Extremely bad shadow flickering[Fixed!!!!]

[EnragedN3wb]

http://plays.tv/video/55724a37e92164200c

I can't even play it's so bad, at times my entire screen is like a giant strobe light giving me a bad headache. :(

Anyone else getting this, or possibly know how to fix it? I can't find anyone else with this problem searching, & it's driving me insane.

Other than this the game is very playable for me:

i5 3570K @ 4.6GHz
HD 7970 - Latest AMD W10 Drivers
16GB RAM
Windows 10 Build 10130

Edit: I noticed that if I turn shadow quality up(not terrain shadows) the shadows around me stop flickering, but the ones in the distance still flicker like crazy.

[Bolt]

O thank god I'm not the only one I was thinking my video card is dying. Ya same issues. Maybe a windows 10 issue? I'm also running windows 10 atm

[Bolt]

It wasn't happening last night only after update(s) today

[Mhurz]

I think it is a Windows 10 bug right now, my AMD card is doing it as well. It kills the quality a bit, but here is a temporary fix I posted on Reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/playark/comments/38r76b/massive_shadow_flickering_adjust_these_settings/

[EnragedN3wb]

Been happening even since I got the game for me, glad I'm not alone tho(sorry for you guys).

Trying your fix now BD712, will report back with results. Fingers crossed! :)

Edit: Well I can confirm this does indeed fix the flickering, although I believe that's because it actually turns shadows off from what I can tell. Not that I'm complaining, I'd rather lose the shadows for now if it means I can play without getting a headache!

As a bonus, it increased my framerate by about double. Getting a stable 45-60FPS with the same settings that were getting me 20-30 before!!!

As a side note, for anyone attempting to try this fix, you want to add the lines

r.simpledynamiclighting=1
r.DefaultFeature.Bloom=False
r.DefaultFeature.LensFlare=False
r.BloomQuality=0
r.Shadow.MaxResolution=0

under the [/script/engine.renderersettings] category in the BaseEngine.ini file inside \steamapps\common\ARK\Engine\Config

NOT the Engine.ini inside \steamapps\common\ARK\Engine\Config\Localization

The instructions at the link were slightly confusing at first because it says Engine.ini

THANK YOU BD712!

Edit 2: After further testing, the only option you need to add to remove the flickering(and sadly, completely disable all shadows, post processing, and SSAO) is this one:

r.simpledynamiclighting=1

Be aware, this also appears to prevent fires from giving off light at night!(most likely torches also)

[EnragedN3wb]

OK, making a whole new post to bump for this:

After some long, drawn out testing of different settings in different ini files I've found what I believe to be a complete fix to the flickering shadows without losing them all together!!!


First, you're going to need to head to your BaseScalability.ini file. Located in \steamapps\common\ARK\Engine\Config

Then you're going to want to search for your shadow quality settings. This will be different depending on the settings you use in game for shadows:

Setting in game = Setting in BaseScalability.ini

Low = [ShadowQuality@0]

Medium = [ShadowQuality@1]

High = [ShadowQuality@2]

Epic = [ShadowQuality@3]

Find the one that corresponds to the setting you use in game, & then look for

r.DistanceFieldShadowing=1

Change this to read

r.DistanceFieldShadowing=0

This should stop the shadows from flickering without disabling them completely!

You can also change this for all of the settings in game if you like. I did, since I'm frequently changing my shadow settings along side other graphics settings.

Note: On Low, this will actually disable shadows. Everything else, it only disables the shadows that cause flickering.

You can also expect a performance improvement from this, as it disables distant shadows(they are the ones that flicker). On the rig posted in OP I am able to maintain around 30fps using all medium settings, 1920x1080, with High shadows & textures, & Resolution Scale at about 90%!!!!!

[Mhurz]

Hmm very interesting, I will give that a shot. Waht do you mean "You can also change this for all of the settings in game if you like" ?

[EnragedN3wb]

Instead of just changing the one your using, you can change them all to that(ShadowQuality@0, 1, 2, & 3) so that no matter what shadow settings you use in game, it will already have r.DistanceFieldShadowing=0 set in the ini for that setting

[Bolt]

Thanks for this the first fix worked but it makes torches not work at night at the graphics go in the toilet. Big fps imporvment if you can deal with it.

[Bolt]

This worked I can turn up my game on high on pretty much everything except post proccesing. The shadows are a little silly but much better then the strobe light effect I was getting and lag.

[Mhurz]

That fixed it Enraged! I can now use the dynamic lighting, which looks much better, and the flickering is gone!

[EnragedN3wb]

Glad I was able to help!

[Atilly]

Has this been fixed with the new Win 10 drivers?

[Mhurz]

No, the Windows 10 drivers are what is causing it.

[LexicDarkA7]

i had it under windows 8.1, it an issue witht he game.

[Rayna]

Yep, I have the issue also (win 8.1), happened since I updated the AMD video drivers, last 2 versions have both done it. Perfect before that... I should roll back, but yet to try.