Add WebGPU support

[kelteseth]

Describe the project you are working on

Looks like this will ship with Chromium 113 and Firefox 113 (yes, both will have the same version). See https://developer.chrome.com/blog/webgpu-release/ and https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1746245

CanIUse has not been updated yet: https://caniuse.com/webgpu

Also, we have a nice site that makes surveys about device support: https://web3dsurvey.com/webgpu

Describe the problem or limitation you are having in your project

This is essentially Vulkan for web.

Describe the feature / enhancement and how it helps to overcome the problem or limitation

• Improved performance: WebGPU is designed to utilize modern GPUs more efficiently, leading to better overall performance compared to WebGL 2.
• Lower overhead: WebGPU reduces CPU overhead, allowing for more efficient rendering and improved resource management.
• Unified shading language: WebGPU introduces a single, unified shading language (WGSL), simplifying development compared to WebGL 2's multiple shading languages (GLSL, ESSL).
• Better API design: WebGPU offers a more modern and user-friendly API, making it easier to develop and maintain applications.
• Broader hardware support: WebGPU supports more advanced features of modern GPUs, enabling developers to create more complex and visually impressive applications.

Describe how your proposal will work, with code, pseudo-code, mock-ups, and/or diagrams

See https://www.w3.org/TR/webgpu/

If this enhancement will not be used often, can it be worked around with a few lines of script?

No.

Is there a reason why this should be core and not an add-on in the asset library?

Yes.

[niklaskorz]

Is this something a first-time contributor without prior knowledge about Godot internals but with WebGPU experience could reallistically implement? I have taken a glimpse at the D3D12 pull request and besides the huge amount of dependencies it adds I feel like it looks manageable.

[Calinou]

Is this something a first-time contributor without prior knowledge about Godot internals but with WebGPU experience could reallistically implement? I have taken a glimpse at the D3D12 pull request and besides the huge amount of dependencies it adds I feel like it looks manageable.

@sakrel is already working on a WebGPU renderer for Godot. I suggest you get in touch with them on the Godot Contributors Chat's #rendering channel if you want to help 🙂

[Geequlim]

WebGPU seems to be able to unify the graphics api like gles2.

If Godot's renderer is also implemented with WebGPU, it can reduce a lot of maintenance costs, and there is no need for a rendering backend like dx12.

[Calinou]

WebGPU seems to be able to unify the graphics api like gles2.

If Godot's renderer is also implemented with WebGPU, it can reduce a lot of maintenance costs, and there is no need for a rendering backend like dx12.

There's likely significant overhead involved in this, on top of not being able to make use of advanced features (such as raytracing extensions). Not to mention build-time complexity would go way up, as WebGPU-related tools are usually written in Rust. I wouldn't go for that route for the same reasons we don't use something like bgfx.

[chrisgliddon]

+1 for this!

[Calinou]

@chrisgliddon Please don't bump issues without contributing significant new information. Use the 👍 reaction button on the first post instead.

[Starkium]

WebGPU seems to be able to unify the graphics api like gles2.
If Godot's renderer is also implemented with WebGPU, it can reduce a lot of maintenance costs, and there is no need for a rendering backend like dx12.

There's likely significant overhead involved in this, on top of not being able to make use of advanced features (such as raytracing extensions). Not to mention build-time complexity would go way up, as WebGPU-related tools are usually written in Rust. I wouldn't go for that route for the same reasons we don't use something like bgfx.

Don't we need it for webXR development though?

[dsnopek]

Don't we need it for webXR development though?

Yes, for the near future we need WebGL for WebXR. There is a proposal for supporting WebGPU in WebXR, but as far as I know, no browsers have implemented it yet. Once there's an implementation or two, it'll take a bit before it can be become a draft standard.

But even aside from that, I think we'll need to keep OpenGL/WebGL around for low-end devices for a while anyway.

[Starkium]

Don't we need it for webXR development though?

Yes, for the near future we need WebGL for WebXR. There is a proposal for supporting WebGPU in WebXR, but as far as I know, no browsers have implemented it yet. Once there's an implementation or two, it'll take a bit before it can be become a draft standard.

But even aside from that, I think we'll need to keep OpenGL/WebGL around for low-end devices for a while anyway.

Chrome has. I know that playcanvas is supporting it already too.
https://developer.chrome.com/blog/webgpu-release/

[dsnopek]

Chrome has. I know that playcanvas is supporting it already too.
https://developer.chrome.com/blog/webgpu-release/

Are you saying Chrome supports WebXR on WebGPU? Do you have any references about that? The link above is just about WebGPU. Anyway, if true, I'd love to try demos of WebXR on WebGPU with Chrome. :-)