Forum Discussion

Re: Graph flicker showing up on water

@InfiniteVerve It's odd that it's only appearing since you added that pack but maybe you could try changing your settings to see if it helps ?

The 1030 isn't that strong a graphics card. It should be fine to play but if you try to play on high, there could be issues.

The clientDB.package file is used for photography and as you said is recreated. Should be an issue if you deleted it.

Sid: Did you actually check your own game if you have those too ?

24 Replies

  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    @crinrictI have always played with the exact same settings, and the 1030 handled it beautifully... until GF. Do the new packs require even more purchasing of new graphics cards (did they change something which upped the requirements/ pack specific?). The devs should really do their QC/ and playthrough (before release) on lower end computers, since most purchasers do not own studio game development quality computers... anywhooo

    *edited for update: I went and changed the settings (to High- it was on ultra, ever since the beginning, with no issues) and now I am not getting the grid. So it would appear that I can't add more packs without constantly upgrading my graphics card (or lowering the settings with each new addition?????). Eww, really bad dev on that. 

  • crinrict's avatar
    crinrict
    Hero+
    7 years ago
    @InfiniteVerve The more packs you add the heavier the load on your computer.

    Looking at some benchmarks your card is about the same level as the 650 which is recommended for this game but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can play on ultra with it with all packs installed.

    You did disable the pack though and it still appeared so it doesn't look like it has anything to do with the extra pack.

    I'll forward this thread to QA and see if they have any input but I don't think they will answer. This is just to make them aware.
  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    @crinrictYes, its in my game too its part of the island living expansion which will eventually open up water access in all worlds that have ocean or some type of water access. I see the same blank lines they are smallers with better graphics cards, they could be underwater lots waiting to be finished after Island Living releases. I think the lines may have something to do with the oceanic lot trait which can't be removed. Also they said the sky was changing to as to allow for the new type of Thunderstorms in Shuni called Monsoons. So at launch they said the only world that will have the water activities turned on is Shuni, but they never said anything about it only being in Shuni. I think they will go back and upgrade the 3 ocean worlds we already have in game to support the water activities from Island Living but they want to test it out on Shuni and tune it first before they transport it to the other worlds.

    Edit: I almost forgot you got to be at water level or just above water level to see the lines on better graphics cards, I almost missed one.

  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @crinrict I am wondering if the added graphics in game are what are draining my resources (celebrity glow, for example). It would be wiser for the team to dev the packs, knowing people would add, and make sure that those additions aren't heavier on graphics than the original. It's great to have beautiful worlds, but, if simmers have to keep getting new graphics cards then that is a fatal flaw of design.

    The new packs creating heavier loads... Hmm, so bottlenecking? My system can handle a good deal of stuff, and I like to keep it at a common spec (I test a lot of graphics geared programs, like new multimedia programs- aimed at the gp). The common issue with companies is that they are quite detached from their actual marketplace, and things such as additional game packs are not properly integrated- even though they know (before starting a new project) that there will be additions.

    I am guessing that many simmers, with standard specs, are going to have a slew of issues with the new Island pack (based on there still being an integration issue with additional packs). That's a shame, but something they should be aware of.

    Anyway, thanks for the assistance, and hopefully the QA team will do something.
  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    Intergration no most packs are issued and tested without any other packs installed.  This is where are the bugs pop up with the other packs, and when you have 2 or 3 packs trying to compete with each other it don't quite work.  Seasons caused the Death of the Geek Con Festival when it rains, it also caused the death of the random parties in GT when it rains.  The other festivals carry on ok with music going in and out when it rans and stops raining.  So all bugs and weird behavior is between the packs because that is the section that is never tested before release.

    Edit: I almost forgot one more silly little thing the Bar doesn't show up in the Ruins or the Bluffs if the active family has children or teens in the party list, even though Dine Out gave the Teens and children something to drink at the bar.

    Edit2: Plus even GT added the floats which because you had to get it at the bar the base game locked them to young adults and older, which wasn't fixed until later on.

  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @Sid1701d9 are you having issues with the skyline in DelSol Valley too? I am adding another video to show the skyline issue.
  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @crinrict that is exactly the same issue. I was reading, and looking at specs, and I also play with an SSD. I see that issue was presented in December, so... no word yet on that?
  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    My graphic card is a good card, the lots that are higher than the town in Del Sol Valley, if you make it rain during the day the background disappears behind the think rain band, as the weather, you are also high enough to see the towering clouds through the rain that is falling I believe the thunderstorm is the words of the foggy effect.  The fog effect is worse during thunderstorm days, but the town can develop some fog effect on cloudy days, perhaps your seeing the slow transition from  blue sky to cloudy weather.  I have also noticed the pool water looks like it has rougher wave action that on some graphics cards my look like the water is comin gup out of the pool.  I choose thunderstorm and the pool waves where goin gin the same direction as the wind, splashing up against the side of the pool walls.

