DirectX Support in Vortex Editor Beta

Owned by DEVOPS
Dec 13, 2021
2 min read
 For users with non NVIDIA graphics hardware, DirectX technology has been introduced into Vortex Studio. Mechanical design workflows are the only supported use cases at this time.



Please note that Direct X12 support is in development and has not reached feature parity with the OpenGL real time render system.

There are also significant visual differences from the standard OpenGL 3D view.

However, Content created with Vortex Editor in DirectX is compatible with any rendering version and can be reopened with OpenGL technology.

How to enable DirectX support in Vortex Editor

A new DirectX renderer has been integrated in the Vortex Editor, which will allow use of the editor on most PCs and laptops.

The renderer (new DirectX, or previous OpenGL) is automatically selected depending on the type of graphics card that is detected in the system.

It can also be manually chosen via a new entry in the options page of the editor as shown below.

Features Supported in DirectX mode

  • Mechanical engineering content creation features:
    • Collision Geometries
    • Constraints
    • Inertia Bodies
    • Center of Mass adjustment
    • Cables
    • Object manipulation (Position, Rotation, Scale)
    • Connection Graph
    • VHL interfaces to mechanical systems
    • Scripting
    • Collision Rules
    • Configurations
    • Physics Sensors
    • Joystick Input
    • Friction Materials

  • Perspective Camera
  • Multi-tab workflows
  • Single layer non-PBR materials (no light probe support)
  • Simple cable spline display
  • Ambient, Directional, Point, and Spot Lights
  • Animation Path
  • QT Console

 Features Not Supported in DirectX mode

  • Camera extensions except for Perspective
  • Light Halo
  • Shadows
  • Decals
  • 2D Particle rendering
  • Meshed Cable rendering
  • HUD
  • Depth Sensor
  • Earth rendering
  • Ocean rendering
  • Vehicle Traces
  • Weather effects
  • VR
  • Multi layered materials
  • Material blend modes
  • UV modifications (Imported 3d models must have the correct UV mapping already assigned)
  • Skydome, Skybox
  • Vegetation
  • Humans

Visual Differences between DirectX and OpenGL Rendering

OpenGL ViewDirectX View