Issue

When creating a Vulkan instance with zero enable layers, Vulkan loader warns about GalaxyOverlayVkLayer’s name not conforming to naming standard (Policy #LLP_LAYER_3).

Reason

Implicit layers are loaded by the Vulkan loader without application intervention, based on system-wide configuration. On Windows, implicit layers are registered in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Khronos\Vulkan\ImplicitLayers, where the loader reads manifest files to identify and load them. The loader searches for these files in default directories or paths specified by environment variables like VK_LAYER_PATH. Each manifest file contains metadata, including the layer name, type (GLOBAL or INSTANCE), and whether it is implicit, along with optional enable and disable environment variables.

References:

Fix?

Added an environment variable to disable GalaxyOverlayVkLayer.

add_custom_target(DisableVulkanLayers
    COMMAND VK_LOADER_LAYERS_DISABLE=GalaxyOverlayVkLayer* $<TARGET_FILE:MyApp>
    DEPENDS MyApp
)

But this is not enough. Vulkan will report the same warning.

Reason

The Vulkan loader scans all layer manifest files (JSON files) from system directories and registry keys, like HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Khronos\Vulkan\ImplicitLayers, and checks their names against the standard (e.g., VK_LAYER_<author>_<name>). Since “GalaxyOverlayVkLayer” doesn’t conform, it issues a warning. The VK_LOADER_LAYERS_DISABLE environment variable disables the layer for use, but it doesn’t stop the initial name check, so the warning persists.

The VK_LOADER_LAYERS_DISABLE environment variable is applied after the initial enumeration and name check.

References:

Fix

You have to ultimately ignore the message in the debug callbacks.

void FilterMessages(bool& bInoutBreak, bool& bInoutPrintMessage, const char* message)
{
    if (bInoutBreak == true || bInoutPrintMessage == true)
    {
        if (strstr(message, "#LLP_LAYER_3") != nullptr)
        {
            if (strstr(message, "GalaxyOverlayVkLayer") != nullptr)
            {
                bInoutPrintMessage = false;
                bInoutBreak = false;
            }
        }
    }
}