Codemasters Releases DirectX 12 Support for F1 2018

British game developer and publisher Codemasters has released DirectX 12 support for the F1 2018 racing game. To take advantage of this, players will need to download a beta version of the game via Steam. It is compatible with the regular version.

Codemasters reports that the DirectX 12 version simply means that parts of the game engine work differently, especially the code for the graphics. The company describes the change as “significant” and asks players to provide feedback. To download the DirectX 12 version, owners of F1 2018 will need to find the game in their Steam Library and install the new version in the properties via a beta tab.

This is a beta version where the game now runs on version 12 instead of DirectX 11. This version is otherwise the same as the standard game with the same version number. Players will also have access to all content with the beta version and existing save games should also work. According to Codemasters, it is also possible to play together with other players who still run the game on DirectX 11.

According to the website DSO Gaming, the DirectX 12 api significantly improved the minimum frame rate on a system with an overclocked Intel i7 4930K and an AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 video card. At full HD resolution that would be a 10fps difference and at 4k an improvement of 6fps would occur. With the average frame rates, the differences are small and according to the website ‘within the margin of error’. On a system with the same CPU and an Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 Ti, all differences are very small. The website states that the DirectX 12 version runs stable in any case.