MAKO Decky v3.1.0

Looking for the standalone Vulkan layer? See MAKO Renderer v3.1.0.

What's new in MAKO Decky v3.1.0

Release codename: Sea Rapture

“The captains called it a hunt until the sea chose its champion.”

Mira Valen, Last Signal from the Blackwater Gate

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The big Spatial Scaling follow-up

Sea Rapture is MAKO 3.1: a major stability and performance update for Spatial Scaling, especially when combined with Frame Generation. The combined pipeline is now faster and much more resilient across resolution changes, GPU-memory pressure, and difficult game swapchain behaviour.

• Clear per-game startup compatibility: For affected titles such as Detroit: Become Human, the new restart-only Game Swapchain Images toggle preserves the game's requested swapchain minimum, while MAKO keeps faster generated-frame headroom enabled by default for other games.
• Smoother Frame Generation changes: Multiplier increases wait for a game-owned swapchain recreation when necessary, avoiding repeated timeout recovery and preserving steadier presentation cadence.
• Safer scaling transitions: Resolution changes, supersampling, and GPU-memory constraints now rebuild or fall back more reliably without leaving stale limits behind.
• More useful Live Status: See the real Input, Render, and Display resolutions, available memory headroom, and any constrained scale factor.
• Faster combined performance: Leaner resource allocation and improved recovery reduce overhead when Spatial Scaling and Frame Generation run together.

🎮 In-game considerations

Tip

Try the game’s V-Sync setting both on and off. It can make frame delivery feel steadier, but may also add input lag or clash with the game’s FPS cap, VRR, or compositor. Every game is different: compare both options and keep the one that feels smoother and more responsive.

Every game, renderer, and display setup behaves differently. Compare Fixed Frame Generation, Adaptive Frame Generation, and scaling-only operation one setting at a time. For most games, fullscreen is the best starting point for performance and frame pacing. Keep the configuration that feels best for that game.

• Adaptive target behaviour: Adaptive varies the generated-frame count toward an average target. It cannot reduce a native frame rate already above that target, and the result still depends on the selected multiplier plus available GPU and compositor capacity.
• Quality and latency tuning: Higher multipliers and lower real-frame rates can increase ghosting and input latency. Smooth Cadence may improve motion consistency while reducing responsiveness, so compare the available choices per game.

See the Configuration guide and Troubleshooting guide for complete behaviour and per-game controls.

Important

MAKO does not contain or distribute Lossless Scaling, Lossless.dll, or extracted proprietary model payloads. Frame Generation and LS1 scaling read selected resources at runtime from a lawful, user-supplied Lossless Scaling installation. The open MAKO Scaler does not use it. MAKO does not alter the user’s DLL file, and translated resources remain process-local. Users are responsible for complying with the terms applicable to their copy.

⚠️ Required MAKO Renderer update: Installing the ZIP updates MAKO Decky, but does not replace its private Vulkan layer. Open the plugin and select Install MAKO Renderer afterwards.

Installation

New to Decky or installing MAKO Decky for the first time? See the full install and use guide for Decky Loader setup and prerequisites.

1. Download MAKO-Decky-v3.1.0.zip below.
2. On SteamOS, open Decky Loader's settings and enable Developer Mode.
3. Choose Developer > Install Plugin from Zip, then select the downloaded ZIP.
4. In MAKO Decky, select Install MAKO Renderer. For native Steam/Proton games, add /home/deck/.local/bin/mako-run %command% to the game’s Steam launch options.

Important

Preferred clean update: To prevent Decky retaining an older backend or bundled payload, uninstall MAKO Decky, install the newer ZIP, restart your Steam Deck or Steam Machine, then open the plugin and select Install MAKO Renderer. This also resolves cases where Decky does not show or reload the plugin after installation.

First-time Heroic or EmuDeck setup: Read the Heroic and other Flatpak applications guide before preparing either integration.

Updating an existing MAKO Decky installation

1. Quit any game currently using /home/deck/.local/bin/mako-run.
2. Uninstall MAKO Decky, then download the newer ZIP from version 3.1.0.
3. In Game Mode, open Decky Loader’s settings, choose Developer > Install Plugin from Zip, then select the newer ZIP.
4. Restart your Steam Deck or Steam Machine.
5. ⚠️ Required: Open MAKO Decky and select Install MAKO Renderer to install the version bundled in the new ZIP.
6. In Flatpak Setup, select Update for every prepared application’s matching runtime extension. This replaces its Flatpak layer with the engine bundled in the new ZIP while preserving its preparation and per-game Wrapper commands.

Existing profiles and Steam launch options are retained. The private native renderer and launcher are re-created in step 5; shared Flatpak extensions are retained, then refreshed in step 6.

Known limitation

• HDR frame generation and scaling are unavailable in this Decky release: The engine foundation is included, but the plugin locks HDR exposure off and does not provide a per-game opt-in. In-game HDR controls may be unavailable by design. A later release can unlock the path after activation, presentation, colour, and performance are validated across games.

Before you play

• Test MAKO per game. Start with Frame Generation and Scaling disabled, then enable one path at a time before combining them.
• If you use Frame Generation or LS1 scaling, confirm the detected Lossless.dll path before launching. Leaving it blank permits normal discovery. The open MAKO Scaler does not need it.
• Do not combine mako-run with another frame-generation or scaling Vulkan wrapper for the same game.

Bundled MAKO Renderer 3.1.0

• Includes checksum-verified MAKO-Renderer-v3.1.0-linux.tar.xz.
• Corresponding MAKO Decky source: plugin-v3.1.0.
• Corresponding MAKO Renderer source: render-v3.1.0, pinned by commit and checksum in the ZIP metadata.