Fizzy Voss Grass Texture.

[Jazulfi]

Update: I've now started a Youtube channel solely for the purpose of showing this. Link here:- 'Fizzy' Grass Distortion on Voss Base Grass Texture and you need to play the video at the highest quality to see the effect I'm talking about.

Please, is there any way to fix the 'fizzy' pixelated grass on Voss. it properly makes me feel a bit ill after a few minutes. The storylines there are so interesting but I dread it at the moment because it's so uncomfortable. I can't take a screenshot because it stops fizzing when I stand still, so I can only show it when I'm moving around.

Does anyone else get this problem?

Edited October 19, 2023 by Jazulfi

[felleto]

What do you mean by "fizzy"?

[ThanderSnB]

What screen resolution are you using?

If it's the problem I've seen before with other games, the issue happens when the texture resolution is high but the screen resolution is low. This causes aliasing on terrain that's most noticeable with movement (well, any surface that is oblique to the camera can have this problem). Grass terrain textures have a lot more detail than stone, for example, so it would be more noticeable with grass.

You can try maxing Texture Anisotropy and Anti Aliasing. Texture Anisotropy will try to smooth out textures in the distance like this. Anti Aliasing tries to smooth out the edges of the grass objects on the ground. Those settings can only do so much with a low resolution. If those are both maxed and the problem is still there, your only option is increasing the overall screen resolution.

These days I assume the developers are using 4k screens, so the new textures on Voss are probably designed for 4k. Things might look okay at 1080p, but I couldn't tell you. If those settings are both maxed and you are playing at 4k, then I don't know sorry. Maybe there are options in your graphics card settings to increase settings farther than the game allows.

Edited October 4, 2023 by ThanderSnB

[xordevoreaux]

This is what I see for grass on Voss. High settings, AMD graphics card set to enhance, adapative multi-sampling (meaning there's anti-aliasing going on with transparent areas).

1080 monitor, not 4k, AMD 6600 XT.

When my camera moves over the grass, I do get what Jazulfi might be referring to. It's similar to (but not exactly) a moire effect, with interference in the arrangement of the grass objects.

Nothing I did on the back end on the graphics card nor in the game settings got rid of it. It's not horrible, but I can see how it could be distracting for some.

Aside from turning the grass off, I found no way to fix. This game is still DirectX9, and still reacts to DirectX-9 specific back end enhancements like morphological anti-aliasing (which doesn't do squat for DX12 games).

I've seen plenty of beautifully-rendered grass in DX11 and DX12 games without the behavior I'm seeing here in SWTOR, and I'm only at 1080. Skyrim SE/AE, for example, I've downloaded plenty of 2k and 4k landscape / flora textures, no visual artifacts, so I'm reluctant to blame the issue on 4k versus 1k, but after hoisting my graphics card performance, overriding the game settings, enhancing the game settings, I'm tapped out as to what it could be.

[Jazulfi]

5 minutes ago, xordevoreaux said:

This is what I see for grass on Voss. High settings, AMD graphics card set to enhance, adapative multi-sampling (meaning there's anti-aliasing going on with transparent areas).

1080 monitor, not 4k, AMD 6600 XT.

When my camera moves over the grass, I do get what Jazulfi might be referring to. It's similar to (but not exactly) a moire effect, with interference in the arrangement of the grass objects.

Nothing I did on the back end on the graphics card nor in the game settings got rid of it. It's not horrible, but I can see how it could be distracting for some.

Aside from turning the grass off, I found no way to fix. This game is still DirectX9, and still reacts to DirectX-9 specific back end enhancements like morphological anti-aliasing (which doesn't do squat for DX12 games).

I've seen plenty of beautifully-rendered grass in DX11 and DX12 games without the behavior I'm seeing here in SWTOR, and I'm only at 1080. Skyrim SE/AE, for example, I've downloaded plenty of 2k and 4k landscape / flora textures, no visual artifacts, so I'm reluctant to blame the issue on 4k versus 1k, but after hoisting my graphics card performance, overriding the game settings, enhancing the game settings, I'm tapped out as to what it could be.

Thanks so much for trying to understand!!

I'll try to describe it more clearly. It's a bit like pixelated 'white noise' on the telly - that very fine speckly distorted interference - except this is a finer pixel somehow, and it's obviously in the yellows/golds of the Voss palette. And yes exactly - it gives my vision that uncomfortable shimmering 'moire' effect (new word of the day thx v much!). I don't normally get motion sickness or any discomfort in games, but this really does make me feel queasy.

I should have said this before, but it's not just the animated grass either, it's also part of the base texture underneath. So even if I turn grass off completely, the ground texture itself - the texture that looks like strewn hay - also does it.  The trees do it a bit too but not as badly.

I wish I could film it. I tried last night but infuriatingly it doesn't show up in screen capture recording.  Maybe if I film my actual monitor with my phone - perhaps that would work.

