What causes "Unsupported depth format [{format}]" in stride3d/stride?

Use a depth-capable PixelFormat: D16_UNorm, D32_Float, D24_UNorm_S8_UInt, D32_Float_S8X24_UInt, or their typeless forms R16_Typeless, R32_Typeless, R24G8_Typeless, R32G8X24_Typeless.

stride3d/stride · error · NotSupportedException

Unsupported depth format

Error message

Unsupported depth format [{format}]

What it means

Thrown by ComputeDepthViewFormatFromTextureFormat when the texture's pixel format cannot be translated into a DXGI format for a Depth-Stencil View. Only the typeless/depth pairs (R16/D16, R32/D32, R24G8/D24S8, R32G8X24/D32S8X24) are valid; anything else is rejected with NotSupportedException while building the DSV description during texture initialization.

Solutions

Use a depth-capable PixelFormat: D16_UNorm, D32_Float, D24_UNorm_S8_UInt, D32_Float_S8X24_UInt, or their typeless forms R16_Typeless, R32_Typeless, R24G8_Typeless, R32G8X24_Typeless.
Drop the DepthStencil flag from textures that only need ShaderResource/RenderTarget flags.
If reading depth in shaders is needed, sample the typeless depth texture with a shader-resource view created from the matching depth format.

Example fix

// before
Texture.New2D(device, w, h, PixelFormat.R16_Float, TextureFlags.DepthStencil | TextureFlags.ShaderResource);
// after
Texture.New2D(device, w, h, PixelFormat.R32_Typeless, TextureFlags.DepthStencil | TextureFlags.ShaderResource);

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

bool ok = format is PixelFormat.R16_Typeless or PixelFormat.D16_UNorm or PixelFormat.R32_Typeless or PixelFormat.D32_Float
                        or PixelFormat.R24G8_Typeless or PixelFormat.D24_UNorm_S8_UInt or PixelFormat.R32G8X24_Typeless or PixelFormat.D32_Float_S8X24_UInt;

Type guard

static bool HasDepthViewFormat(PixelFormat f) => f is PixelFormat.R16_Typeless or PixelFormat.D16_UNorm or PixelFormat.R32_Typeless or PixelFormat.D32_Float or PixelFormat.R24G8_Typeless or PixelFormat.D24_UNorm_S8_UInt or PixelFormat.R32G8X24_Typeless or PixelFormat.D32_Float_S8X24_UInt;

Try / catch

try { dsvTexture = CreateDepthTarget(device, w, h, format); }
catch (NotSupportedException) { dsvTexture = CreateDepthTarget(device, w, h, PixelFormat.D32_Float); }

Prevention

For shadow maps sample-able in shaders, use R32_Typeless / R24G8_Typeless, not R32_Float / R16_Float.
Validate every TextureFlags.DepthStencil texture against HasDepthViewFormat at startup.
Never repurpose a color render-target texture as a depth target.

When it happens

Trigger: Initializing a D3D11 texture with DepthStencil flags whose Format is a color or non-depth format (e.g. R8_UNorm, R16_Float), so the DSV format lookup in InitializeFromImpl / dsvDescription fails.

Common situations: Reusing a color render-target texture as a depth buffer, configuring a shadow map with a floating-point color format instead of a depth format, or a typo in the PixelFormat enum.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of stride3d/stride@96fad776d2 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cb823892115a125e. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at sources/engine/Stride.Graphics/Direct3D11/Texture.Direct3D11.cs:1077

        /// <summary>
        ///   Given a pixel format, returns the corresponding Silk.NET's depth format.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="format">The pixel format.</param>
        /// <returns>The depth <see cref="Silk.NET.DXGI.Format"/> corresponding to <paramref name="format"/>.</returns>
        /// <exception cref="NotSupportedException">
        ///   The <paramref name="format"/> does not have a corresponding depth format.
        /// </exception>
        internal static Format ComputeDepthViewFormatFromTextureFormat(PixelFormat format)
        {
            var viewFormat = format switch
            {
                PixelFormat.R16_Typeless or PixelFormat.D16_UNorm => Silk.NET.DXGI.Format.FormatD16Unorm,
                PixelFormat.R32_Typeless or PixelFormat.D32_Float => Silk.NET.DXGI.Format.FormatD32Float,
                PixelFormat.R24G8_Typeless or PixelFormat.D24_UNorm_S8_UInt => Silk.NET.DXGI.Format.FormatD24UnormS8Uint,
                PixelFormat.R32G8X24_Typeless or PixelFormat.D32_Float_S8X24_UInt => Silk.NET.DXGI.Format.FormatD32FloatS8X24Uint,

                _ => throw new NotSupportedException($"Unsupported depth format [{format}]")
            };
            return viewFormat;
        }

        /// <summary>
        ///   Returns a native <see cref="Texture3DDesc"/> from the current <see cref="TextureDescription"/>.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>A Silk.NET's <see cref="Texture3DDesc"/> describing the Texture.</returns>
        private Texture3DDesc ConvertToNativeDescription3D()
        {
            var desc = new Texture3DDesc
            {
                Width = (uint) textureDescription.Width,
                Height = (uint) textureDescription.Height,
                Depth = (uint) textureDescription.Depth,
                BindFlags = (uint) GetBindFlagsFromTextureFlags(textureDescription.Flags),
                Format = (Format) textureDescription.Format,
                MipLevels = (uint) textureDescription.MipLevelCount,

View on GitHub (pinned to 96fad776d2)