Curse

Mork from Ork · Aug 28, 2007, 04:02 PM // 16:02

Was looking at buying a new video card - had graphics problems in GW until the weekend.

Then the preview went live and I was able to play fine at maximum settings nearly 12 hrs a day - not a flicker of a problem.

Then they updated to end the preview and suddenly the problems are back.

So my card, ATI x1900 GS, runs guildwars fine as long as EOTN is up and running but has problems when it's not ?????????????

Guess I'll wait till I see what happens when EOTN goes live this friday before buying a new card.

Edit: Looks like someone on GWOnline is having the same kind of problems with an ATI x1650 pro.

B/P_Ranger · Aug 28, 2007, 07:47 PM // 19:47

Just a small update. They are looking into this further. Not saying the cards will work, but they are looking into it.

Tijger · Aug 28, 2007, 07:54 PM // 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by B/P_Ranger

Just a small update. They are looking into this further. Not saying the cards will work, but they are looking into it.

Not saying there isnt a problem with GW in this regard but since almost all the problems seem to be with integrated GPU's I have to ask:

Did you update your GPU drivers AND your chipset drivers to the latest versions?

Most of these issues sound to me like driver issues, one of the biggest issues with the Intel IGM's is that they dont support hardware T&L and shaders, this has been fixed in part for the latest generation by new Intel drivers but I dont know how extensive they've been tested.

Also, please note that onboard GPU's will always have the caveat of 'should work' since no gaming company can guarantee that the producers of the mainboards havent taken shortcuts and deviated from Intel or Nvidia reference designs.
Anyways, good luck, I hope this gets fixed for all concerned.

B/P_Ranger · Aug 28, 2007, 08:45 PM // 20:45

You are correct it is a driver error. And most of us did update our drivers.
My specific graphics adapter has been supported by GW since prophicies.

Point is that they know there is a problem, and they are investigating it.

Meaning there is hope for us with these cards.

Mag · Aug 28, 2007, 09:10 PM // 21:10

I was crashing during the preview event and finally gave up on playing EotN (but hopefully not forever). I just wanted to add my info.

CPU/Graphics Info:
Processor Type: Pentium M
Processor ID: 06D8
Current Clock Speed: 2.00 GHz
Minimum Clock Speed: 800 MHz
Maximum Clock Speed: 2.00 Ghz
Processor Cache Size: 2048
Hyperthreading Capable: No

Graphics capabilities are integrated with the processor (I don't know if I said that right).

GW Graphics Settings:
I run Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall with the graphics dialed all the way up and experience no problems. I didn't change my graphics settings for Eye of the North.

PROBLEM: Eye of the North either ran perfectly fine with no lag (and with no other indications of the processor being overstrained) -OR- it would crash immediately and unexpectedly (no lag before hand or anything like that).

The problem persisted even when I took my character out of the EotN map areas. In NF, I continued to crash. All of my other characters (whom I didn't take into EotN) played perfectly fine with no crashes whatsoever.

I crashed approximately 7 times (I think).

I'm hoping that I'll be able to play EotN.

Gaile Gray · Aug 28, 2007, 09:27 PM // 21:27

Here is some information for you straight from the ArenaNet Team members most expert in video cards:

We do support the Intel 915 and 945 chipsets.
There may have been some misinformation amongst the TS Team at NCsoft, but they've been informed by the ArenaNet Team that we do still support those chipsets.
The support page was taken down in error, and has been or will be replaced. No conspiracy, no secret meaning, no subterfuge.
The issue that most players are experiencing is related to a driver error. We cannot control driver errors, but we have several team members working directly with Intel to make adjustments to the content that is, essentially, "arguing" with the new drivers.
We were not able to get the changes in place before the Sneak Peek Weekend, and for that we are sorry.
We will have the updates in place that will improve functionality prior to release this Friday.

Here is exact wording that you may find of interest:

"It looks like the problem is due to a 2d texture being bound to a stage where a pixel shader expects a cubemap. The nVidia and ATI drivers are handling it gracefully but the Intel driver with the 915 and 945 is failing. This can definitely be fixed by release but does not look like there's a quick fix that can get out immediately since there are some content changes involved.

The good news is in every place I've seen the problem, switching to "low" shader quality does work around it. You can set low shader quality by going to graphics options (f11) then look under the Advanced section of the Graphics tab and there is 'Shader Quality.'" And again, this should not be necessary at release.

We are sorry for this situation, and are working very hard for a prompt and full remedy.

Mag · Aug 28, 2007, 09:34 PM // 21:34

Gaile, thank you for replying to this thread!

I don't know much about computers & cpu's & graphics cards. Are you saying that a solution will probably be found for processors with integrated graphics processing too? Or just those graphics *cards* which are experiencing problems?

I realize you may not be able to answer that. Is there anyone I can contact about that?

Thanks.

B/P_Ranger · Aug 28, 2007, 09:41 PM // 21:41

Gaile

Thank you for taking the time to address these issues on this thread. It is greatly appreciated.

Venomous Toxin · Aug 28, 2007, 09:47 PM // 21:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaile Gray

Here is exact wording that you may find of interest:

"It looks like the problem is due to a 2d texture being bound to a stage where a pixel shader expects a cubemap. The nVidia and ATI drivers are handling it gracefully

Thank you for replying Gaile, but if you look at all the reports, and from first hand experience, I can tell you many Nvidia Geforce and ATI cards are definately -Not- handling it gracefully.

Gaile Gray · Aug 28, 2007, 10:18 PM // 22:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venomous Toxin

These are all the cards that had frequent crashes during the weekend, and not all are intel. Anet really dropped the ball for a lot of long-time players this weekend.
*list*

VT, I'm still tracking this. What you've posted is a very long and very detailed list. Can you tell me the source for this specific information? I may want to go to that source and check for the currency of the list.