    So yeah, I think its the limitation of some of the graphics cards and its ability to process fog properly.

    Edit: Sorry for my hard to read post I need to get a new keyboard I had this one forever and the keys get stuck half the time.

    Make sure in the graphics setting the refresh rate should be set at 60mhz which is the refresh rate for most monitors and TV this should help reduce it.  Also make sure vertical synk is on because that will help smooth out the weather transition effects across pixils.

  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @Sid1701d9 I don't have (and won't get) the Seasons game pack, so that's not the issue.I have seen far too many (game breaking) bugs with the Seasons pack, and so I decided that will not be a purchase.
  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    Well, even if you don't have seasons the skyline effects that was patched into the sky are still there and so maybe you can get clouds passing by making portions of the city disappear on low graphics cards, because the base game did come with clouds.

    Edit: another thing to mention I have had season for quite some time and had little to no problems with bugs from it.  The majority of the problem is you got half the people that are reporting bugs yelling about it and the other  3/4 of the community not reporting anything at all because there is nothing to report.  That is the same way with every expansion pack.

  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    @Sid1701d9I don't actually have a low graphics card. I have a great graphics card (that I work with in all sorts of high-render programs). Also, blaming the players for not having expensive game pc's, when there are clear development issues, is not good. I would like to see what rigs the developers test with, and what their specs are- and how long they test each pack (before public release/hype). Otherwise the message they are sending is clear: You have to have a very expensive rig just to play this game - opposed to what they say in their advertising campaigns.

    *Edited to add. As far as graphics, and recommended specs for playing the game (with all packs)- In terms of overall gaming performance, the graphical capabilities of the Nvidia GeForce GT 1030 (which is what I am testing with) are massively better than the Nvidia GeForce 6600. ... The GeForce GT 1030 has 384 Shader Processing Units and the GeForce 6600 has 11. And, again, it seems to be a shaming type thing against players who don't have very expensive gaming rigs- and it shouldn't be shameful at all (to those reading, who have typical, non-pro, computers- no need to feel bad, the issue is not your fault, this is a dev issue).

  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @InfiniteVerve First off if your using the 1030 GT, that is the major problem right there, Nvidia don't release their series in order, it is impossible for a GT 1030 to run at a the same speed as a GTX 1060. The GT series are low to low med range cards, they do not have the ability to process shadows or munch graphics in most of the advanced game engines. The Minimum requirement for dedicated graphics cards is the GTX 660, My other computer I had before this one had a GT 8800 card in it and it wouldn't be able to play the sims in any mode but intergrated mode without artifacting. I used to have the GT 5500 that was even worse than the 8800. Keep in mind the newer series now is the GTX 1000 series and the RTX 2000 series. I currently have the GTX 1060 , not the GT 1060, GTX =Graphic Text extreme engine. The GT cards are mostly meant for low processing of videos for watching youtube videos and other streaming and imaging stuff and with light video editing. No one is shaming you I don't even have a advanced gaming pc, wish I did, but you got to watch what you buy.
  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @Sid1701d9 You are still not reading what I wrote. I have had no problems with graphics. I have ran my game with no graphics issues... until I installed Get Famous. It is not a graphics card issue, as the card I test with is a good one.

    The issue is that, if it's true, if players - who run the specs suggested by the site - are not going to get a good running game, then Maxis needs to be truthful on the first page of their advert. The first thing people should see is that (if it really is a graphics, and comp spec issue- rather than poor dev) they will need a very high end (expensive) computer just to play the game.

    And, again, the card I use can run all manner of lofty programs. I do that regularly, with no issue. And, have never had a graphics issue until I installed Get Famous. And, I played on Ultra settings- with no issue, until Get Famous.

