Serious Sam 3: Flickering grass/tree textures

[ChemBro]

The grass and tree textures are flickering for me in Arch Linux. Having a AMD HD Radeon 6670 and Catalyst 12.11-beta11, though I don't know why the log says I need to update my driver, because there is no newer driver out there.

Sam3.log:

-------- START OF LOG --------

00:29:04 LOG: Core version: $Version: distro_Sam3_PC; SeriousSam3_Executables-Linux-Final; 174383 2012-12-15 17:50:20 @builderl02; Linux-Static-Final-Default$
00:29:04 LOG: Command: $
00:29:04 LOG: Initializing timer.
00:29:04 LOG: Timestamp: 2012/12/16 00:29:04
00:29:04 LOG: Binary name: Sam3
00:29:04 LOG: Binary soft path: Bin/
00:29:04 LOG: Binary hard path: /home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/
00:29:04 LOG: Application directory: /home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/
00:29:04 LOG: * OS...
00:29:04 LOG: Type: Linux
00:29:04 LOG: Kernel: 3.6.10-1-ARCH
00:29:04 LOG: Version: #1 SMP PREEMPT Tue Dec 11 10:19:36 CET 2012
00:29:04 LOG: Architecture: i686
00:29:04 LOG: Output of lsb_release: Distributor ID: arch
00:29:04 LOG: Description: Arch Linux
00:29:04 LOG: Release: rolling
00:29:04 LOG: Codename: n/a
00:29:04 LOG:
00:29:04 LOG: /etc/*-release: LSB_VERSION=1.4
00:29:04 LOG: DISTRIB_ID=arch
00:29:04 LOG: DISTRIB_RELEASE=rolling
00:29:04 LOG: DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Arch Linux"
00:29:04 LOG: NAME="Arch Linux"
00:29:04 LOG: ID=arch
00:29:04 LOG: PRETTY_NAME="Arch Linux"
00:29:04 LOG: ANSI_COLOR="0;36"
00:29:04 LOG: HOME_URL="https://www.archlinux.org/"
00:29:04 LOG: SUPPORT_URL="https://bbs.archlinux.org/"
00:29:04 LOG: BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.archlinux.org/"
00:29:04 LOG:
00:29:04 LOG:
00:29:04 LOG: /etc/debian_version:
00:29:04 LOG: CPU power saving is disabled.
00:29:04 LOG:
00:29:04 LOG: XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP: (null)
00:29:04 LOG: GDMSESSION: (null)
00:29:04 LOG: DESKTOP_SESSION: kde-plasma
00:29:04 LOG: KDE_SESSION_VERSION: 4
00:29:04 LOG:
00:29:04 LOG: * CPU...
00:29:04 LOG: Vendor: AuthenticAMD
00:29:04 LOG: Name: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+
00:29:04 LOG: Type: 0, Family: 15, Model: 11, Stepping: 1
00:29:04 LOG: Clock: 2.51 GHz
00:29:04 LOG: Cores: 2
00:29:04 LOG: CMOV: Yes
00:29:04 LOG: SSE: Yes
00:29:04 LOG:
00:29:04 LOG: * Memory...
00:29:04 LOG: Total physical memory: 2653 MB
00:29:04 LOG: Free physical memory: 558 MB
00:29:04 LOG:
00:29:04 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/ScriptLua.so".
00:29:04 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/GameEnv_Steam.so".
00:29:04 INF: GameEnv API: Steam
00:29:04 INF: Encoded user ID = 17611e05:7065fd90
00:29:04 LOG: Loading cvars from "$/home/christian/Steam/userdata/24218200/41070/local/SeriousSam3.ini".
00:29:04 LOG: Loaded "libX11.so.6".
00:29:04 LOG: Loaded "libXi.so.6".
00:29:04 LOG: Loaded "libXrandr.so.2".
00:29:04 LOG: Display 0: DFP2 (1280x1024)
00:29:04 LOG: Trying to set display mode 1274x720(window)...
00:29:04 INF:
00:29:04 INF: * Desktop settings...
00:29:04 INF: Color depth: 32-bit
00:29:04 INF: Desktop resolution: 1280 x 1024
00:29:04 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/GfxOGL.so".
00:29:04 LOG: Loaded "libGL.so.1".
00:29:07 INF:
00:29:07 INF: Gfx API: OpenGL
00:29:07 INF: Window: 1274 x 720
00:29:07 INF: Vendor: nVidia (0x10DE)
00:29:07 INF: Driver: ATI Technologies Inc. (0x03D6)
00:29:07 INF: Renderer: AMD Radeon HD 6670
00:29:07 INF: Version: 4.2.11995 Compatibility Profile Context
00:29:07 INF: Video memory size: 2048 MB
00:29:07 INF: Available for textures: 1089 MB
00:29:07 INF: Active GPU(s): 1
00:29:07 LOG: Processing file Content/SeriousSam3/Config/CheckDriver.lua
00:29:07 WRN: Display driver is too old, please update it ASAP!
00:29:07 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/SfxOAL.so".
00:29:07 LOG: Loaded "libopenal.so.1".
00:29:07 TRC: EAX is not supported.
00:29:07 INF:
00:29:07 INF: Sfx API: OpenAL
00:29:07 INF: Device: OpenAL Soft
00:29:07 INF: Mixer frequency: 44100 Hz
00:29:07 INF: Mixer voices: 64
00:29:07 INF: Max sound sources: 20
00:29:07 INF: Max total volume: 3
00:29:07 INF: Speaker config: (unknown)
00:29:07 INF: Environment FX: not supported
00:29:07 INF:
00:29:07 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/SeriousSam3_Project.so".
00:29:07 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/All_147686.gro: 835 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/All_02.gro: 5133 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/All_150406.gro: 627 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/All_174383.gro: 95 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/All_170136.gro: 703 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/All_145562.gro: 2565 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/All_01.gro: 6414 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/CachedShaders_PC.gro: 4277 files, signature: OFFICIAL
