(v=vs.85).aspx) and Tablets (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh452744.aspx), Windows Phone (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/jj207062(v=vs.105).aspx), or Xbox One (http://www.xbox.com/en-us/Developers/id).
Source: Windows App Builder Blog (http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/appbuilder/archive/2013/10/14/raising-the-bar-with-direct3d.aspx)