[Lishy]

Hey guys. Somewhat of a weird problem.

Sometimes, especially when I'm flying, textures down below kinda flicker. It's hard to explain. It looks like dancing "shadows" on the texture...

This happens particularly in forest areas, on mountain textures, and the tree branches/leaves (Whatever you call them)

I use the Steam version of GTA downgraded to V1... I'm not sure how much discussion of that is allowed here X_x

However, I went back and tested on a vanilla steam version of GTA SA (Which is technically V3), and I still get flickering textures! Albeit, significantly less, the textures sometimes still flicker.

To be specific, they only flicker if I or the camera moves. So something must be up with how it renders.

And something which may or may not be related but when driving through long roads, the other end of the road would be black... Hard to explain.

Ever hear of these problems? Know how to fix it? My gfx card is a NVIDIA GT540M.

This post has been edited by Lishy on Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 04:36

[Girish]

Could be a driver related issue. Have you updated your video driver recently? If not, then try updating them.

If they're updated, then try rolling back to an older driver version. This is a trial and error method. You'll have to try different versions and check which one suits you the best. San Andreas has had some problems with newer drivers in the past due to it being an old game and since newer drivers are optimized to work with current gen games, they might not work so well with older games. And don't forget to delete the gta_sa.set file from the User Files folder after every update/rollback.

[Lishy]

QUOTE (Girish @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 04:39)

Could be a driver related issue. Have you updated your video driver recently? If not, then try updating them. If they're updated, then try rolling back to an older driver version. This is a trial and error method. You'll have to try different versions and check which one suits you the best. San Andreas has had some problems with newer drivers in the past due to it being an old game and since newer drivers are optimized to work with current gen games, they might not work so well with older games. And don't forget to delete the gta_sa.set file from the User Files folder after every update/rollback.

This is a brand new computer. I couldn't update even if I wanted to

I will try temporarily moving my GTA San Andreas User Files though.

(Great, now I need someone else to post so I don't double post when I update the thread...)

[Girish]

QUOTE (Lishy @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 10:12)

(Great, now I need someone else to post so I don't double post when I update the thread...)

Nope, you just need to use the EDIT button.

And why can't you update even if you wanted to? Your user account has administrative privileges, right?

[Lishy]

QUOTE (Girish @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 04:44)

QUOTE (Lishy @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 10:12) (Great, now I need someone else to post so I don't double post when I update the thread...) Nope, you just need to use the EDIT button. And why can't you update even if you wanted to? Your user account has administrative privileges, right?

But with edit, won't people not know I've updated the thread until they check it?

Anyways, it's up to date. This is literally a brand new laptop!

Here's my status report:

Test 1. Vanilla Steam GTA SA:

Does not occur on objects closeby.

Test 2. Steam GTA SA downgraded (but original files)

rarely

Test 3. With my GTA3.img

It occurs a lot!

Interesting enough, my downgrader provokes it. But modifying gta3.img provokes it even more! (But it still occurs in the original version.)

I'm stumped. But considering it happens in the Steam V3 Version (albeit MUCH rarer), I'm not about to say it's because of a mod. (If anything, the downgrader provoking it might be because of how V1 handles textures differently????)

Once I find a flickering texture, it really looks like the textures are constantly updating, with each step I move, as they do not update if I am still. But they literally dance if I move!

And yes, I deleted the gta_sa.set. So I'm stumped. Help? :|

edit: Worth noting it does not happen AT ALL when graphics quality and draw distance is set to the absolute minimal (NOT medium!) But.. Who the heck wants to play on low if this thing can play TF2 on max!? So WTF is going on? :S

Come to think of it, I didn't notice it till now. I mean, I might have just plain not noticed it, but do you think it has to do with the fact I updated directx? I installed this from microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=35

edit #2: I think it has to do with shadows..Problem is.. What? This is really a pain.. Wish someone had advice :|

edit #3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orcXIA3gnBg

Note the mountains in the back. That is EXACTLY what I'm experiencing, but at close range. I've never noticed it until now, but it seems to be everywhere, from street poles, to trees, to stop lights! Is it any possible updating directx caused this? That was the last thing I did before noticing all this.

