Visual glitches and bugs

[Charlie_Zane 963]

It's been a while since I've discovered this problem with my game, several attempts at fixing it have just made things worse. 

 

I installed the launcher from the STEX and at first the load time of my game reduced to 5 minutes, but now it takes anywhere between 30 mins to and hour, and then another hour to load a single developed city tile, and once that loads it looks like this (as well as being extremely laggy):

 

Any ideas? 

 

I've got simcity Deluxe through steam, so all game updates are included.

 

Processor: Intel® Core i5-4200U CPU @ 1.60GHz 2.60GHz

RAM: 4gb

System Type: 64 bit

Graphics Memory: 1792 MB

Intel® HD Graphics 4400

750gb hard drive, 267 gb free

 

 

[NCGAIO 562]

This seems to be the well-known problem SC4 for users GPU's intel on DX10,11 whose definitive solution has not yet appeared.

 

temporarily can use the "Software"  rendering option located in the Graphics Options panel in the game or put the command line

 

-d: opengl to run the game on OpenGL (better if it's window mode)

 

More on PM I'll send in an instant

[Prophet42 1,503]

City_Master

 

I recently bought a new laptop and had the same graphical issues when I ran SC4.  I also have the same exact graphic card that you have.  I tried several suggested solutions to no avail.  The only thing that worked for me was using the -d:OpenGL switch in the command line.  This allowed the game to run with no graphics glitches in hardware render mode.

 

I did try running the game in software render mode, but there have been some reports that if you have any lots or MMPs that use HD graphics, it will cause the game to crash.  I did not experience this but to be safe I used the -d:OpenGL command line switch.

 

Here is my command line for your reference:   -CPUCount:1 -CustomResolution:enabled -r1600x900x32 -d:OpenGL

 

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Long loading times could also be a symptom of a large plugin suite that is unpacked.  You might take a look at the DATpacker utility if you have not already done so.

[Charlie_Zane 963]

Thanks for all the suggestions, ran the DATpacker and load time, glitches and lag has all reduced significantly. Although putting those code in the command line through Steam is difficult, and has so far resulted in setting the game to full-screen mode or a window too small to see anything in it (no matter the size I set it too). I'm assuming this would be fixed through uninstalling the launcher? 

[NCGAIO 562]

Thanks for all the suggestions, ran the DATpacker and load time, glitches and lag has all reduced significantly. 

 

The graphics errors have decreased after compression ?

[Charlie_Zane 963]

They're still there, but significantly less disturbing. Gameplay is still only long enough to take a few pictures and then they get out of control again. 

[Indiana Joe 1,752]

You might have no choice but to go to software rendering.  Unfortunately SC4 just doesn't mix with Intel's latest integrated graphics.  If you find some kind of solution there are many people who would be happy to know; good luck!

[Prophet42 1,503]

You might have no choice but to go to software rendering.  Unfortunately SC4 just doesn't mix with Intel's latest integrated graphics.  If you find some kind of solution there are many people who would be happy to know; good luck!

As I stated before, I have an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400 card which caused severe graphics issues with SC4.  Using the command line switch -d:OpenGL solved all my issues.  I can run SC4 in Hardware render mode with no issues.

[Indiana Joe 1,752]

 

You might have no choice but to go to software rendering.  Unfortunately SC4 just doesn't mix with Intel's latest integrated graphics.  If you find some kind of solution there are many people who would be happy to know; good luck!

As I stated before, I have an integrated Intel HD Graphics 4400 card which caused severe graphics issues with SC4.  Using the command line switch -d:OpenGL solved all my issues.  I can run SC4 in Hardware render mode with no issues.

 

 

Game has never worked in OpenGL mode for me.  Depends on the computer I guess.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

OpenGL never used to work, but when I tried it recently it did work, so I suppose the coding has finally been recognized by the various GPUs.  However, it doesn't seem to recognize HD textures and displays them strangely.  At least it doesn't crash.  I have an unsupported by AMD, AMD RS780 card which is using the default Linux driver.

[Prophet42 1,503]

OpenGL never used to work, but when I tried it recently it did work, so I suppose the coding has finally been recognized by the various GPUs.  However, it doesn't seem to recognize HD textures and displays them strangely.  At least it doesn't crash.  I have an unsupported by AMD, AMD RS780 card which is using the default Linux driver.