00:29:08 LOG: Loading translation tables from Content/SeriousSam3/Locales/enu/.
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/Locales/enu/translation.tbl
00:29:08 LOG: Content/SeriousSam3/Locales/enu/translation_All.tbl
00:29:08 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/CodecAudio_Vorbis.so".
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/CodecAudio_Vorbis.module' loaded in '0.00' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/CodecVideo_Null.so".
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/CodecVideo_Null.module' loaded in '0.00' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/Input.so".
00:29:08 LOG: Found gamepad 0 (/dev/input/js0) with 11 buttons and 8 axes.
00:29:08 LOG: Gamepad 0 connected.
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/Input.module' loaded in '0.00' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/Game.so".
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/Game.module' loaded in '0.00' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/ProcRender.so".
00:29:08 LOG: Loaded "/home/christian/Steam/SteamApps/common/Serious Sam 3/Bin/Shaders.so".
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/Shaders.module' loaded in '0.01' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/ProcRender.module' loaded in '0.02' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/Shaders.module' loaded in '0.00' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Skipped assigning to prj_strMultiplayerSessionName because the saved version (0) is different than the current version (2).
00:29:08 LOG: Module 'Bin/SeriousSam3_Project.module' loaded in '0.88' seconds.
00:29:08 LOG: Processing file Content/SeriousSam3/Config/autoexec.cfg
00:29:09 LOG: cvarShowDiffs()
00:29:09 LOG: crm_iRenderDepthPrepass = 1 (2)
00:29:09 LOG: dcl_ctMaxNewTrianglesPerFrame = 1536 (2048)
00:29:09 LOG: dcl_ctMaxTrianglesPerGroup = 2048 (4096)
00:29:09 LOG: efx_fOcclusionBufferScale = 0.8 (0.5)
00:29:09 LOG: efx_iOcclusionQuality = 0 (1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bAllowArmorItems = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bAllowHealthItems = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bAllowJoinInProgress = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bAllowPowerupItems = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bAllowSeriousBombItems = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bAmmoStays = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bArmorStays = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bAutoCycleMaps = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bCustomizedDifficulty = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bExtraMPEnemies = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bFriendlyFire = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bHealthStays = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bInfiniteAmmo = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bPowerupsStay = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bRankedMatch = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bRespawnInPlace = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_bWeaponsStay = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_ctFragsLimit = 20 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_ctGoalsLimit = 10 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_ctMaxPlayers = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_ctMinPlayers = 1 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_ctPrivateSlots = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_ctRoundLimit = 10 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_ctTimeLimit = 10 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_gdDifficulty = 3 (0)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_iExtraEnemyDamagePerPlayer = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_iExtraEnemyStrength = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_iExtraEnemyStrengthPerPlayer = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gam_iInvulnerableAfterSpawning = 0 (-1)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_bFullScreen = 0 (1)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_fGammaCorrection = 1.1029412 (1)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_iAntiAliasingSamples = 1 (4)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_iFXAA = 2 (1)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixLastGoodResHeight = 1024 (480)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixLastGoodResWidth = 1280 (640)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixLastGoodWinHeight = 720 (480)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixLastGoodWinWidth = 1274 (640)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixResHeight = 1024 (0)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixResWidth = 1280 (0)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixWinHeight = 720 (480)
