Hard Light Productions Forums

General FreeSpace => FreeSpace & FreeSpace Open Support => Topic started by: hewhowalks on August 29, 2014, 07:45:02 pm

Title: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: hewhowalks on August 29, 2014, 07:45:02 pm
I'm running FSO on a Win 8 laptop. After using tips from this forum I downloaded the wxlauncher at it appears to work well.

The only issue I'm having is the graphics have a constant flutter. Wide horizontal bands across my screen run down the screen. It's especially bad in game play, but also noticeable on the flight deck.

When I launch the game in a window, I do not have the problem.

I prefer running 1366x768 32 bit Trilinear, but I've changed all these setting around. The only thing that seems to affect it is launching it in a window, but I don't want to play that way.

Any help is appreciated. Please let me know if I need to add any more computer specs or a debug log.
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: hewhowalks on August 29, 2014, 08:28:56 pm
Not sure if it matters, but I'm running FS2 Open 3.7.2 (RC4) and all the mods turned off. Iv'e tried other combinations with not much luck.

I've noticed 3.7.3 (Win9) also fixes the problem, but then the game only takes up about three fourths the width of the screen (regardless of resolution changes), which is the same problem as running it in a window.
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: DahBlount on August 29, 2014, 08:37:35 pm
Please post your fs2_open.log file.  Instructions on how to do this can be found in this post.

Also, does your computer use an Intel HD Graphics series iGPU instead of an actual GPU?
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: hewhowalks on August 29, 2014, 08:53:15 pm
Attached is the log file. I do have an integrated GPU if that's what you mean. All I can find about the chipset details is "Intel HD family".

[attachment kidnapped by pirates]
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: DahBlount on August 29, 2014, 10:42:02 pm
A few things:
1. You're using an Intel HD Graphics basic iGPU. This is known for its extremely low graphics power and you will need to add -no_glsl to your command line.
2. Turn off window and set your res to 1366x768.
3. This could be a stretch but add -disable_pbo to your command line to see if that fixes the bands. Lower to 16-bit color depth as well.
4. It might be worth copying your game from the Steam directory to C:\\Games\Freespace2. This isn't a requirement but it will make future debugging easier.

There may be a new driver for the Intel HD Graphics as well, so it would definitely be worth updating if possible.

Let me know if the problems persist.
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: hewhowalks on August 29, 2014, 11:20:43 pm
I started following your instructions from least invasive to most. I updated the video card drivers and that appeared to fix everything.

I will definitely move my folder to C:\\Games\  that will make it easier for me too.

Thanks for the assistance.
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: DahBlount on August 29, 2014, 11:30:23 pm
Could you get me another debug log? It would be very useful in helping me determine OpenGL capabilities of Intel cards. (http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php?topic=87680.0)
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: hewhowalks on August 30, 2014, 10:50:51 am
Here's the new debug log. The graphics are working great even with a lot of the enhanced graphics and HUD options in advanced setting turned on. I've played for a couple hours with no issues.

I'm having a new problem where I get an error message at the mission load progress bar. The debug log reapeats "VALIDATE INFO-LOG:<EMPTY>" a lot. I had to delete out this message a few hundred times to get it to fit as an attachment on this forum. I'll also attach the message pop up in the following post.

All help is appreciated.

[attachment kidnapped by pirates]
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: hewhowalks on August 30, 2014, 10:52:00 am
attached is the error pop up

[attachment kidnapped by pirates]
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: DahBlount on August 30, 2014, 10:55:40 am
Are you playing in a debug build all the time? Those pop-ups typically don't mean much as FSO handles the problems very "gracefully". If you click "No" you can continue to play the game and it will just ignore the warning.

Also, the TAG-C should be player allowed iirc, so there should be no reason to get that particular debug spew.
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: AdmiralRalwood on August 30, 2014, 11:49:00 am
The only part of the code that prints a "VALIDATE INFO-LOG" message means you're encountering OpenGL errors in the shader code, as far as I can tell. You may want to add -no_glsl to your commandline, as DahBlount advised you above.

Also, the TAG-C should be player allowed iirc, so there should be no reason to get that particular debug spew.
The retail table entry for the TAG-C does not contain any flags, so it lacks "player allowed".
Title: Re: Graphics issues in Win8
Post by: hewhowalks on August 30, 2014, 11:00:13 pm
No I'm not typically running the game in debug mode, just for running debug logs. I click No on each popup and it goes right back to the game, so no big deal.

I added the -no_glsl to the command line. I haven't had the same pop up so far (about 30 min of play). I think I'm finally zeroing in on getting the basic game up and running!