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MAKO Renderer v2.0.0

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@eugeniosegala eugeniosegala released this 18 Aug 11:25
· 157 commits to main since this release
render-v2.0.0
00a830e

Looking for the Decky plugin? Download the latest MAKO Decky release.

MAKO Renderer Linux build

MAKO Renderer v2.0.0 is a stable release. Test it game by game and retain a known-good rollback path.

What's new in MAKO Renderer v2.0.0

MAKO Renderer 2.0 is the adaptive, opt-in Vulkan layer behind MAKO’s SteamOS frame-generation experience.

  • Adaptive Frame Generation: Target 30 to 240 FPS with a 2x to 4x ceiling, Smooth Cadence, and the optional Adaptive FPS Cap. When a game becomes GPU- or compositor-bound, Adaptive reduces generated-frame work instead of forcing a fixed amount of interpolation. That can improve performance and frame pacing; test it per game.
  • Live tuning with safe limits: Frame Generation, Fixed or Adaptive mode, supported multiplier changes, target FPS, cadence, and FPS caps update while the game runs. Changes that need different GPU resources remain restart-only.
  • Private by design: A uniquely named Vulkan layer, explicit wrapper activation, process matching, and context-specific diagnostics keep MAKO isolated from unrelated games, applications, and Vulkan layers.
  • Complete standalone control: mako-ui now provides scrollable Fixed, Adaptive, cap, quality, performance, GPU, DLL, and profile controls. Launch it from Desktop Mode as MAKO Renderer Configuration or run ~/.local/bin/mako-ui.
  • Verified everywhere MAKO runs: Releases contain genuine 64-bit and 32-bit host layers plus dual-architecture Flatpak extensions for Freedesktop 23.08, 24.08, and 25.08. Scheduler tests, package-layout checks, and checksum validation run before publication.

🎮 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 and Adaptive Frame Generation one setting at a time. Fullscreen is usually the best starting point for performance and frame pacing. Restart after major display, DLL, GPU, Flow Scale, Performance Mode, or model changes.

  • 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.

Important

MAKO Renderer requires Lossless.dll from a licensed Lossless Scaling installation. Neither release archive bundles, copies, or modifies that proprietary library.

Installation

Host installation

Download mako-render-v2.0.0-linux.tar.xz and extract it to your local prefix:

mkdir -p ~/.local
tar -xJf mako-render-v2.0.0-linux.tar.xz -C ~/.local

The host archive includes 64-bit and 32-bit Vulkan layers; the CLI and Qt UI are 64-bit.

Start the configuration UI after extraction:

  • Application menu: On Steam Deck or Steam Machine, switch to Desktop Mode and open MAKO Renderer Configuration.
  • Terminal: Run ~/.local/bin/mako-ui from Konsole or another terminal. Do not run it with sudo.

Configure the licensed DLL path in the UI or ~/.config/mako-render/conf.toml, then use ENABLE_MAKO=1 %command% for a direct Steam launch.

Flatpak extensions

Download and extract mako-render-v2.0.0-flatpaks.tar.xz. It contains one self-contained MAKO extension for each supported Flatpak runtime. Install the extension matching the application runtime, for example:

flatpak install --user org.freedesktop.Platform.VulkanLayer.makorender-24.08.flatpak
  • SHA-256: 0b5b39377e838acacea809bed6250d68043ba3845df06527c275a346fb56805c

Updating an existing installation

  1. Quit every game or application currently using MAKO Renderer.
  2. Download the newer host archive and extract it into the same local prefix. Existing files are replaced; your configuration remains under ~/.config/mako-render/.
  3. If you use Flatpak applications, download the matching Flatpak archive and reinstall the extension for each runtime you use.
  4. Restart the game. Revalidate the configuration with ~/.local/bin/mako-cli validate if you changed the DLL path or profiles.

Keep the previous archives until the new version has been tested with your games.

Known limitation

  • HDR frame generation is not currently supported: HDR pipeline groundwork remains in the Renderer, but MAKO does not present it as an enabled release path yet.

Before you play

  • Test MAKO per game and start with frame generation disabled, then Fixed 2x, before adding Adaptive or higher multipliers.
  • Confirm the detected Lossless.dll path. Leaving it blank permits normal discovery in common Steam locations.
  • Do not combine MAKO with another Lossless Scaling Vulkan wrapper for the same game.

Included files

  • 64-bit Vulkan implicit layer and manifest under lib/ and share/vulkan/implicit_layer.d/
  • 32-bit Vulkan implicit layer and manifest under lib32/ and share/vulkan/implicit_layer.d/
  • 64-bit CLI and Qt configuration UI
  • XDG desktop files

Build details

  • Source commit: 00a830e4ab6acc167a591cd7508df1af8f7037c9
  • Host archive SHA-256: 31b4652cd589921fdc67f42f76ed98fee0e0e7a94b275d7fa7e5cb13b02f22d7
  • Flatpak archive SHA-256: 0b5b39377e838acacea809bed6250d68043ba3845df06527c275a346fb56805c
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