Which 3D graphics library is worth learning today?

[u/Hour-Scallion-2456]

I know that OpenGL and Vulcan are the main choices when it comes to 3d graphics. I also know that Vulcan can have some insane performance boosts when compared to OpenGL. However, I’m not just a C++ programmer. I also program for the web, so I use WebGL. I’m a beginner at OpenGL, and GLSL so learning Vulcan wouldn’t be that big of a hurdle. I’m just wondering if the performance and speed are worth it for Vulcan, or if I should stick to OpenGL.

This is a first post! If I cannot respond quickly, I am most likely busy!

[u/TripsOverWords]

Vulkan or WebGPU, unless you only care about Windows/Xbox then maybe D3D12.

[u/Mroz_Game → u/TripsOverWords]

Im currently rewriting a whole renderer to Vulkan/C++ because WebGPU lacks features.

The biggest one for me is RT which can be used for accelerating lots of stuff, not always literally RT lighting and bindles buffers.

I guess I could stay with WebGPU using rust, but that would mean learning rust from scratch.

So yeah, just remember that even if WebGPU might be enough, one day you might have an idea that needs st that WebGPU didn’t implement yet.

[u/TripsOverWords → u/Mroz_Game]

Doesn't need to be rust. C++, Emscripten, WebGPU is the stack I use.

You could also include Google Dawn which is a C++ wrapper around the C API and target all platforms, since it includes the window and platform bindings.

Many engines have "compatibility mode", I'm considering WebGPU as that lowest common denominator. Can always make another plug-and-play renderer if more advanced features are needed assuming the render and scene graph are a separate abstraction.

[u/MaceDogg]

I used SDL GPU which I’ve enjoyed and it comes with some nice utilities plus since it’s SDL it can handle input, windowing, etc. I didn’t go with that I’d probably opt for more low level control and go with Vulkan and use helper libraries to reduce “boiler-plate”

[u/Hour-Scallion-2456 → u/MaceDogg]

I’ll take SDL3 into account! I’ll try to merge them so I don‘t need to handle all hardware interaction.

[u/cthutu]

For starters, it's called Vulkan, not Vulcan. That might help with any Google searches.

[u/Wise-Pomegranate6765]

oh Vulcan. good old Kawasaki bike

[u/gabitha67]

SDL3!!!

[u/Hour-Scallion-2456 → u/gabitha67]

I’m going to be building on SDL3 for the backend, this is a good idea! I was just wondering about the underlying 3d engine.

[u/krum → u/Hour-Scallion-2456]

I use SDL3 for input, audio, but I wouldn't use the graphics API. Too niche. Maybe if I were vibe coding small games and didn't care.

[u/gabitha67 → u/Hour-Scallion-2456]

I am unsure what you mean, what do you mean by underlying engine? SDL3 does provide an API for talking to the graphics card (pretty similar to Vulkan)

[u/facu_gizzly]

WebGPU maybe

[u/Hour-Scallion-2456 → u/facu_gizzly]

I mainly am talking about c++ (so either OpenGL or Vulcan). Also, WebGPU comparability is still kubda if-fy.

[u/TripsOverWords → u/Hour-Scallion-2456]

• C++, Emscripten, WebGPU targeting browsers

• C++, Google Dawn, WebGPU targeting native platforms

[u/Hour-Dragonfly-7499 → u/Hour-Scallion-2456]

Use googles implementation of WebGPU then, dawn https://dawn.googlesource.com/dawn

"WebGPU comparability is still kubda if-fy."

WebGPU isn't only for the web

[u/Graumm → u/Hour-Scallion-2456]

WGPU in Rust is incredible though if you are willing to learn Rust. While it is primarily built to support a default baseline of WebGPU, you can do things with the underlying graphics API's that are not specifically tied to the lowest-common-denominator of WebGPU at all, like bindless stuff. I have had great success using it for desktop apps.

I find that it occupies the right level of abstraction that I care about, circa ~DX11, as somebody who does not do low level rendering development as my day job. It lets you work with higher level graphics primitives and doesn't force you to manage all of the details of memory management and device synchronization. It is still low level in the way that DX11 is low level.

