flickering black squares

[DRpenetration]

i have had this anoying graphical bug for a long time in this game.
it has multiple triggers, when zoomed in a specific level, mousing over an specisifc place on screen, and just at random times of day in game.
multiple black squares (aligned with the grid of the game) flicker for about a frame evry half second.
i have tried drivers, reinstals, difrend disk, priorities in task mananger, nvidea control pannel options and even z-buffering size. nothing seems to work and im at a loss.
if anyone els is expiriencing this i whould like to know

kind regards

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by DRpenetration:

i have had this anoying graphical bug for a long time in this game.
it has multiple triggers, when zoomed in a specific level, mousing over an specisifc place on screen, and just at random times of day in game.
multiple black squares (aligned with the grid of the game) flicker for about a frame evry half second.
i have tried drivers, reinstals, difrend disk, priorities in task mananger, nvidea control pannel options and even z-buffering size. nothing seems to work and im at a loss.
if anyone els is expiriencing this i whould like to know

kind regards

I've seen this with grass, which can get dense and has the wind-sway animation. It seems to be an occlusion/clip-thru kind of effect. Well, that's what it'd be in "3D" at least. What I assume is that there is a shadow-generating kind of thing at work that's stacking on top of another one. It might be prompted by some "time of day" lighting effect or appear more prominent at certain times.

I know nothing about Rimword's engine. I assume it's all focused on 2D stuffs, so a lot of 3D controls shouldn't matter a great deal.

The first thing I suggest is what I always suggest - Disable the Steam Overlay to see if that makes a difference. It sucks and should be taken out behind a barn and shot in the head.

Next up - Run the game in fullscreen borderless windowed mode if possible. If you're already doing that, run it in fullscreen standard mode to see if that makes a difference. Different cards/drivers/setups run best in certain modes, so you'll have to switch around and test them.

See here for some command-line options and where the config files are: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/RimWorld

Next up, try forcing v-sync to see if that helps. (Can't remember if that's in the game options or you'll have to force it by making a custom config with your driver.)

PS - Do all this with a "vanilla" install, no mods at all. Not just "not loaded" in the launcher, but "no mods installed at all." I know, crazy right? But... just do it. :)

[DRpenetration]

Originally posted by Morkonan:

Originally posted by DRpenetration:

i have had this anoying graphical bug for a long time in this game.
it has multiple triggers, when zoomed in a specific level, mousing over an specisifc place on screen, and just at random times of day in game.
multiple black squares (aligned with the grid of the game) flicker for about a frame evry half second.
i have tried drivers, reinstals, difrend disk, priorities in task mananger, nvidea control pannel options and even z-buffering size. nothing seems to work and im at a loss.
if anyone els is expiriencing this i whould like to know

kind regards

I've seen this with grass, which can get dense and has the wind-sway animation. It seems to be an occlusion/clip-thru kind of effect. Well, that's what it'd be in "3D" at least. What I assume is that there is a shadow-generating kind of thing at work that's stacking on top of another one. It might be prompted by some "time of day" lighting effect or appear more prominent at certain times.

I know nothing about Rimword's engine. I assume it's all focused on 2D stuffs, so a lot of 3D controls shouldn't matter a great deal.

The first thing I suggest is what I always suggest - Disable the Steam Overlay to see if that makes a difference. It sucks and should be taken out behind a barn and shot in the head.

Next up - Run the game in fullscreen borderless windowed mode if possible. If you're already doing that, run it in fullscreen standard mode to see if that makes a difference. Different cards/drivers/setups run best in certain modes, so you'll have to switch around and test them.

See here for some command-line options and where the config files are: https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/RimWorld

Next up, try forcing v-sync to see if that helps. (Can't remember if that's in the game options or you'll have to force it by making a custom config with your driver.)

PS - Do all this with a "vanilla" install, no mods at all. Not just "not loaded" in the launcher, but "no mods installed at all." I know, crazy right? But... just do it. :)

thanks for the reply, i tried what u asked but nothing helped. whatsmore i tried to screen capture it but i doesnt show up on any capture software, which is really od. i woulnd know what that could mean but any assistance is apriciated

specs are
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 4790K @ 4.00GHz 35 °C
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
16,0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. Z97X-Gaming 7 (SOCKET 0) 31 °C
Graphics
ZOWIE XL LCD (1920x1080@144Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Gigabyte)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (ASUStek Computer Inc) 33 °C
ForceWare version: 430.86
SLI Disabled
Storage
111GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO 120GB (SSD) 30 °C
465GB Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB (SSD) 24 °C
931GB Western Digital WDC WD1002F9YZ-09H1JL1 (SATA) 29 °C
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by DRpenetration:

...Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Gigabyte)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (ASUStek Computer Inc) 33 °C..

