D7VK as the open-source implementation of the Direct3D 7 / 6 / 5/ 3 APIs atop the Vulkan API for Linux/Wine usage is out with another feature update. D7VK continues to mature quite well for further enhancing these older Direct3D API versions that cover the span prior to DXVK's focus of Direct3D 8 to Direct3D 11 or VKD3D-Proton's Direct3D 12.

After seeing a lot of performance improvements in recent D7VK releases, D7VK 2.1 has more work on the load/start-up side. While such old games typically don't have load time problems especially on modern hardware, D7VK has made enhancements to speed-up object creation/destruction, caching, and more. Some game load times are now halved compared to prior D7VK releases.

D7VK 2.1 does squeeze in a few more performance tweaks to better different games like Resident Evil 2 and Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest.

D7VK 2.1 overall appears to be in very robust and dependable shape for those wanting to enjoy older games on Wine/Proton while going through the Vulkan API. Downloads and more details on today's D7VK 2.1 release via GitHub.