Graphics Issue?

[Josh.Nunez 2]

Hi y'all

I haven't played in a while and I am trying to get this game working again on a new PC and this is the issue I keep coming across.

Takes a long time to render.  I have a RTX 2080 Super and I have worked out all the settings in steam and on my pc so that the game is using the GPU and the CPU.

What do you guys think is the problem?

Thanks.

 

[rsc204 21,814]

6 hours ago, Josh.Nunez said:

I have worked out all the settings in steam and on my pc so that the game is using the GPU and the CPU.

Have you actually verified this by checking the config-log file in the Apps folder of your sc4 install? It would be useful if you could copy the contents of this file and paste it into a follow up post. Clearly there is a graphics issue here so the first step is seeing how things are configured so we can work out the specifics of the problem. 

[Josh.Nunez 2]

20 hours ago, rsc204 said:

Have you actually verified this by checking the config-log file in the Apps folder of your sc4 install? It would be useful if you could copy the contents of this file and paste it into a follow up post. Clearly there is a graphics issue here so the first step is seeing how things are configured so we can work out the specifics of the problem. 

userName = chond
appName = SimCity 4
version = 1.1.641.0
osVersion = Windows NT 6.2
computerName = JOSH
CPU = GenuineIntel
sglDriverName = Software
sglDriverVersion = 1.0
driverName = igdumdim32.dll
driverVersion = 0.0.0.0, GUID: D7B78E66-D885-11CF-F373-94A6AAC2CD35
cardName = Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630
cardVersion = Vendor: 8086, Device: 9bc5, Board: 86941043, Chipset: 0005
cardIdentity = Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630
soundDriverName = 
soundCardName = Primary Sound Driver
buildType = Release
 

I see the problem... The game is still using the Intel GPU instead of the RTX. How do I change that? 

[Cyclone Boom 16,921]

17 minutes ago, Josh.Nunez said:

I see the problem... The game is still using the Intel GPU instead of the RTX. How do I change that?

It might be worth enabling Hardware rendering. This can be done in the game's Graphics Options by toggling the preference over.

Like so:

(Just remember to hit the Accept button to save.)

Alternatively another way is to add -d:DirectX as a command line parameter. (See here for a list of those the game supports.)

Try then running the game again and see whether your dedicated GPU is listed in the updated config log file. If not there are steps as this topic covers for helping SC4 recognise a dedicated graphics card. That might be what's needed, but doing so may not be absolutely necessary depending on one's system.

[rsc204 21,814]

2 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

Try then running the game again and see whether your dedicated GPU is listed in the updated config log file.

This can't be affected by changing the rendering mode, so you can be pretty sure the Intel one would still be in use.

But indeed you have two problems here, running Software Rendering and the use of the Intel GPU. Depending on how your system is designed, you either need to force SC4 to use the Nvidia card, which is configurable in NVidia Control Panel or via an option when right-clicking the SC4 shortcut. However, for some time certain NVidia-based dual GPU systems will never invoke your dedicated GPU for any games using older versions of DirectX, like SC4. SC4 wasn't made in the era of dual GPUs and there is no way to tell it to use another one, it will use whichever GPU the system (Windows) presents it with. Thankfully, you can get around this by using dgVoodoo2, a DirectX Wrapper, there you can configure which GPU to use on a game-by-game basis, a step-by-step guide to setting that up is here.

One more thing, you've only posted the most pertinent info from the config log, but once you've verified the NVidia card and DirectX rendering are working, you should check for a line "Applying Fast Card", if that's present the game should run as well as possible. If that's missing, you might need to do some tweaking, but NVidia cards are typically correctly auto-detected, so I suspect you'll be fine there.

[Josh.Nunez 2]

11 hours ago, Cyclone Boom said:

It might be worth enabling Hardware rendering. This can be done in the game's Graphics Options by toggling the preference over.

Like so:

(Just remember to hit the Accept button to save.)

Alternatively another way is to add -d:DirectX as a command line parameter. (See here for a list of those the game supports.)

Try then running the game again and see whether your dedicated GPU is listed in the updated config log file. If not there are steps as this topic covers for helping SC4 recognise a dedicated graphics card. That might be what's needed, but doing so may not be absolutely necessary depending on one's system.

I changed the renderer to hardware and now the game will not start at all.  

[Josh.Nunez 2]

11 hours ago, rsc204 said:

This can't be affected by changing the rendering mode, so you can be pretty sure the Intel one would still be in use.

But indeed you have two problems here, running Software Rendering and the use of the Intel GPU. Depending on how your system is designed, you either need to force SC4 to use the Nvidia card, which is configurable in NVidia Control Panel or via an option when right-clicking the SC4 shortcut. However, for some time certain NVidia-based dual GPU systems will never invoke your dedicated GPU for any games using older versions of DirectX, like SC4. SC4 wasn't made in the era of dual GPUs and there is no way to tell it to use another one, it will use whichever GPU the system (Windows) presents it with. Thankfully, you can get around this by using dgVoodoo2, a DirectX Wrapper, there you can configure which GPU to use on a game-by-game basis, a step-by-step guide to setting that up is here.

One more thing, you've only posted the most pertinent info from the config log, but once you've verified the NVidia card and DirectX rendering are working, you should check for a line "Applying Fast Card", if that's present the game should run as well as possible. If that's missing, you might need to do some tweaking, but NVidia cards are typically correctly auto-detected, so I suspect you'll be fine there.

I did all this and it seems to be working. I changed the resolution on the steam launch to 1920x1080 and it doesnt have that render issue anymore. And the log shows this now: 

 

userName = chond
appName = SimCity 4
version = 1.1.641.0
osVersion = Windows NT 6.2
computerName = JOSH
CPU = GenuineIntel
sglDriverName = Software
sglDriverVersion = 1.0
driverName = DISPLAY CDD
driverVersion = Product: 1025, Version: 1025, SubVersion: 0, Build: 0
cardName = 
cardVersion = DISPLAY CDD
cardIdentity = dgVoodoo, DirectX Wrapper
soundDriverName = 
soundCardName = Primary Sound Driver
buildType = Release

 

So it is using the dgVoodo, DirectX Wrapper. The game is still a little buggy but I'll try and see if I can fix those small issues. 

 

Thanks!  

[rsc204 21,814]

Do bear in mind, there is zero benefit to be had from using dgVoodoo2 and running the game under software rendering. dgVoodoo2 is a compatibility layer for DirectX, aside from changing the name of the video card, it’s not presently in use. If you set dgVoodoo2 to run with your NVidia card, the game should start in DirectX (hardware mode). You might need to add -f to the launch command too, which forces full screen mode. What dgVoodoo2 does is take DirectX commands in newer versions, but ‘translates’ them so they interact in a way that works with older versions of DirectX, which SC4 needs to work. This is necessitated when you current GPU/Drivers don’t natively support these legacy DirectX functions, which explains perhaps why it was failing to start, I’m guessing you had yet to set dgVoodoo2 up at that point.

The thing is, the specific working configuration you need might take a bit of trial and error before everything works. But I’ve yet to hear of a case where dgVoodoo2 had failed to run the game in DirectX mode. Of course it’s not impossible, but in my opinion I think it’s worth persisting with trying to make DirectX work. Note the software renderer is generally of poorer visual quality and runs less efficiently because it forces the CPU to also do the job of your GPU as well.