Pixelated Shadows during Cutscenes?

@ObsidianVashti

The game engine has its issue for sure , I think a lot wish warzones where sorted with the UI etc ...

Yeah in the profile in the NVidia control panel  program list , set pre-rendered frames to 1 , having launcher.exe listed should be ok , if not try adding swtor.exe directly

@ObsidianVashti

The worst issue at present is a BSOD with Windows 10 with gaming see here

I have a Gigabyte GTX 970 and have been lucky with issues myself under windows 10

Now it seems consistent that the game also first loads to a black screen with the main menu audio playing in the background. To first start the game I also need to minimize and the maximize swtor.exe. All issues are still persisting despite reverting to the older driver. This is after doing a clean install in safe mode with the utility you provided and adjusting swtor.exe in NVIDIA Control Panel.

@ObsidianVashti

Sorry to hear 355.98 has been the most stable driver for most , If you want to try again with 347.88 as per here , inbetween time I will look for the other instances of this exact behaviour of having to use minimise and restore to get the game going , I may be mixing the cause ... I have leapt from one to another constantly recently

No problem! I'm just grateful for your suggestions. This is my first gaming build so I'm excited to get up and running. Find it ironic that my four year old laptop ran the game in a more stable fashion than my new gaming build. Although I use the word "stable" loosely. I'm disappointed to see that after returning to SWTOR 8 months later its optmization/game-engine issues still haven't been resolved. I don't think I'll be a subscriber again until they show initiative in that domain. I'm sure a lot of it is buried deep in the game itself and would require a lot of work. But, it's people like you who are helping to keep the core of this game afloat!

@ObsidianVashti

Can never find something when your looking for it , still cant find where I have seen that

Another good thing to do though is install this particular directx 9 redist here

still looking but have to go out soon

If this is just the direct x features for version 9, then I already installed that in light of suggestions for an optimal installation of SWTOR in Windows 10. However, that was one of the few suggestions I followed from a lengthy thread somewhere on here regarding prime SWTOR Windows 10 practices. I haven't really bothered with the extensive administrative priveleges as this appears to be more directly related to graphics card and drivers. Others I have talked to focus on the fact that my graphics card is factory overclocked. However, running the card in debug mode via the NVIDIA Control Panel should have ruled that factor out, yes?

@ObsidianVashti

Never hurts to set the game shortcut as administrator

I would of thought Debug Mode will be sufficient , and yes I can understand about focusing on the overclock with an EVGA card, I have known of an issue with EVGA980s here but not aware 970s are affected the same way.

@ObsidianVashti

This is the closest issue I could see for your card , I don't think its the same thing though

Yes, I had come across that forum thread before. I don't think it's for my exact model card either. Close but not quite. Furthermore, I've never had the game crash. My card's temps are relatively low and it only happens in SWTOR. I may see if I can get anywhere with EVGA or NVIDIA support. Otherwise I'm not sure what else to try. The problem is cosmetic more than impeding my gameplay. My main concern is that it may be indicative of a larger problem that I am unaware of. Other thoughts: Is there any way this is related to my monitor or the use of an HDMI cable for connections? Perhaps a failure of the cable or monitor to readjust resolutions when first starting or changing graphic settings? Just trying to think outside the box.

The main thing that bothers me is the extremely jagged shadows that show on character figures during in-game conversation scenes. Are these problems related or completely separate. The shadow issues seem to align with what others many years ago indicated as a conflict between "High" quality shadows and inefficient resolution. The fault appears to be SWTOR engine related rather than my card. Should I just remove shadows with my setup or is there an optimal way to configure them for my card?

@ObsidianVashti

I have thought about it being HDMI as well , if can try DVI it is something to try

I haven't been worried about shadows more the black screen, for the shadows if you turn off AA is there any change ?

I always use my card as a base as it is a 970 here is my dxdiag attached for comparison, it a month old but gives you an idea

Unfortunately this monitor is HDMI or Display Port only (Dell U2414H). I will play around with the AA settings in just a sec. For now I may also just update to the latest NVIDIA drivers since we know that didn't resolve the problem. I may verify that there's not drivers specific to my monitor or something like that too.

