当微软(Microsoft)的人们宣布Xbox Series X/S时，他们谈到了很多事情，但引起我们注意的是他们称之为Xbox Velocity 架构(Xbox Velocity Architecture)的东西。
Xbox Velocity 架构(Velocity Architecture)解释
你看，它被视为下一代Xbox游戏机的视频游戏资产流式传输的最佳解决方案。尽管如此，如果在遥远的将来，Velocity 架构(Velocity Architecture)也开始支持Windows PC 游戏，我们也不会感到太惊讶。
这项技术运作良好的主要原因是硬件和软件在Xbox 系列(Xbox Series)游戏机中相互交互的紧密程度。目前对于 PC 游戏来说不能这样说，这是非常不幸的。
请(Please)注意，Microsoft已将Xbox Velocity 架构(Xbox Velocity Architecture)与四个不同的组件组合在一起，以使开发人员能够充分利用控制台。我们现在将讨论这些组件。
- 每个控制台中的定制NVME SSD
- 硬件加速解压新的 DirectStorage API(Hardware Accelerated DecompressionNew DirectStorage API)
- 新的 DirectStorage API
- 采样器反馈流 (SFS)
- Xbox Series X/S超越其重量
让我们更详细地讨论这个问题。
1]每个控制台中的定制NVME SSD
这家软件巨头已确保在每个 Xbox Series X中添加一个 1TB 定制NVME SSD ，但对于配备 512GB的Series S则不能这么说。尽管如此，这两款驱动器都可以提供 2.4 GB/s的原始 I/O 吞吐量。
与Windows 10 PC 中的SSD不同， (SSDs)Xbox 系列(Xbox Serie)游戏机中的 SSD 将提供一致、持续的性能。这里没有峰值性能，只有始终如一的持续性能。
考虑到所有这些，开发人员可以轻松地设计他们的游戏，因为他们知道他们有有限的限制。此外，同样的性能水平支持希捷可扩展存储卡(Seagate Expandable Storage Card)。
2]硬件加速解压(Hardware Accelerated Decompression)
您可以如此快速地下载游戏的原因之一与游戏文件和资产压缩有很大关系。为了让事情变得更快，微软(Microsoft)引入了BCPack和硬件加速压缩。我们知道开发人员在使用它时不会对质量和性能造成任何损失，这非常令人印象深刻。
如果没有硬件压缩，如果开发人员尝试使用软件以相似的速度压缩文件，他们将需要 4 个Zen 2 CPU内核。(CPU)
3] 新的 DirectStorage API
为了让游戏开发人员的工作更轻松，微软(Microsoft)已将DirectStorage API添加到DirectX系列。这被认为是对30 多年前首次创建的Standard File I/O APIs的巨大改进。
有了这个新的API，开发人员应该能够充分利用Xbox Series X/S提供的原始 I/O 性能。完成此操作后，在大多数情况下将消除加载时间，或者更确切地说，这就是希望。很有可能只有Microsoft第一方开发人员会充分利用这个新API，所以不要为第三方投入工作而屏住呼吸。
4]采样器反馈流（SFS）
据我们了解，这通常在游戏世界中渲染对象时使用。你看，当玩家远离世界上的一个物体时，例如一棵树，那棵树的纹理将以低分辨率渲染。大多数用户无法通过肉眼分辨，因此这样做会使用更少的系统资源。
但是，当玩家靠近树时，SFS会增加纹理分辨率以确保近距离观看时看起来不错。
5] Xbox Series X/S超越其重量
凭借 Xbox Velocity 架构的强大功能，预计新游戏机的性能将高于纸面上的规格。但这只有在所有开发人员都充分利用所提供的工具的情况下才会大规模发生。
直到 2021 年底，我们可能不会看到巨大的性能提升，那时微软(Microsoft)开始展示游戏机独有的游戏，永远不会在Xbox One上看到发布日期。
Xbox Velocity Architecture explained: Let's look at each component
Whеn the folks at Microsoft announced thе Xbox Series X/S, theу spоke about many things, but what caught оur attention is something they called the Xbox Velocity Architecture.
Xbox Velocity Architecture explained
You see, viewed as the best solution for video game asset streaming for the next generation of Xbox consoles. Still, we wouldn’t be too surprised if it in the distant future, the Velocity Architecture begins to support Windows PC gaming as well.
The primary reason this piece of technology works so well is how closely the hardware and the software interact with each other in the Xbox Series line of consoles. The same cannot be said for PC gaming at the moment, which is quite unfortunate.
Please note that Microsoft has comprised the Xbox Velocity Architecture with four different components that all come together to allow developers to take full advantage of the console. We are going to discuss those components right now.
- Custom-made NVME SSD in every console
- Hardware Accelerated DecompressionNew DirectStorage API
- New DirectStorage API
- Sampler Feedback Streaming (SFS)
- Xbox Series X/S punching above its weight
Let us discuss this in more detail.
1] Custom-made NVME SSD in every console
The software giant has made sure to add a 1TB custom-built NVME SSD in every Xbox Series X, though the same cannot be said for the Series S as it comes with 512GB. Still, both drives are equipped to deliver 2.4 GB/s of raw I/O throughput.
As opposed to SSDs inside of Windows 10 PCs, the one found inside of the Xbox Serie of consoles will deliver consistent, sustained performance. There is no such thing as peak performance here, just constant, sustained performance at all times.
With all of this in mind, developers can easily design their games, knowing they have limited constraints. Furthermore, this same level of performance supports the Seagate Expandable Storage Card.
2] Hardware Accelerated Decompression
One of the reasons you can download your games so quickly has much to do with game files and asset compression. To make things even faster, Microsoft has introduced BCPack and hardware-accelerated compression. We understand that developers suffer no losses to quality and performance when this is used, which is quite impressive.
Without hardware compression, developers would need 4 Zen 2 CPU cores should they attempt to compress files at similar speeds using software.
3] New DirectStorage API
In a bid to make work easier for game developers, Microsoft has added DirectStorage API to the DirectX family. This is considered a vast improvement over the Standard File I/O APIs that was first created more than 30-years ago.
With this new API, developers should be able to take full advantage of the raw I/O performance given by the Xbox Series X/S. When this is done, load times will be eliminated in most cases, or rather, that is the hope. Chances are only Microsoft first-party developers will take full advantage of this new API, so do not hold your breath for third-parties putting in the work.
4] Sampler Feedback Streaming (SFS)
From our understanding, this is usually used when rendering objects in the game world. You see, when the player is further away from an object in the world, for example, a tree, the texture of that tree will render in low-resolution. Most users won’t be able to tell from the naked eye, so doing this uses fewer system resources.
However, when the player draws closer to the tree, SFS will increase the texture resolution to make sure it looks good when viewed from close range.
5] Xbox Series X/S punching above its weight
With the Xbox Velocity Architecture’s power, the new consoles are expected to perform above the specifications on paper. But this will only happen on a broad scale if all developers take full advantage of the tools on offer.
It is likely we won’t see huge performance gains until the end of 2021 when Microsoft begins to showcase games that are exclusive to the consoles, never to see a release date on the Xbox One.