I have BATs and MMPs that use HD textures and they seem to display just fine using OpenGL.  I guess it does depend on the card and driver.  Like I said, I have no graphics issues using OpenGL

[NCGAIO 562]

I have BATs and MMPs that use HD textures and they seem to display just fine using OpenGL.  I guess it does depend on the card and driver.  Like I said, I have no graphics issues using OpenGL

exactly

Soon we will have a topic to explain what happened and discuss solutions for this problem.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

No question about that.  The driver I am using is a release candidate (Gallium 0.4) which was supplied by Linux when AMD refused to support the current version of the Linux kernel with my RS780 Chip Set.  It mostly works well, but there are some glitches with openGL.  Fortunately, the DX3D section of wine handles this better and mostly is OK except when the image has partial transparency: e.g. when placing FLUP pieces.  Sometimes for this task, I revert to software rendering which works fine for this, but won't render HD textures.

 

BTW, I don't crash with HD textures in software rendering.  They just look strange.  This must be a feature of Windows to just give up and send a SIG-HUP to the program.

 

One must note that OpenGL is the default graphics handler for nearly everything in Linux.

[Charlie_Zane 963]

 

Here is my command line for your reference:   -CPUCount:1 -CustomResolution:enabled -r1600x900x32 -d:OpenGL

 

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

This command line works perfectly, just now the game wont run in windowed mode (even with the command line '-w' added), any ideas? 

I think it may be individual city tiles that are corrupted that cause the visual glitches, I ran several different cities that were either glitched or not, and it seems to be the ones that are older that are corrupted. 

 

Thank you guys so much for all your help, has been very useful!

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Well, it is not surprising that windowed mode has failed.  The game really wants full screen, and the windowed mode adds a layer of overhead.  Besides, even with my large monitor at 1080p, I prefer full screen simply because it is easier to see and work with.  Remember, switching away from the game (taking away focus) during a save is the surest way to corrupt a city.  You can live for a while without checking your mail or running social sites.

 

Oh, I do have one small advantage using Ubuntu's desktop.  I have four desktops, and can switch between them with a key stroke.  Very handy if I want to instrument something.

[NCGAIO 562]

This command line works perfectly, just now the game wont run in windowed mode (even with the command line '-w' added), any ideas?

The window mode option " -w " should be the first option comanado line.

If you want to collaborate please make a search on the game installation folder for the file ".... config-log.txt" Make a zip and attach in post that containing the following.

Equipment - make / model - (Desktop - Portable)

If OEM. then describe.

Operating System - Version

Virtual Memory - Size enabled

Mother Board - make / model

Processor - make / model

Installed memory - Size / type / Nº sticks

Graphics devices - make / model - Integrated / graphical board

thanks

[Charlie_Zane 963]

I guess I could live without window mode, although it did make it much easier to search for buildings to use and then plop them in-game, other than that everything seems to be all good now. 

 

Here is my command line for your reference:   -CPUCount:1 -CustomResolution:enabled -r1600x900x32 -d:OpenGL

This command line has worked quite well, so if anyone has any issues with sim city 4 like I did in the image above, I suggest using this command line. (If you purchased the game through steam, right click it in your library and click properties and then set launch options. 

 

Thank you all for your help! 

[rsc204 21,866]

  Like I said, I have no graphics issues using OpenGL

 

I'd be interested to know what driver revision you are using from Intel... I have a 4600 but they use very similar drivers, it works but the graphic corruption makes it unplayable for me. Personally I bypassed the problem with a new Nvidia card, I'd still like to know about any fix though.

[Compdude787 916]

I'd be interested to know what driver revision you are using from Intel...

 

I'm using version 8.15.10.2712 (Released 3/27/2012, but no longer available on Intel's website). At some point, I might see if any newer versions still work, considering that that one is not available on Intel's website.

[NCGAIO 562]

This is not just a problem with updating drivers, but also with the updates of Windows (Windows 7 included) that, depending on the Windows Update configuration some computers have received and installed and others  not 

.

Explanations soon.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

Just a quick note.  When I was still a windows user, I had automatic updates turned off.  I only took updates if I needed them.

[rsc204 21,866]

I'm using version 8.15.10.2712 (Released 3/27/2012, but no longer available on Intel's website). At some point, I might see if any newer versions still work, considering that that one is not available on Intel's website.