Make sure that if you're running a switchable chipset that you've forced the Nvidia chipset for Rimworld. It's easy to do using the Nvidia control panel and setting up a custom config for Rimworld. (IF you've got an Intel card as a backup or for secondary support for something, just make sure the monitor is using the Nvidia card... :) )

I don't know much about that monitor. You may want to do some searching around for similar issues reported that also mention that monitor brand/model. If the anomaly doesn't show up in a capture, you can try snapping a pic with a cellphone camera or something. But, I've had some very slight indication of flickering black spots showing up at certain zoom levels with the only similarity being the Nvidia chipset drivers, but different model of card.

[DRpenetration]

Originally posted by Morkonan:

Originally posted by DRpenetration:

...Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Gigabyte)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (ASUStek Computer Inc) 33 °C..

Make sure that if you're running a switchable chipset that you've forced the Nvidia chipset for Rimworld. It's easy to do using the Nvidia control panel and setting up a custom config for Rimworld. (IF you've got an Intel card as a backup or for secondary support for something, just make sure the monitor is using the Nvidia card... :) )

I don't know much about that monitor. You may want to do some searching around for similar issues reported that also mention that monitor brand/model. If the anomaly doesn't show up in a capture, you can try snapping a pic with a cellphone camera or something. But, I've had some very slight indication of flickering black spots showing up at certain zoom levels with the only similarity being the Nvidia chipset drivers, but different model of card.

cant find anything about the monitor causing this, and i dubble shecked to use the deticated gpu.
seems that isent the problem, i do get better results when i turn the resolution down, so maybe its somthing to do with the memory.
also the problem is way worse on some maps then others.
when theres a lot of gras on screen it seems to happen more. and only on intermidiate zoom levels. im truly at a loss i love this game but its really sapping for a detials obssesd person like me :'(

[Librarius]

I have a lower end system compared to yours, but my geforce 960 does not do what yours does. 1920x1080 at 60htz on a universal pnp monitor driver.

I have disabled wind sway for plants in the options menu, because it makes everything look like it is seen through a heat haze.

Also I have not connected my on board graphics chip to my monitor, so it cannot interfere with what I am seeing on screen. In fact it is permanently disabled through the "device manager".

Hope you find out, because your system should run this game fine.

[Astasia]

When you say you tried a reinstall, what did that entail? It's fairly common for people to have a RimWorld folder with some junk files in it, I don't know why. A normal steam reinstall or file verification will not get rid of those junk files, the only way to ensure you have a truly clean game is to manually delete your game files then do a reinstall/verification. Then of course try running the game with only core, no other mods, and see if that somehow fixes things.

Originally posted by Morkonan:

I know nothing about Rimword's engine. I assume it's all focused on 2D stuffs, so a lot of 3D controls shouldn't matter a great deal.

It's unity, and the game is run in a 3d environment with a fixed camera. So the game can potentially have visual anomalies specific to 3d games, like terrain z-fighting, which could be what the OP is seeing.

Originally posted by DRpenetration:

whatsmore i tried to screen capture it but i doesnt show up on any capture software, which is really od. i woulnd know what that could mean but any assistance is apriciated

Is it possible you just aren't getting a capture during the effected frames? Otherwise AFAIK the only way a visual issue like that would fail to be caught by a screen capture is if the issue was with the monitor or the connection to the monitor. It doesn't sound like a monitor issue though since you said the issue is aligned to the game grid.

I did a quick google of your monitor and it has a "Black eQualizer " which it describes as something that attempts to manipulate the dark areas of the screen, which maybe could bug out or work incorrectly to cause something like what you are describing (assuming the "feature" is not just a fancy way if saying "higher gamma"). I don't find this likely, but from what I can see it's something you can toggle on and off on the monitor, so try turning that off see if it changes anything.

If nothing else works, try another monitor or TV if possible, then running off integrated graphics if you have them to rule out or confirm an issue with the monitor/GPU.

[DRpenetration]

Originally posted by Astasia:

When you say you tried a reinstall, what did that entail? It's fairly common for people to have a RimWorld folder with some junk files in it, I don't know why. A normal steam reinstall or file verification will not get rid of those junk files, the only way to ensure you have a truly clean game is to manually delete your game files then do a reinstall/verification. Then of course try running the game with only core, no other mods, and see if that somehow fixes things.

Originally posted by Morkonan:

I know nothing about Rimword's engine. I assume it's all focused on 2D stuffs, so a lot of 3D controls shouldn't matter a great deal.

It's unity, and the game is run in a 3d environment with a fixed camera. So the game can potentially have visual anomalies specific to 3d games, like terrain z-fighting, which could be what the OP is seeing.

Originally posted by DRpenetration:

whatsmore i tried to screen capture it but i doesnt show up on any capture software, which is really od. i woulnd know what that could mean but any assistance is apriciated

Is it possible you just aren't getting a capture during the effected frames? Otherwise AFAIK the only way a visual issue like that would fail to be caught by a screen capture is if the issue was with the monitor or the connection to the monitor. It doesn't sound like a monitor issue though since you said the issue is aligned to the game grid.