[ThanderSnB]

It may still appear at 4k, but the problem is going to be worse at lower resolutions just because there's too much detail and not enough pixels to display it. The more pixels available, the less noticeable it will be. If we could see two videos side by side, one 4k and the other 1080p, I think the "moire" effect would be worse on 1080p (and even worse at lower resolutions). I don't know how other games do it. SWTOR's engine may be too old to fix it. Maybe Broadsword could change that texture to reduce the problem.

[OrmEmber]

You are completly correct. This is a new problem. With the new Voss story content they messed with the textures.

I've been playing for years and always found Voss to be beautiful. The grass swaying in the breeze, The way the textures made it look like the sun shined through the trees. It was so pretty.

But now the trees look flat by comparison and the grass, when in motion, looks grainy. Lots of tiny little pixels out of place.

This is a recent change and I really hate it. I rarely post, but I loath this change. Voss went from pretty, to flat with grainy-ness.

Edited October 5, 2023 by OrmEmber

[Nee-Elder]

3 hours ago, OrmEmber said:

You are completly correct. This is a new problem. With the new Voss story content they messed with the textures

At some point, hopefully the OP or someone will actually read the posted sticky thread--> https://forums.swtor.com/topic/930391-graphics-settingslow-resolution-textures-troubleshooting/

Edited October 6, 2023 by Nee-Elder
Reason: information exists , for those who notice it

[ThanderSnB]

3 hours ago, Nee-Elder said:

At some point, hopefully the OP or someone will actually read the posted sticky thread--> https://forums.swtor.com/topic/930391-graphics-settingslow-resolution-textures-troubleshooting/

That's a separate issue. They are not related to each other.

[Jazulfi]

12 hours ago, Nee-Elder said:

At some point, hopefully the OP or someone will actually read the posted sticky thread--> https://forums.swtor.com/topic/930391-graphics-settingslow-resolution-textures-troubleshooting/

Was the first thing I tried when I came back to the game and found the issue. It made no difference whatsoever. It's not to do with that. I also don't play on a laptop.

The game looks absolutely gorgeous everywhere else.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Jazulfi

[Nee-Elder]

12 hours ago, ThanderSnB said:

That's a separate issue. They are not related to each other.

They are indeed related, since both situations occurred with VOSS  at the exact same time/update.

It would be nice if someone official from  'Broadsword'  could post about it , but unfortunately  you're stuck with  me.  ( so yeah,  @JackieKo and  @JoeStramaglia , feel free to correct me  by replying and i'll happily  eat forum crow  np    )

3 hours ago, Jazulfi said:

Was the first thing I tried when I came back to the game and found the issue. It made no difference whatsoever. It's not to do with that. I also don't play on a laptop.

The game looks absolutely gorgeous everywhere else.

The sticky  applies to ALL  computer types, no?

Regardless, here is another related link for you to read if you feel like it--> https://forums.swtor.com/topic/930048-voss-is-so-bland-and-just-ugly-looking-after-73-its-a-downgrade-across-the-board/

[denavin]

A bad HDMI cable, can cause white sparkly noise in the video.

It also may be your video card is going bad.

 

Edited October 6, 2023 by denavin

[ThanderSnB]

4 hours ago, Nee-Elder said:

They are indeed related, since both situations occurred with VOSS  at the exact same time/update.

It would be nice if someone official from  'Broadsword'  could post about it , but unfortunately  you're stuck with  me.  ( so yeah,  @JackieKo and  @JoeStramaglia , feel free to correct me  by replying and i'll happily  eat forum crow  np    )

The sticky  applies to ALL  computer types, no?

Regardless, here is another related link for you to read if you feel like it--> https://forums.swtor.com/topic/930048-voss-is-so-bland-and-just-ugly-looking-after-73-its-a-downgrade-across-the-board/

Here are the differences:

Flickering texture bug

• Only affects players on low-end computers/laptops using integrated graphics.
• Causes textures to rapidly switch from low resolution to high resolution.
• Started happening with 7.2.1 when 64-bit was added.
• Bioware/Broadsword attempted a fix in 7.2.1b but reverted it in 7.2.1c because it broke Colorblind Mode.
• Broadsword applied a permanent fix in 7.3 (undocumented) and posted the thread you linked to help anyone still having problems after the fix.

Voss texture change

• Can affect players on any computer (low or high end), but it's most noticeable at lower resolutions.
• Causes a moire effect on terrain textures while moving because of too much detail on the textures and not enough pixels on screen to render the detail.
• Voss textures were intentionally changed as part of 7.3's addition of Interpreter's Retreat story area.
• It's not considered a bug, so Broadsword hasn't acknowledged it or done anything to patch it.

Edited October 6, 2023 by ThanderSnB

[denavin]

45 minutes ago, ThanderSnB said:

• Affects all players but it's more noticeable at lower resolutions.

