forge-pipeline-texture-compression

To compress textures for fast GPU loading, you transcode source images into pre-compressed blocks using basisu, generating .ftex assets that upload directly to the GPU without runtime overhead. This pipeline handles BC7/BC5 and UASTC formats.

UASTC transcoding is a basisu encoding process that creates high-quality intermediate compressed blocks for .ftex generation. You need it when you want deterministic, fast GPU uploads across D3D12 and Vulkan without runtime transcoding.

Yes, you need the basisu toolchain for encoding and a forge texture tool for .ftex generation. These tools handle D3D12 alignment for texture uploads and cross-platform compatibility, ensuring sidecar metadata can switch between compressed and uncompressed textures.

The best way to handle D3D12 texture upload alignment is by generating pre-transcoded .ftex assets using the forge texture pipeline. This process ensures correct GPU formats and alignment handling for fast, deterministic uploads across D3D12 and Vulkan.

Yes, the pipeline supports sidecar metadata to switch between compressed and uncompressed textures at load time. This allows flexible asset management during D3D12 or Vulkan rendering without modifying the underlying .ftex asset data.

Yes, basisu compression works for base color, normal maps, and metallic/roughness textures. The pipeline applies BC7/BC5 compression and UASTC transcoding to these source textures, outputting optimized .ftex assets for direct GPU loading.