One of the most annoying things about PC games is how long they can take to start, thanks to the traditional shader compilation a game goes through after installation or after getting new drivers. The silver bullet to this might be Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery, which was used in Gears of War: E-Day to drastically cut down on its initial launch, and Nvidia graphics card owners can also take advantage of this technology starting today with the release of the version 621.01 drivers. AMD has featured this technology for a while now, but with Nvidia included, ASD will be open to the vast majority of the PC gaming community. Available for Nvidia RTX and RTX Spark graphics cards, ASD reduces shader compilation times by downloading precompiled shaders. For now, only two games support ASD--the new Gears of War prequel and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Combined with Nvidia's Automatic Sh
Nvidia Just Tackled One Of PC Gaming’s Biggest Headaches: Shader Compilation

Original reporting
GameSpot: read the full reportRelated stories

The One Thing EA Has Always Been Good At Is Killing Video Game Studios
Since 1987, EA has consistently bought up studios like BioWare only to shut them down later

‘Clayface’ Review: DC Comics Horror Movie Is Good, Gross Fun, With No Franchise Homework Required
We are now three movies into the so-called DC Universe — branding that so far doesn’t appear to have cut through to any but the most devoted of nerds. Last year’s Superman reboot was respectable enough, this summer’s Supergirl a bit less so, but the prospect of a larger story world connecting them hardly sets […]

Tom Cruise to Be Honored With AFI Life Achievement Award in 2027
Tom Cruise has been selected to receive the 52nd AFI Life Achievement Award. The American Film Institute will honor him at a gala tribute at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on April 24, 2027. Considered the highest honor for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award is given to a single honoree each […]

‘Chicago Med’ Season 12 Premiere Hits 8.8 Million Viewers in Seven Days as Dick Wolf’s One Chicago Franchise Leads NBC Lineup (EXCLUSIVE)
Dick Wolf’s One Chicago franchise — comprised of “Chicago Med,” “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” — returned to NBC on Oct. 7 with a bang, ranking as NBC’s top three shows of the season thus far when accounting for seven days of viewership. Chicago Med led the pack, reaching 8.8 million viewers across all platforms in […]

California Tried to Jumpstart the Film Economy. Production Keeps Falling.
California’s $750 million bet on Hollywood has not reversed the overall decline in production, according to data released Wednesday by FilmLA. Instead, production levels fell 3.7% in the third quarter — even as the share of projects receiving state subsidies continued to rise. Location shoots remain well below the five-year average. State officials had hoped […]
Watching ‘Clayface’ Is Like Eating Play-Doh
A classic shapeshifting Batman villain gets the body-horror treatment. You get the shaft