Does not affect ALL players. My 7th gen i7 or Nvidia GTX 750Ti Windows 10 machine does not flicker or have Moire 

[ThanderSnB]

8 minutes ago, denavin said:

Does not affect ALL players. My 7th gen i7 or Nvidia GTX 750Ti Windows 10 machine does not flicker or have Moire 

Maybe it does but you just don't notice it? I think it could be a pretty subtle depending on the computer. Either way, I'm happy that you aren't affected, and I updated my post.

[arunav]

I have this problem as well. Settings are at Ultra with everything maxed out for grass. I've tried lowering or changing various settings, but the problem with the grass after Voss was updated remains. 

It's fine if standing still, but on a mount is when the grass looks blurry. The 'new' trees on Voss look good, but it's really unfortunate the grass all looks this way. Voss is one of the best planets in SWTOR imho, the stories and the general atmosphere and lore on the planet. 

This is one of the reasons I don't want better graphics in the game, or 'improvements' in the UI, etc. The original game was made with a huge team and hundreds of millions of dollars. They did a good job with the way the game looks - it's aged well, with the original, sort of Clone Wars look to the characters, environments, NPCs, etc.

Now that the game no longer has a huge team working on it, and comparatively little money for QA and testing, making substantial changes to the original game isn't worth the problems that result. Nobody is or will be playing SWTOR for its graphics. The graphics aren't why more players aren't playing SWTOR or some are quitting or have quit for other MMOs. The game needs more substantial content updates and expansions, not fiddling with the environment on 1 planet and plans for updating every single one (which is highly unlikely to ever happen, leaving the player experience uneven and... worse overall. Like the butchered UI, skill trees, and almost any other system that was touched for 7.0). 

Edited October 9, 2023 by arunav

[OwenBrooks]

@Jazulfi @xordevoreaux @arunav @OrmEmber

This is not something as a known issue on voss with cloud shadows showing on the grass, best to provide a dxdiag and a video showing this occurring in the swtor technical issues forum at https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion-Technical/bd-p/star-wars-the-old-republic-en , the video can then be forwarded to the right team as required for further assessment

edit: given some mention AMD set AA to medium and see if any change 

Edited October 9, 2023 by OwenBrooks

[Jazulfi]

On 10/9/2023 at 10:59 AM, OwenBrooks said:

@Jazulfi @xordevoreaux @arunav @OrmEmber

This is not something as a known issue on voss with cloud shadows showing on the grass, best to provide a dxdiag and a video showing this occurring in the swtor technical issues forum at https://answers.ea.com/t5/General-Discussion-Technical/bd-p/star-wars-the-old-republic-en , the video can then be forwarded to the right team as required for further assessment

edit: given some mention AMD set AA to medium and see if any change 

Thanks so much for this. Apols for not responding sooner.

Will attempt to record the issue in the next few days and will post it in the appropriate place. I take it there are instructions for the correct format/size etc?

Many thanks

[Jazulfi]

Rather frustrated at this point. I'm trying to load a video capture to the EA technical forum. I had to compress the file right down, which in itself blurred the issue I'm trying to demonstrate, but after completing my post, I get a message saying "The total size of this upload is larger than the maximum size allowed: 20480000. Try uploading fewer files or reducing the size of the files before uploading them again."

The video I uploaded very specifically under the 51200MBs the forum requested, and I'm only uploading one file. Not sure what to do at this point.

Is there a thing like Imgr but for video or something?

I'm starting to feel like that poor lady with the radio playing from her teeth (if you know you know.)

Help very gratefully accepted!

Edited October 19, 2023 by Jazulfi

[OwenBrooks]

@Jazulfi  maybe you tube , then provide the link

[Jazulfi]

@OwenBrooks - I'd *just* done this when I saw your reply! Thank you!

Here is the link:-

Demo of Grass Distortion on Voss

Please play at highest quality setting, and I *hope* people can see what I mean.

I suppose I'm a 'content creator' now! 😄 (not really ofc)

 

 

[Jazulfi]

Btw I expect you all to subscribe to my amazing channel now I've gone to the effort!

[Jazulfi]

Sorry to keep posting, but if someone could confirm they see what I'm talking about from the vid, I'd be really grateful!!

Many thanks

Edited October 19, 2023 by Jazulfi

[Crystal_Mind]

1 hour ago, Jazulfi said:

Sorry to keep posting, but if someone could confirm they see what I'm talking about from the vid, I'd be really grateful!!

Many thanks

If you're talking about the kind of flickering on the ground when you move, yes I do see it when I watch the vid in 1080p. Kind of looks like TV static to me.

[Ruvalie]

I've been having the same problem since the texture "upgrade." It totally ruined Voss. What really worries me is that they're planning to do this to every planet, and that would make the game unplayable for me.

Someone earlier in the thread said it might have to do with screen resolution. I'm playing in 1080p. If they really plan on making the game inaccessible to everyone who doesn't play on 4k, that's a really stupid and unrealistic decision for an old/classic game.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Ruvalie