I did a quick google of your monitor and it has a "Black eQualizer " which it describes as something that attempts to manipulate the dark areas of the screen, which maybe could bug out or work incorrectly to cause something like what you are describing (assuming the "feature" is not just a fancy way if saying "higher gamma"). I don't find this likely, but from what I can see it's something you can toggle on and off on the monitor, so try turning that off see if it changes anything.

If nothing else works, try another monitor or TV if possible, then running off integrated graphics if you have them to rule out or confirm an issue with the monitor/GPU.

hey thanks again all for chiping in, i removed evry file/map with the name rimworld in it on my pc and disable on board graphics in device mananger, i tried some combinations of setting on nvidiea but nothing seems to help, i might ad i had a problem on rust in the past with z fighting on didstant objects, wich i coulnd solve. it was fixed with an update of the game upgrading unity version i think. so i geuse i just have to play with this isue present :/
its most likely somthing to do with my gpu i geuse, difrent drives dont seem to change anything tho. if anyone still has any idea they are welcom, either way thanks alot for the help <3

[DRpenetration]

big news, i think reducing my monitor refresh rate to 60hz might have solved it, dont know why but i notice the mouse moving way choppier, wich means that the mouse was using the desktop refresh rate for some reason instead of the max 60 in game? i dont know but seems like this is the solution

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Astasia:

...

Originally posted by Morkonan:

I know nothing about Rimword's engine. I assume it's all focused on 2D stuffs, so a lot of 3D controls shouldn't matter a great deal.

It's unity, and the game is run in a 3d environment with a fixed camera. So the game can potentially have visual anomalies specific to 3d games, like terrain z-fighting, which could be what the OP is seeing.

You're the real MVP! Thanks for that info. So, it uses the GPU's 3D architecture for presentation and calculating effects like shadows et, al.

Great info, thanks!

@OP

OK, you're getting flickering on the dynamic shadow generation for all those grass billboards/whatsits. I've seen the shadows clipping, causing a "black flicker" effect and since they're 3D dynamically generated shadows in what is a pretty weird "3D" kind of environment, it makes sense.

I can't use my gaming rig atm. A tree decided to try to fit into my house last night... Neither my house nor the tree enjoyed the attempt... /sigh

BUT, first you should set up a custom configuration for Rimworld. There are many tutorials on how to do that with Nvidia's driver package. It's very easy.

Make sure that your switchable chipset Intel driver is not chosen for that. You want it disabled and Nvidia being used to drive Rimworld. If your card has that on-board for some reason and it's not a motherboard feature, then make sure your outputs are correct. ie: You're using what the Nvidia chipset needs, like the proper port, HDM/Component/S-id/VGA/Whatever.

Sounds crazy, I know, but drive the game at your native resolution for the monitor in borderless window mode, first.

Disable the Steam overlay. Period. Just do it, 'cause trying to troubleshoot video/mouse stuffs through an overlay that's designed for a friggin' Etch-A-Sketch is a pain...

You want to optimize dynamic shadow generation, etc. You want to start with your custom config and experiment with options for shadows as well as Anti-aliasing types. (I do not know what AA algorithm Rimworld likes, if any.)

Check Rimword's settings and config files. It may be worth letting Rimworld regenerate all config/ini types of files. Normally, games will do that if they are not present when the game launches, forcing the game to "default" to it's original "factory settings." I would recommend doing this, but I can only assume that Rimworld regenerates all these files as necessary. You can, if you can't figure that out, rest all Rimworld options to their Default. Then, exit the game, exit Steam, restart your computer, restart Steam and then check to see how the game looks on its default settings. (The exits and restarts are to make sure Steam clears out its crappy caches.)

You "might" get better shadows/etc running at a higher resolution. "Might." Also, you may get better results with borderless window, windowed, regular modes and you'll have to experiment.

[Bozobub]

Other possible things to try/check out (of varying probability, in no particular order). if Morkonan's advice doesn't work in this case:

• Is your GPU overclocked/not at factory voltages? If so, your clocks/volts may be too high.
  
• Is your GPU running hot? This type of display artifact is common with overclocked and/or overheating graphics ^^'.
  
• A few Unity command-line switches that might help for the PC version (sans quotes, NOT compatible with each other):
  
  • "-force-d3d9" <- DX9.0c is the default renderer for Unity but this sometimes helps, nonetheless.
    
  • "-force-d3d11"
    
  • "-force-opengl"

[DRpenetration]

i tried evry step you guys recomended but the only thing that seems to stop it is seting my refresh rate at 60 (bah) i read somwhere that rimworld is native 60 fps or somthing so maybe this cauzes problems on 144hz. also i disabled the intel graphics chipset altogether so that shoulnd be the isseu, i dont think i would get 144fps on that anyway.