core:vulkanrenderer

RW Enhancer 2 feature a complete, easy to use and optional Vulkan renderer for Train Simulator based on the DXVK open-source project (modified with some tweaks to better run with Train Simulator). Once enabled in RW Enhancer 2 settings, this will temporarily replace the DirectX 9 renderer of Train Simulator by the modern Vulkan renderer. This new Vulkan renderer can have many benefits for Train Simulator especially when playing on routes with a lot of complex geometry, 3D vegetation or complex tracks layouts. The Vulkan renderer is also greatly reducing micro-freezes and framerate micro-hiccups, with this new renderer the framerate will be generally more stable and also higher on complex routes with a lot of geometry and with heavy 3D vegetation usage.

Overall, this new Vulkan renderer integrated in RW Enhancer 2 is the most efficient way to optimize the game render process and framerate of Train Simulator especially with the updates that are coming in the future for optimizing the Vulkan renderer.

Please read the following information to fully understand how this new renderer is working.

  • You need a GPU that is compatible with Vulkan 1.3 API. Any DirectX 11 capable GPU should be compatible. (RW Enhancer 2 require DX11 compatibility anyway)
  • Please ensure that your graphic card/GPU drivers are up to date. The Vulkan renderer requires recent GPU drivers to be installed.
  • RW Enhancer 2 HUD can't be used yet when Train Simulator is in raw “FullScreen” display mode. Please select “Borderless” or “Windowed” mode if you want to use Vulkan and RW Enhancer 2.
  • Due to how the Vulkan renderer is working, the “Reshade” or “SweetFX” programs are not working with this Vulkan renderer. If you try to enable the Vulkan renderer, reshade/sweetfx files will be overridden.
  • You might need to clic one time anywhere on the screen at the beginning of a drive session if you want the RWE 2 HUD to appear. Same when you have done a drive session for the RW Enhancer 2 window to reappear on the screen. (this may be fixed in the future)

Enabling the new Vulkan renderer in RW Enhancer 2 is very easy. Just go in RW Enhancer 2 “Train Simulator” settings tab and enable the “Vulkan Renderer (Experimental)” option.

If Vulkan renderer is not working well on your PC, then just disable the same option and the default DirectX 9 renderer will be restored. Simple and easy !

Please Note

When enabled, the Vulkan renderer doesn't delete/overwrite any Train Simulator file, making this feature quite safe to use.

Please Note

Once enabled in RW Enhancer 2, the Vulkan renderer can be used even if you are playing Train Simulator without RW Enhancer 2. Just like RW Enhancer 2 shaders effects.
Pros Cons
Modern renderer and better supported by recent GPU drivers May not work correctly on old hardware/GPU
Can give up to ~15% framerate boost when driving on complex routes with a lot of 3D geometry/3D vegetation Framerate may be a little bit worse than default TS renderer in some cases (but framerate will be more stable). Will be improved in the future with updates
More stable framerate with less micro-freezes and micro framerate hiccups RW Enhancer 2 HUD not displayed when using raw fullscreen display mode in Train Simulator (Borderless fullscreen or windowed display mode must be used)
Better GPU/CPU usage and reduce/eliminate TS crashes when alt-tabbing and such operations May be incompatible for now with some special technologies like Nvidia DLSS…
Working even when playing Train Simulator without RW Enhancer 2 HUD or gameplay features
Regularly updated to benefit for further performance and stability improvements in the future
Easy to enable/disable with just a one click button in RW Enhancer 2

A few settings can be adjusted for the Vulkan renderer. More settings will be provided in the future as the Vulkan renderer evolves.


Enable

If enabled, the Vulkan renderer will be used instead of the default Train Simulator DirectX 9 renderer.

Show FPS

If enabled, a FPS counter will be displayed in the top left part of the screen. This FPS counter is more practical and visible than the Train Simulator (Shift+Z) default one but can't be toggled off while ingame.

Show FrameTimes Graph

Shows a frame time graph in the top left part of the screen. This shows how long does it takes to render a frame in milliseconds. The longer it takes to render a frame, the worse will be the global framerate.

In it's current state the Vulkan renderer can provide a more stable framerate and some performances improvements depending on the routes that are being driven (3D complexity, tracks layout…). But in some cases the framerate could be lower compared to the default DX9 renderer of Train Simulator. That's why some improvements for the Vulkan renderer are planned in the future in order to improve it's performance and efficiency.

In the coming months, you can expect those improvements:

  • Memory usage optimizations
  • GPU memory usage optimizations
  • CPU usage optimizations
  • Global average framerate improvements
  • core/vulkanrenderer.txt
  • Last modified: 27/10/2022 09:16
  • by admin