    The shaming/blaming is there. I see it all the time. Because players are not being told that "this game will not process as it should- unless the players have high end computers.". There is an (justifiable) reason that purchasers expect good play... The advertising makes it out that way. They don't say that all of the features (shadows, smooth play, lighting, textures, long distance draw, etc.) won't be available (if they have the minimum recommended specs). There are no forthcoming statements about having issues, and needing an expensive rig just to play... If they want to be the provider of this franchise then they should be doing better testing across a good scope of different rigs, and not lying to the paying public about what specs (really) are needed to have a proper game (no loss of anything).
  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @InfiniteVerve Unless I know what type of computer you have I can not help you, however, the link for system requirements show what the game required at launch time to play, they do not add the patches or expansion packs stuff packs or additional packs. The game is one of only a few games that is optimized to play on low end systems, like a intergrated processor at low to med settings. The GT cards are low to med setting cards and have terrible shadow rendering, I know I had one a long time ago, some of the newer Intel Intergrated cards are better than them.

    Anyways check your computer to see if all minium requirements match the minium spec using "dxdiag" in the run prompt to get there hit Windows Key +R and type "dxdiag" in the text box. Keep in mind each pack you install above the base game bumps the requirements up. The Sims 4 runs fine on a Intergraded computer with 4 stuff packs, or 3 game packs, or 2 expansion packs I know I had though computers on lab top varity until the laptop variety went down in price. Anyways I almost forgot here is the link for the requirements. Ignore the Recommended requirements because if you want to run the game a best performance use that as a guide for buying your next PC in the future but for now just focus on the Minimum requirements.

    Here is the website for game requirements: https://help.ea.com/en-us/help/the-sims/the-sims-4/the-sims-4-system-requirements/
  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @Sid1701d9 I know the requirements. I have better than the requirements for running this game... Again, it is not my rig, it is the Get Famous game pack causing issues.
  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @InfiniteVerve Hey, I was messing around with the graphics settings in the game to get the grid lines you got in the video and found that if I play in ultra setting and turn the reflection off I get the grid lines not as bad as in the video perhaps its something the graphics card is having trouble rendering in the water. Also when I was looking through trying to get the grid lines to come when I set graphics really low I got a skyline and water problem. So I think I found the answer to another problem just by looking for the answer to your problem, I love it when that happens. You may want to try to turn off reflections and shadows and see if the grid line goes away in the game under graphics settings.
  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @Sid1701d9 You still aren't reading what I wrote... I had no issues, playing on ultra high settings, at all - until adding Get Famous.

    The fact that you were able to replicate the grid lines, after messing with your settings, shows that it is an issue with how it was rendered. You had the grid and skyline issue when you set your graphics to low- not high.

    I do appreciate you looking into it on your end, but the key thing is that I have always played on ultra in my settings, and never once had grid issues, until adding Get Famous. I am not sure what rendering they employed, but I can guess that all of the additional effects (fame glow, those weird bubbles at night, and bees) put a heavier demand on everything. That's something that the dev team has to address. If they are unable to create game packs that run smooth (across all computers that meet their baseline, and above) while all of them experience the same gameplay/render - then they need to be truthful, instead of marketing the game like it will work beautifully for everyone.

    When people read the computer requirements for this game it states what is needed. Not anywhere does it say that simmers will not all have the same experience- because some people are wealthy enough to afford high spec computers. The required specs are written on their site, and people expect a smooth game when they meet those specs.
  • Sid1701d9's avatar
    Sid1701d9
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    @InfiniteVerveI only got the smaller version of the grid lines when I turned off reflection, but this game came out a while back, unfortunately, it would cost game companies too munch money to test every system type especially when you get into desktops from prebuilt factory ones to custom made gaming tower, which is what I have. Every custom gaming tower is unique to the individual that builds it or has it built by someone. To try to solve this problem a group of game and software developers developed DirectX is a software/hardware library matching service.

    Also, I have seen though lines before and is the program background of empty space they did the worlds in. I don't think the developers of the existing worlds knew they where going to open up the water and the ocean has no land under it.

  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago
    @Sid1701d9 apparently https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/FIXED-Del-Sol-Valley-Background-doesn-t-render-on-weak-graphic/m-p/7954875#M91859

    "We fixed the issue with Del Sol Valley’s terrain disappearing when View Distance was set to High. Graphics cards (that we know of) that were affected by the issue:
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    AMD Radeon R6 Graphics
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5145
    NVIDIA GT 120
    Fixed in Patch 1.52.100" via crinrict
  • InfiniteVerve's avatar
    InfiniteVerve
    Seasoned Ace
    7 years ago

    Well that didn't work. I am still getting the disappearing skyline in DelSol Valley. And yes, I updated, deleted localthumbcache, fixed game, removed mods, and all that standard stuff. 

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