00:29:09 LOG: gfx_pixWinWidth = 1274 (640)
00:29:09 LOG: men_bAllowGlowing = 0 (1)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_bSkippableIntroScene = 1 (0)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_ctMaxCorpsesCoop = 6 (8)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_ctMaxDebrisCoop = 40 (20)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_ctMaxMovingDebris = 40 (50)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_ctMaxMovingDebrisCoop = 15 (20)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_fDebrisScreenSizeRatioCullCoop = 0.02 (0.015)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_iCPUSpeed = 1 (2)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_iGPUMemory = 3 (2)
00:29:09 LOG: prj_strGfxUserInfoDate = "2012-12-15" ("")
00:29:09 LOG: prj_strLastAutoDetectSetup = "gfx_iPixelProgramVersion=30,gfx_ctConcurrentGPUs=1,sys_iGPUVendorID=4318,sys_iCPUFamily=15,sys_iCPUMHz=2511,sys_iGPUDeviceID=982,sys_strCPUVendor=AuthenticAMD,gfx_ulVideoMemoryMB=2048," ("")
00:29:09 LOG: ren_bMirrorFastLights = 0 (1)
00:29:09 LOG: ren_fMax3DRenderingMPix = 1.1 (0)
00:29:09 LOG: ren_iMirrorLevelBias = -1 (0)
00:29:09 LOG: sfx_iMaxActiveSounds = 20 (25)
00:29:09 LOG: sha_iMaxShockwaves = 10 (8)
00:29:09 LOG: sha_iParallaxMappingMethod = 1 (2)
00:29:09 LOG: shb_fNearShadowDistance = 3 (4)
00:29:09 LOG: shb_pixShadowDensity = 48 (16)
00:29:09 LOG: snd_fVoiceCommVolume = 0.7 (1)
00:29:09 LOG: tex_pixMaxSize = 4096 (2048)
00:29:09 LOG: Processing file Content/SeriousSam3/Config/AutoDetect.lua
00:29:09 INF: AutoDetect: Hardware values unchanged, nothing to do.
00:29:11 LOG: Steam workshop sync operation finished in 1.45 seconds.
00:29:36 LOG: Started loading world "Content/SeriousSam3/Levels/Menu/Intro.wld"
00:29:36 LOG: Finished loading world. (process memory: 456 MB)
00:29:36 LOG: Timestamp: 2012/12/16 00:29:36
00:29:36 INF: Started simulation on 'Content/SeriousSam3/Levels/Menu/Intro.wld' in 0.56 seconds.
00:29:36 TRC: 2 sound channels reinitialized.
00:29:36 LOG: Created HDR render-target of 1274x720.
00:29:59 ERR: Failed to precache texture Content/SeriousSam3/Models/Vehicles/FrontLoader02/Textures/Wheel_01_CM.tex; it doesn't exist in memory
00:30:16 LOG: Started loading world "Content/SeriousSam3/Levels/Menu/MenuLevel.wld"
00:30:16 LOG: Finished loading world. (process memory: 456 MB)
00:30:16 LOG: Timestamp: 2012/12/16 00:30:16
00:30:16 INF: Started simulation on 'Content/SeriousSam3/Levels/Menu/MenuLevel.wld' in 0.07 seconds.
00:30:38 LOG: Timestamp: 2012/12/16 00:30:38
00:30:38 LOG: Loading '$/home/christian/Steam/userdata/24218200/41070/local/SeriousSam3/SavedGames/0000000234_QuickSave.sav'.
00:30:38 LOG: resFreeUnusedProxies() released '56' and reverted 0 proxy objects in 0.00 seconds.
00:30:38 LOG: resFreeUnusedStock() released 1296 files in 0.05 seconds.
00:30:39 LOG: Started loading world "$/home/christian/Steam/userdata/24218200/41070/local/SeriousSam3/SavedGames/0000000234_QuickSave.sav"
00:31:23 LOG: Finished loading world. (process memory: 456 MB)
00:31:27 LOG: resFreeUnusedProxies() released '24' and reverted 0 proxy objects in 0.00 seconds.
00:31:27 LOG: resFreeUnusedStock() released 55 files in 0.02 seconds.
00:31:27 TRC: 21 sound channels reinitialized.
00:31:47 LOG: Timestamp: 2012/12/16 00:31:47
00:31:47 LOG: Stopping simulation.
00:31:47 LOG: Timestamp: 2012/12/16 00:31:47
00:31:47 LOG: Stopping world 'Content/SeriousSam3/Levels/01_BFE/01_CairoSquare/01_CairoSquare.wld'.
00:31:47 LOG: Player profile saved with size 3.14kB(96.00kB) at 2012/12/16 00:31:47.
00:31:47 LOG: resFreeUnusedProxies() released '2' and reverted 0 proxy objects in 0.00 seconds.
00:31:47 LOG: World deleted in 0.18(0.18)sec.
00:31:47 LOG: resFreeUnusedProxies() released '0' and reverted 0 proxy objects in 0.00 seconds.
00:31:47 LOG: resFreeUnusedStock() released 3030 files in 0.21 seconds.
00:31:47 LOG: World stopped in 0.39sec.
00:31:47 LOG: resFreeUnusedProxies() released '10' and reverted 0 proxy objects in 0.00 seconds.
00:31:47 LOG: resFreeUnusedStock() released 1 files in 0.00 seconds.
00:31:50 LOG: resFreeUnusedProxies() released '1' and reverted 0 proxy objects in 0.00 seconds.
00:31:50 LOG: resFreeUnusedStock() released 1 files in 0.00 seconds.
00:31:50 LOG: Saving cvars to "$/home/christian/Steam/userdata/24218200/41070/local/SeriousSam3.ini".
00:31:50 LOG: Timestamp: 2012/12/16 00:31:50
00:31:50 LOG: Core is shutting down

