A new open-source project called low_latency_layer is an implicit Vulkan layer that enables AMD Anti-Lag 2 and NVIDIA Reflex 2 to reportedly work in a hardware-agnostic manner so that AMD and Intel graphics cards can both enjoy Reflex or Anti-Lag 2 working on non-AMD graphics cards as well.
Open-source developer Nicolas James explained in an email to Phoronix his motives for developing this low_latency_layer project:
“I started this project earlier this year because I was frustrated with the state of Anti-Lag 2 on Linux. If you’re not aware, the Mesa AL2 implementation had some issues with stability and was disabled by default. On top of this, I tested the latency improvement of the Mesa implementation and found that it wasn’t doing as much as the proprietary version on Windows. I like my FPS games and my AMD machine but I love Linux, and it seemed like they weren’t compatible.
After AL2 was working, I noticed there was nothing stopping a similar implementation of the NVIDIA equivalent VK_NV_low_latency2. They are just device extensions that any Vulkan layer can intercept. The NVIDIA extension is a little more complicated but conceptually does the same work. It’s really cool to see that, for games which only provide Reflex support, we can exceed what AMD users get on Windows. They only have access to AMD’s Anti-Lag 1, which doesn’t have the same game-level integration.
My testing was done using a 540hz monitor which has NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer. It involved me clicking a button and writing down the values I get into a spreadsheet, which can get pretty tedious. I have tested THE FINALS, Counter-Strike 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil Requiem, Marvel Rivals and Overwatch 2.”
This low_latency_layer works with the likes of DXVK-NVAPI for providing comprehensive support for Steam Play (Proton) gaming on Linux. At least according to the project’s own data, the performance is similar or better than the proprietary Windows implementations on the same hardware.
More details on the low_latency_layer implementation, more benchmarks, setup/configuration details, and other information on this Vulkan layer aiming to help with low-latency Linux gaming can be found via Korthos-Software/low_latency_layer on GitHub. Low_latency_layer is open-source under an MIT license.