Vulkan 1.2.149 is out today and its lone new extension is yet another addition to the Vulkan API for helping translation layers like DXVK map other graphics APIs on top.
Vulkan has been quite welcoming of additions to help run graphics APIs like OpenGL and Direct3D on top of it. With today's release of Vulkan 1.2.149 there is another addition to help in that multi-project effort and it's VK_EXT_4444_formats.
The VK_EXT_4444_formats extension was devised by Joshua Ashton who previously worked on D9VK (now merged into DXVK) as part of Valve / CodeWeavers efforts along with open-source Mesa/ANV developer Jason Ekstrand of Intel. This extension is about supporting A4R4G4B4 (VK_FORMAT_A4R4G4B4_UNORM_PACK16_EXT) and A4B4G4R4 (VK_FORMAT_A4B4G4R4_UNORM_PACK16_EXT) formats. A4R4G4B4 for the 16-bit ARGB pixel format in particular should be useful to Direct3D.
The new Vulkan documentation outlines as much that supporting these formats are being done in the name of them being used by "other current graphics APIs" and "This extension may be useful for building translation layers for those APIs or for porting applications that use these formats without having to resort to swizzles."
Besides introducing VK_EXT_4444_formats, the rest of Vulkan 1.2.149 amounts to minor documentation work. More details via this Git commit.