 

Sorry I think it might have been you that gave me that information before... I guess the 4440 has been around longer than the 4600, I built my Haswell at launch in Sep 2013, so there may not be any drivers much before that that support it (4600 was new with Haswell refresh). I remember spending a lot of time trying to find old Intel drivers, they do not make it easy and I was never able to make the 4600 work.

 

 

This is not just a problem with updating drivers, but also with the updates of Windows (Windows 7 included) that, depending on the Windows Update configuration some computers have received and installed and others  not

 

But this does not really fit with my personal experience, with the Intel, SC4 had too many graphic problems such as those described by others here, I also had a CTD problem I could not solve running Doom 3. With those exceptions it generally worked with older games and no problems with newer stuff.

 

Realising I couldn't use HD mods with the Intel chip, I quickly dug out my old Radeon 3870 and installed it, solving all my problems. The board was pretty old and after a month or two the fan died so I replaced it with an Nvidia GTX 750ti, which also works great. If the problem originated with an update for Windows, then based on my experience running the Intel graphics that would conclude I had this update installed. So why therefore is it running on the other two boards problem-free?

 

I think there is a really mixture of problems coming relating to modern PC's and running SC4 well, problems with Win 8/8.1, Newer versions of Direct X and WDDM drivers all seem to be affecting players in one way or another. One thing I am sure of (until someone can prove otherwise) SC4 can not run hardware rendering properly with Intel HD4600 chips and Win 7. Since we know some Intel drivers in the past worked OK, that suggests to me changes in the drivers have made them less compatible. The latest 4600 drivers are the same as the 4400 and other Intel graphics chips and users of the 4400 with newer drivers have reported the same problems I get with the 4600. In all likelihood that screams driver compatibility to me.

[Compdude787 916]

 

I'm using version 8.15.10.2712 (Released 3/27/2012, but no longer available on Intel's website). At some point, I might see if any newer versions still work, considering that that one is not available on Intel's website.

 

Sorry I think it might have been you that gave me that information before... I guess the 4440 has been around longer than the 4600, I built my Haswell at launch in Sep 2013, so there may not be any drivers much before that that support it (4600 was new with Haswell refresh). I remember spending a lot of time trying to find old Intel drivers, they do not make it easy and I was never able to make the 4600 work.

Oh, my version of the Intel integrated graphics chip is the 4000, just to be clear. And your response to NCGAIO's post is spot-on; I really don't think it has to do anything with Windoze Update. I think it has to do with changes Intel made to their drivers to ensure support for Windows 8.1's updates to WDDM. Since they release the exact same driver for multiple versions of Windows, this can affect people on older versions of Windows as well.

 

In fact, I am absolutely sure that Windoze Update doesn't do any driver updates; otherwise my brother would have never needed to download updated drivers for our main computer downstairs that we built in 2009.

[rsc204 21,866]

Well I've been building/fixing computers and running games since the days of boot disks for making individual games work. I bet 170€ (I didn't need to spend that much, obviously) on my Nvidia card that the problem couldn't be solved, the crazy thing is that I actually really like the Intel graphics, it was a genuine surprise to see how far integrated graphics have come in just a few years and my PC was totally silent to boot. I never wanted to install anything else and would remove the Nvidia tomorrow if I could make it work. Don't lose that old Intel Driver you have, I suspect finding it again would be problematic.

 

The solution for PC owners to this problem is easy, buy a cheap graphics board for 40€ to get around the Intel chip, but all the people who buy laptops without an add on graphics module are essentially buggered. On the flipside, as is common to make things work better with newer games and systems often there is a price, compatibility is usually that price. There is nothing wrong with what Intel are doing, we must remember that SC4 players in the grand scheme of millions of computers sold around the world is very much a minority in terms of it's needs.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

No matter how you look at it, a living program more than 10 years old that is still dynamic and being heavily used by custom content providers is really a rara avis.  The engineering, both hardware and software, tends to leave them in the dust of history simply because newer engineers/programmers don't know what the needs are and these needs are not in the specifications. 

 

There is a drive to make cheaper and cheaper systems, so expect graphic capabilities to be aimed at the mother my dog set and not at the technically oriented gamer.  If they drop some features that "nobody uses any more" you can expect things to only go from bad to worse.

 

My many, many years of watching computers go from rooms full of gear to tablets and smart phones indicates that what we predicted in the 1960s has come true.  The biggest unit on a computer these days is the printer, and the computer is often a small box attached to the back of it.  In the early days, the printer might have had mercury delay-lines for buffers, synchronized hammer modules and a rotating type-drum complete with balanced vacuum tube sets to fire the hammers.  Now you've either got a matrix ink-jet capable of at least 1200 dpi colour or a laser system.  In my fifty+ years in this game, it has undergone several hardware and software innovative convulsions.

