KOHALA
You have unused hardware.
We have the software to harness it.
KXR 4.0.
Kohala Xtreme Resolution.
A Vulkan-native super-resolution module for Kohala, continuing the FSR upscaling lineage. Delivered as a layer module. No game integration, no driver patch, no SDK to link against.
KXR runs on Kohala's existing SPIR-V fingerprinting. The same hash pipeline that identifies upscaler passes today is what KXR substitutes against. No game integration required.
The 4.0 marks Kohala's position in the FSR upscaling generation lineage. KXR is the Vulkan-native iteration, re-implemented from the layer down rather than integrated per-engine.
Runs on the standard Vulkan 1.3 compute path. No proprietary silicon required, no vendor SDK. AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, anything that speaks Vulkan.
Delivered as a Kohala module. If the layer is installed, KXR is available. No separate installer, no extra package.
See Everything.
Control Everything.
From Inside the Game.
Most PCs today have more than one Processing Unit, whether it be a dedicated card, an integrated chip inside the processor, an NPU, or a connected eGPU. In most cases, only one or two of them is ever doing any work, the rest sits idle while your primary hardware runs without headroom.
Kohala is a Vulkan implicit layer that intercepts the graphics pipeline and gives you real-time control over how your games render, with an in-game overlay for settings, performance monitoring, shader fingerprinting, and bug logging — without a game, application, or driver needing to know it's happening.
It's not a game mod. It's not a driver trick. It's not a hack. It's a real, standards-compliant Vulkan layer built on the official extension points Khronos designed for exactly this purpose. It loads automatically for every Vulkan application on your system.
The long-term target is intelligent multi-GPU orchestration — distributing work across every GPU in your system. The overlay and shader pipeline ship now. The orchestrator is next.
Auto-loads for every Vulkan application. No opt-in required from games or developers.
Change game settings, monitor FPS and performance counters, log bugs — all from inside the running application.
Games don't know. Drivers don't care. It happens entirely in the layer.
Fingerprints shader passes using SPIR-V content. Works for FSR out of the box.
The Layer Is Live.
Here's What It Does Today.
Kohala installs as a Vulkan implicit layer. It loads transparently for every Vulkan application on your system. No game integration required. No driver modifications. These features work right now.
Change game settings directly from the Kohala overlay without leaving the application. Adjust rendering parameters, toggle features, and configure the layer — all in real time while the game is running.
Live framerate display, GPU utilization, frame timing graphs, and performance metrics rendered directly in the overlay. Know exactly what your hardware is doing at all times.
Fingerprints shader passes using SPIR-V content. Works for FSR out of the box. The foundation for transparent shader interception and upgrade.
Log rendering issues, layer behavior anomalies, and application interactions directly from the overlay. Structured output for diagnostics and community bug reporting.
What's Next.
Already In Progress.
The architecture supports all of this. These features are in active development and will ship as updates to the existing layer.
A launchable console-style interface. Pick a game, configure settings, and launch — all from the couch with controller support. Steam Big Picture energy, Kohala native.
Intelligent work distribution across every processing unit in your system. The core multi-GPU rendering modes — SFR, AFR, Async Offload — plus NPU and CPU compute scheduling.
Deeper diagnostic capabilities. Frame-level pipeline inspection, PCIe bandwidth monitoring, thermal tracking, and per-module performance isolation.
Intercept and upgrade FSR shader pipelines transparently across any game. The hashes are identified — the injection pipeline is next.
“If a module is missing or broken,
the system continues without it.
Every module can be replaced
or disabled in complete isolation
without cascading failures.”
Everything in Kohala is a module. The orchestrator. The upscalers. The machine learning tiers. The synchronization engine. Nothing knows another module's internals. Nothing depends on anything it shouldn't. This means contributors can pick up a single piece of the project and understand it completely without reading the rest of the codebase.
If it's not possible to hand someone a module and have them understand it fully on its own, the architecture is wrong, and it gets corrected.
Open Foundation.
Professional Toolkit.
Studio Pipeline.
Three tiers on the same interface contract. Community is the product. Professional is the toolkit. Studio is the pipeline integration.
A real, auditable foundation. No artificial gaps. No punishment for using the open edition. The full Vulkan layer with a clean, simple interface. Install and forget.
- In-game settings overlay — change game settings without leaving the application
- FPS & performance counters — live framerate, GPU utilization, frame timing
- Bug logging — report rendering issues directly from the overlay
- Simplified control interface — classic UX, install and forget
- Complete module interface spec — build and contribute your own modules
- Windows + Linux — both platforms, both installers
The hood is open. Everything in Community plus advanced pipeline controls, installer diagnostics, and the tools to extend the layer yourself.
- Everything in Community — plus granular pipeline controls
- Installer diagnostics — debug mode for troubleshooting layer issues
- Feature extension API — extend the featureset with custom modules
- Shader hash export — save and inspect SPIR-V fingerprints
- Advanced performance counters — per-module timing breakdowns
- Coming soon: Trained orchestration, FSR injection, NPU dispatch, per-title profiles
For game studios and engine developers. Submit shader fingerprints directly to the Kohala Fingerprint Database. Your titles work with Kohala on day one.
- Shader hash submission pipeline — fingerprint your shaders for instant recognition
- Fingerprint Database access — submit and query structural hashes via API
- Contribution-back clause — approved hashes benefit the entire ecosystem
- Signed commercial contract — GDPR-compliant data handling
- Priority integration support — direct line to the Kohala engineering team
- Custom profile development — title-specific behavioral tuning