[kwahoo]

gfxRestart() in the game console should help.

[ChemBro]

gfxRestart() does work. Thanks. (switching the resolution does, too).

Though would be nice, if this would work without using the command.

And I'll consider it, RussianNeuroMancer, I'll first wait for a response from Croteam.

[AlenL]

ATI drivers are still in flux a bit. That's why all these is "normal". Once an official ATI driver is released that fixes all problems we have reported to them, these should all go away.

[Kano]

Sometimes amd is not the weak spot. It may be often the case but can be misbehaving glsl shaders as well. When you compare piglit tests then fglrx does not score so bad against nvidia - well before they used to crash hard while running some of those tests but now they try to fix it.

[AlenL]

Kano, the issues are more spread across the board, than just shader problems. There can be things like buffer allocation problems, various other opengl features misbehaving and/or hitting slow paths, etc. A real game is much more stressful on drivers than a synthetic test. There are a lot of interdependencies within a frame, across frames, across buffers, a lot of dynamic caching....

[Kano]

Well dx renderer is about 50% faster as opengl in my tests too - from 3x to 5x fps at the beginning of level 6. Does not matter if nvidia or amd card - there are lots of things to improve.

[AlenL]

Kano, you seem to be testing only one setting. There are settings where opengl is faster than DX. That is mostly in API overhead. When the drivers close the gap in actual hw performance, it will probably be faster overall.

[muxol]

kwahoo eredeti hozzászólása:

gfxRestart() in the game console should help.

This works for me, but unsurprisingly the fps drop dramatically. Surprisingly though, dropping my res from 1080p to 800x600 still results in poor performance, while 1080p with flickering was butter smooth!

I wonder if it matters that I have Catalyst A.I. set to Advanced. Running Catalyst 13.2 beta 3 on linux.

[Kano]

I think it is not needed to change AI settings at all. But I figured out whats the difference to what i usually do. As i used to press alt+enter (twice) directly after the game started which does basically the same as gfxRestart() the game ran fine for me. But you used that command in a level and that really decreased speed to 20-25% of it was before.

[muxol]

I was wondering whether AI gives it a performance boost by "cheating"--not rendering everything--and whether this broken with gfxRestart(). Anyway, I'll try alt+enter twice BEFORE starting a level to see if it helps. Thanks for the tip.