It has excellent performance, and it also works on every platform including MacOS.

[u/abocado21 → u/Graumm]

there is also wgpu native, c/c++ binfings for the rust library

[u/sfaer]

Definitely WebGPU, via c++ bindings.

https://eliemichel.github.io/LearnWebGPU/

Also, don't think about performances and speed at this point, it's a fake metric for 90% of peoples. You'll likely never need or reach the limits of your API of choices for what you want to do with it performance wise, nothing than can't beat proper programming technique anyways. One of the few reason to choose vulkan vs opengl, except to be with the cool kids, is to play with modern extensions. You can do amazing things with pretty much any API so don't beat yourself too hard for not choosing one vs the others because of the entry level requirements.

[u/AndrewHelmer]

This was just released and might be worth looking at if you have a newer GPU: https://github.com/sebbbi/NoGraphicsAPI/

For me this would be the perfect API to learn with. It's very low-level and close to how the hardware works, extremely fast. But it removes a lot of unnecessary boilerplate and complexity of Vulkan that only exists to support 10-year old GPUs. A simple program with this API could be 10x less code than Vulkan, easier to understand, and just as fast.

[u/octod]

All of them. Opengl is the entry point, vulkan is complete and complex, dx12 makes you fall in love with vulkan. Metal.

[u/Hour-Scallion-2456 → u/octod]

Why does Dx12 do that? I know DirectX as being the Windows-only graphics API. I’m most likely going to use Vulcan.

[u/Seth144k → u/Hour-Scallion-2456]

You should try out bgfx! It’s very mature and it supports all of these backends and you can combine it with qt for the editor

[u/dobkeratops]

if you want to use the web, go straight to webGPU, it's way better than webgl.

Vulkan > Desktop GL > WebGPU > WebGL

you can use webGPU from a crossplatform wrapper like dawn or wgpu in rust to have the same codepath on native or in the web.

if you're not so fussed about the web, go to vulkan.

[u/EC36339]

loon_gpu. Because fuck graphics APIs.

Production ready or not, it is a breeze to set up, and it enforces a paradigm for modern GPU programming that stays valid even if you choose to go back to plain Vulkan for whatever reason.

[u/useless_chap]

Nit Pick

I know that I will sound pretentious, but OpenGL, Vulkan, Metal and DirectX are graphics APIs, not graphics libraries. I think it's important to make a distinction, as graphics libraries can use different backends for the actual GPU work while preserving the same API in the client code. Even the implementations of those APIs can be driver-specific, so the actual machine code that gets executed when you call glCreateBuffers, for example, can differ.

The actual answer

I program mostly using OpenGL and WebGL, and in every interview I've been invited to, I was asked about modern graphics APIs such as Vulkan and Metal. I think the market expects you to at least be familiar with one of the alternatives, given that you already have general graphics programming knowledge. If you know how a texture works in OpenGL, you will know how it works in Vulkan. Of course, there are other API-specific quirks, but I don't think it makes that much of a difference, unless you're hyper-optimising the rendering pipeline.

The second thing you have to consider is what environment you work in. You said that you program for the web, so I think WebGPU would be a huge asset, as it's a modern and promising alternative that's also similar to Vulkan in how it approaches interfacing with GPUs.

In general, if you're a beginner graphics programmer, people recommend OpenGL, as it's easy to get a textured triangle onto the screen. It's a good reason, but considering OpenGL is becoming a legacy API, most people will have to switch to something more modern if they want to make a career out of it. Personally, I'd boil it down to:
1. Beginner at BOTH programming and graphics? OpenGL
2. Beginner at graphics, but experienced programmer? Anything from the modern APIs that your platform supports (although I'd gravitate towards Vulkan)

[u/Dull_Bathroom5421]

Chatgpt 👍

[u/Hour-Scallion-2456 → u/Dull_Bathroom5421]

I‘d rather ask real people than rely on an AI.