This post has been edited by Lishy on Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 09:12

[Girish]

QUOTE (Girish @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 10:09)

If they're updated, then try rolling back to an older driver version. This is a trial and error method. You'll have to try different versions and check which one suits you the best. San Andreas has had some problems with newer drivers in the past due to it being an old game and since newer drivers are optimized to work with current gen games, they might not work so well with older games. And don't forget to delete the gta_sa.set file from the User Files folder after every update/rollback.

^

If it is indeed a video driver issue (which I think it is), you'll have to try some older driver versions. That's how I got rid of my texture pop-in issue.

[Lishy]

So what you saw in the video I linked of Skyrim... The similar glitch I'm having in GTA SA can be fixed through using an older driver? But how?

I've searched the NVIDIA website.. I can't find older drivers for GeForce 540M. Isn't this a new graphic card too?

I did however update and that didn't fix things at all.

I'm positive the problem is its rendering of shadows because it goes away when I set the details to Low (which disables shadows) and I see no change in the texture when I examine up close. Only the shadow. Likewise, using ENB's shadow feature makes it MUCH more noticeable!

But it also makes me scratch my head how the downgraded exe has the glitch for close-range, but not the steam exe! It appears as if the exe alone is causing all this... So is there some sort of running options I can use before launching it?

This post has been edited by Lishy on Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 09:39

[Girish]

Hold on, so you're saying that only the downgraded exe causes this and not the Steam's original exe?

[Lishy]

QUOTE (Girish @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 09:51)

Hold on, so you're saying that only the downgraded exe causes this and not the Steam's original exe?

The Steam exe does it, but only long range. But the downgraded exe does it even in close range!

[Girish]

I really don't know any other way than to try a different driver version. You can find older drivers by searching here.
Don't download the Beta drivers though.

[lil weasel]

QUOTE (Lishy @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 04:59)

[...]Here's my status report: Test 1. Vanilla Steam GTA SA: Does not occur on objects closeby. Test 2. Steam GTA SA downgraded (but original files) rarely Test 3. With my GTA3.img It occurs a lot! Interesting enough, my downgrader provokes it. But modifying gta3.img provokes it even more! (But it still occurs in the original version.) [...] edit: Worth noting it does not happen AT ALL when graphics quality and draw distance is set to the absolute minimal (NOT medium!) But.. Who the heck wants to play on low if this thing can play TF2 on max!? So WTF is going on? :S [...]

Looks to me like you've already solved it.
Just keep a stiff upper lip when you play.
(By the way V3 will always be V3, downgrading is only a tool to acceive an end.)

You did say it isn't playing correctly on Max.

[Lishy]

QUOTE (lil weasel @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 10:08)

Looks to me like you've already solved it. Just keep a stiff upper lip when you play. (By the way V3 will always be V3, downgrading is only a tool to acceive an end.) You did say it isn't playing correctly on Max.

A test today reveals it still happens on low. (Note I've also tested with MULTIPLE v1 exes.. SO it wasn't just the one install I did)

However it also occurs in the steam version.

I could swear this didn't happen until I updated directx.. I don't know what the heck is going on, since it happens on all versions of the game. It makes me nauseous

This is obviously some sort of graphic card problem, but I'm up to date.. I don't see anyone else having this problem, so I wish I had some magic advice Q_Q

This post has been edited by Lishy on Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 20:49

[lil weasel]

what about rolling back to DirectX9?

[Lishy]

Well how would I do that?

[lil weasel]

You could try:
Start > Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Installed Updates.

[Lishy]

QUOTE (lil weasel @ Sunday, Feb 26 2012, 23:18)

You could try: Start > Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > Installed Updates.

Nothing about DirectX in there.

[lil weasel]

then try:
Start and enter either Rollback or Restore in the command line.

[Lishy]

I would like to see what can be done without system restore, personally...

[Lishy]

Bump.

I know the term to describe it now. Apparently it's "Z-fighting".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-fighting