Unfortunately this monitor does not support DVI-I (HDMI or DIsplay Port only). [Dell U2414H]. I'll try playing around with the AA settings. I tried adjusting bloom, conversation depth, and shadow map resolution all to no avail. Shadow map resolution on higher settings refines the pixelation so it isn't as bad, but it's still very noticeable.

@ObsidianVashti

I use displayport myself with my 970

Current Mode: 2560 x 1440 (32 bit) (59Hz)
       Monitor Name: DELL U2715H(miniDisplayPort)
      Monitor Model: DELL U2715H

Update:

I discovered that if I set Shadows to Low rather than High any pixelation issues disappear. This mirrors what was indicated in some previous swtor.com forum posts I linked earlier in this discussion. It appears there maybe some odd issues with characters and shadow settings that are on "High". I do not understand the exact nature of this issue, but am disappointed that it is evident since patch 1.2 all the way to 4.0+ Adjusting the AA settings does not change anything (although this is when the black screen issue stopped, attempt to reproduce?) Furthermore, while making some of these adjustments the screen refreshed appropriately without needing to minimize and maximize the game engine. It appears that the black-screen issue is not consistent. This time when first starting SWTOR it loaded straight to the main menu rather than a black screen. I do not have a display port cable readily available tonight, but I may see if I can track one down to test for kicks and giggles. Monitor drivers are now installed with no change.

1920x1080 resolution @60hz for monitor

*Update:

I can confirm after toying around with the settings, the black screen issue only appears to occur when the AA is set to "Very High." If I make any graphical adjustments with the AA on anything except "Very High" the black screen issue does not occur. I will keep testing this to confirm there is no deviation. Shadow pixelation occurs regardless of AA settings.

@ObsidianVashti

I have shadows on low as well , maybe why I have never seen this with the shadows , I have link issues at present that will stop me testing at present , link is only up for a minute at a time , damn fibre 🙂 great when it works

@ObsidianVashti

 I have AA on very high but I do have MFAA turned off if relevant

If you are referring to the MFAA within the NVIDIA Control Panel, mine is also turned off (the Global Setting). In general setting shadows to Low seems to have resolved any and all stuttering issues (despite being minute) and rids all characters of shadow pixelation during cutscenes (because then there is no shadows). The shadows look brilliant in the environment during gameplay, so I would love to have this setting on high, but not if it creates all these issues due to SWTOR's poor optimization.

It appears that the black screen issues occurs only if my AA is set to "Very High" still verifying that this is consistent, regardless of other settings.

Were you able to determine if you also experienced pixelated shadows when you had this setting turned to Very High? Occasionally I will still have a black screen when the game loads the title screen. Otherwise I may update to the latest graphic drivers since we realized that it appears to be the game rather than my card now.

Happy New Years!

@ObsidianVashti

I don't get any black screens at all, is the video driver still in debug mode ?

I cant test the shadows at present moving house

No. However, this black screen is much more difficult to test. It only occurs maybe 10-20% of the time when I first start the game. Every since reverting back to the previous drivers with a clean install I have not had the black screen issue when firing the Agent's carbine ability. The main thing I'm wanting to confirm is whether or not you also experience the pixelated shadows. No rush, good luck in the transition!

I hope your move and transition has been going well. I'm still experiencing issues. I did encounter this forum post today that seemed to have an extremely detailed inside perspective regarding what might be happening with SWTOR and this graphics card:
https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/884991/?comment=4694763

Any thoughts?

@ObsidianVashti

Sitting a  hotel room , lucky for hotel wifi , I am very familiar with that thread you linked , will try and find the other that was made on a different forum

@ObsidianVashti

here is the other thread to the one you linked , I posted in it so certainly know it 🙂

thread is here

For the 980s I am aware EVGA released a firmware update, I haven't looked at this recently to see what was occurring with the 970's

to show you the widespread that issue with EVGA , see if this link works here

@ObsidianVashti

There is this hotfix driver here fixing some clocking issues , but still saw some reports with 900 series issues even on this driver ( the reports are not related to swtor )

See thread here