B/P_Ranger · Aug 28, 2007, 10:33 PM // 22:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaile Gray

VT, I'm still tracking this. What you've posted is a very long and very detailed list. Can you tell me the source for this specific information? I may want to go to that source and check for the currency of the list.

There is a list on wiki
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Talk:...Peek_Weeke nd

Venomous Toxin · Aug 28, 2007, 10:51 PM // 22:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaile Gray

VT, I'm still tracking this. What you've posted is a very long and very detailed list. Can you tell me the source for this specific information? I may want to go to that source and check for the currency of the list.

There was a list put on wiki as B/P Ranger said. On most GW forums the same graphics cards were mentioned numerous times, so a list was compiled by them. I also have two PCs with Nvidia Geforce series 6 cards with current drivers and both on GW will randomly freeze and play the last sound heard on loop until the computers are rebooted. They never used to do that until the new build for GW was released during GWEN.

DamFiNo · Aug 28, 2007, 11:16 PM // 23:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venomous Toxin

There was a list put on wiki as B/P Ranger said. On most GW forums the same graphics cards were mentioned numerous times, so a list was compiled by them. I also have two PCs with Nvidia Geforce series 6 cards with current drivers and both will randomly freeze and play the last sound heard on loop until the computers are rebooted.

Same thing for an ATI Radeon 9600, with latest drivers (going BACK one driver helps, but does not cure the problems). Using -noshaders did solve the problem.

Neo Nugget · Aug 29, 2007, 02:12 AM // 02:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaile Gray

Here is some information for you straight from the ArenaNet Team members most expert in video cards:

We do support the Intel 915 and 945 chipsets.
There may have been some misinformation amongst the TS Team at NCsoft, but they've been informed by the ArenaNet Team that we do still support those chipsets.
The support page was taken down in error, and has been or will be replaced. No conspiracy, no secret meaning, no subterfuge.
The issue that most players are experiencing is related to a driver error. We cannot control driver errors, but we have several team members working directly with Intel to make adjustments to the content that is, essentially, "arguing" with the new drivers.
We were not able to get the changes in place before the Sneak Peek Weekend, and for that we are sorry.
We will have the updates in place that will improve functionality prior to release this Friday.

Here is exact wording that you may find of interest:

"It looks like the problem is due to a 2d texture being bound to a stage where a pixel shader expects a cubemap. The nVidia and ATI drivers are handling it gracefully but the Intel driver with the 915 and 945 is failing. This can definitely be fixed by release but does not look like there's a quick fix that can get out immediately since there are some content changes involved.

The good news is in every place I've seen the problem, switching to "low" shader quality does work around it. You can set low shader quality by going to graphics options (f11) then look under the Advanced section of the Graphics tab and there is 'Shader Quality.'" And again, this should not be necessary at release.

We are sorry for this situation, and are working very hard for a prompt and full remedy.

So i can enjoy full graphics this weekend crash free?

Gimmie a sec gaile, i need to bake you a dozen cookies

/I<3Anet

wooo this is awesome news!

Mork from Ork · Aug 29, 2007, 02:33 AM // 02:33

-noshaders seemed to solve my problem too. bur for some reason I had to restart my computer for the -noshaders command to work.

looking forward to fix.

Captain Herbalife · Aug 29, 2007, 03:09 AM // 03:09

I hate to be the one to point this out but, if you are trying to use the -noshader switch now and thinking it has solved a problem.....Hello? GW:EN isnt running now so how are you testing it? Everyone just needs to sit tight till friday and see what happens. You cant test something if it isnt running.

And Good job Anet on addressing this problem. Glad to see that we the players may be improtant after all hehehee. Thanx guys.

tijo · Aug 29, 2007, 03:24 AM // 03:24

Having a problem with my laptop's GeForce 6600 too, older driver helped but didnt fix everything. When GW:EN comes out,i'll try -noshader ot see if it fixed some of my graphic problems.

Mork from Ork · Aug 29, 2007, 03:43 AM // 03:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Herbalife

I hate to be the one to point this out but, if you are trying to use the -noshader switch now and thinking it has solved a problem.....Hello? GW:EN isnt running now so how are you testing it? Everyone just needs to sit tight till friday and see what happens. You cant test something if it isnt running.

Um, Gaile did not say it was related to GWEN itself but rather that it was an issue with NEW DRIVERS. She also recommended the low shader setting and said that usually "solves" the problem. If it were merely GWEN related there would be no reason for her to mention that (since she said it after the preview closed and they will have it fixed before the GWEN release] So it seems obvious that it is a problem with a broader scope than GWEN

blackpawn · Aug 29, 2007, 03:49 AM // 03:49

No, the issue is only with content in GW:EN. The system crashes and reboots are due to the drivers as opposed to the Guild Wars client but the error ultimately stems from some characters and monsters using the wrong texture types.

Venomous Toxin · Aug 29, 2007, 03:54 AM // 03:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mork from Ork

Um, Gaile did not say it was related to GWEN itself but rather that it was an issue with NEW DRIVERS. She also recommended the low shader setting and said that usually "solves" the problem. If it were merely GWEN related there would be no reason for her to mention that (since she said it after the preview closed and they will have it fixed before the GWEN release] So it seems obvious that it is a problem with a broader scope than GWEN

She was talking about the new Intel drivers only and pointed out that Nvidia and ATI handled the new shaders gracefully, which is not the case at all. If it was just the new Intel drivers many people using Nvidia and ATI cards wouldn't be having the same crashes.