 

When things began, there were no computer graphics of any kind except what you could work out on a line printer.  Then came the big flatbed plotters used in aircraft factories, and so on to now when you can get all that graphics power on a single chip set.  I'm not surprised that some of it is being cheapened to satisfy the Mom and Pop market who only want to do e-mail and social networking with a few embedded photographs.

 

If using DX3D fails, sometimes it is worth a try with OpenGL.  Many GPUs accept OpenGL commands directly.

[NCGAIO 562]

This is not just a problem with updating drivers, but also with the updates of Windows (Windows 7 included) that, depending on the Windows Update configuration some computers have received and installed and others  not

 

But this does not really fit with my personal experience,....

This has nothing to do with personal experience but with technical knowledge and I am available to discuss the matter in any other place that you would like since this is a long subject and massively tedious to develop here.

 

I think there is a really mixture of problems coming relating to modern PC's and running SC4 well, problems with Win 8/8.1, Newer versions of Direct X and WDDM drivers all seem to be affecting players in one way or another.. In all likelihood that screams driver compatibility to me.

 

This may be the difference between our opinions because while you think it's some thing related, I can assure that I know exactly about what I am writing.

Instead of repeating what I have already said before on several occasions that such say what are the changes in specifications for WDDM drivers affecting legacy software or exactly what these DX changes mentioned?

Friend ... I can assure you that you is not quoting someone with just the experience of those who assembles machines and solves problems with software that does not run on the basis of the network tips.

But if want to collaborate participating in the project that intends to provide general solutions to the problems that the game will face in the new OS versions and make your installation easier you would be very welcome.

 

Just a quick note.  When I was still a windows user, I had automatic updates turned off.  I only took updates if I needed them.

An optimal choice.

Many users of portables would not have gone through the situation to see their equipment simply can no longer charge the system if they had done the same thing.

[A Nonny Moose 8,262]

 

<snip>

 

Just a quick note.  When I was still a windows user, I had automatic updates turned off.  I only took updates if I needed them.

An optimal choice.

Many users of portables would not have gone through the situation to see their equipment simply can no longer charge the system if they had done the same thing.

 

The basic problem with most operating system distributions is that the distributors think they have the right to update your set up without notice.  This is false.  The machine belongs to the end user, and the system must be for the end user.  Auto-updating should default to off.  (As a matter of interest, there is an update hanging fire on my machine at the moment.  We'll see what it is.)

 

[Later:  It is a fix (security) for the X-server system (desktops and all that) and a update to Adobe Flash.  I accepted them.]

[rsc204 21,866]

This has nothing to do with personal experience but with technical knowledge and I am available to discuss the matter in any other place that you would like since this is a long subject and massively tedious to develop here.

Well, I was referring specifically to my experience with the problem at hand which does not necessarily reflect that of others nor indicate my level of knowledge on the subject matter. However, I have a lot of personal/career experience that means I have the technical knowledge too as a matter of fact, although that really wasn't my point.

 

This may be the difference between our opinions because while you think it's some thing related, I can assure that I know exactly about what I am writing.

But if want to collaborate participating in the project that intends to provide general solutions to the problems that the game will face in the new OS versions and make your installation easier you would be very welcome.

See this is where I fear I might be misinterpreting you because that statement would seem to assume I know nothing about the subject matter. However since one of the first things I learned fixing computers was to never use definitives I would use the phrase "I think" rather than "it is" because I simply know better than to assume there are no other possibilities.

If your hypothesis centers around a Windows update being the problem, then the experience I outlined in my previous post contradicts your theory, assuming I have the update you think is at fault. On the other side if I don't have the update, that would also contradict your theory. I'm not trying to win points by stating this, I am trying to help by providing additional data as I too would like to see these problems overcome. With that in mind feel free to PM me if there is any data I can provide you with to assist tracking down the problem.

[NCGAIO 562]

Dear professorial fellow

 

As I said before I am always available anywhere else to explain in detail what is inaccurate in his remarks.

 

With respect to legacy software problems with updates to Windows-7/8 / 8.1 they are all widely known and you can learn more by searching the network.

 

Here these issues for me is closed.

 

Let us return the requested help