Graphic Issues after changing video settings - game now unplayable
Hi Guys,
I sent this message into support@telltalegames.com, but wanted to post the issue here as well in case anybody had any ideas.
Here's the email I sent it - does anybody in the forums have any suggestions?
Hello there,
Hoping you can give me a hand. I purchased the Batman series on Steam, and I'm running on an Alienware laptop with a 4k display, and an Nvidia 980m.
I've set up the game using to use the NVIDIA card in the GeForce Control panel, and the game initially launched fine.
The problem came in when I tried to adjust the video settings.
I set the settings to match my display settings (3840 x 2156) in fullscreen mode. Afterwards, the game displayed a white screen, while the music continued to play. I was forced to alt-tab out and quit the application.
I've since attempted to launch the game using Windows 7 and Windows 8 mode, and while audio plays, there is no video display - only a white screen.
I am able to switch over to the integrated video card and get a video display, but the mouse cursor is restricted in movement - I'm unable to move low enough in the screen to adjust settings.
Likewise, uninstalling and reinstalling the game had no effect, nor did removing the Nvidia profile I created and recreating it.
So - my question now is - is there a configuration file that I can remove that will restore the settings to default? Barring that, do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Comments
This is officially Telltale's version of Arkham Knight.
Try Windowed mode.
Right click the game in your Steam library, then click Properties.
You should see a "Set Launch Options" button. If not, click on the 'General' tab.
In the small text box that appears, type "-windowed" which will force the game to launch in Windowed mode.
Try that.
Additionally, you could try launching in full screen 1920x1080.
Do the same steps as before, but type "-w 1920 -h 1080" instead of "-windowed".
Alt+Enter forces the game into a window, but attempting to change any resolution with full screen on (except the highest resolution) freezes the game. This is a huge problem that Telltale should not ignore.
In case anybody is interested:
I did find configuration files in %DriveLetter%:\Users\%Username%\Documents\telltale games\Batman The Telltale Series
I was able to at least launch the game again after unchecking "Cloud Save" in the Steam interface, and deleting this folder. The folder and files were recreated upon launch of the game, but reset to default values.
Here's what I found, as a result of my testing:
I don't think I"ve left anything out of testing. To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. I'm sure the issues will be resolved in a patch, but this is the first time I've actually had launch-day issues and what amounts to an unplayable game.
(The only resolution the game seems to display is the default 1024 x 768 - which has an incorrect aspect ratio).
Yep, I was right.
I said this before but I think the game's current performance and graphic issues is due to it being set into Ultra setting by default. Not everyone has high stat computers for Ultra setting which is why High or lower Texture Graphic setting performs better for most players in past games
In the past games we had the option to change Texture between low, medium, High, and Ultra which worked well and prevented any performance issues with players if there was a slight issue with performance during Ultra setting.
However, this game does not have the option to change the Texture setting which is normally set as Ultra setting by default once a person installs the game. One solution to the issue the game currently is suffering from may be solved if telltale add a Texture setting in Graphics into this game as they had always done in their past games before.
Whatever my issue is is definitely not related to texture settings. It seems to be an issue purely with calculating and displaying at the proper resolution. I'm not sure if it's trying to display at a resolution that is different from that selected, or if something else is causing the draw issues - but I hope it gets resolved quickly.
In case anybody is referencing this thread for information or troubleshooting purposes:
The patch released this morning did not resolve the issue for me.
Also, (in case it's relevant) I am running the latest GeForce driver release for my card. (368.81)
Will continue to update as I test other suggestions or workarounds.
Just got a response from Telltale support.
They stated that none of their games support 4k resolution, and that that is the source of the problem. They suggested that I try and set resolution to nothing over a 1920 width.
I responded and referred them back to this thread (which I had also done in a previous update).
I let them know that I've already tried the 1920 by 1080 resolution (to no effect) and that the only resolution choice that I've been able to get to display is 1024 x 768, which is the incorrect aspect ratio for my rig.
I also asked (as an aside), if they don't support higher resolutions, shouldn't the resolution slider cap out at thier maximum resolution?
I'm now awaiting another response.
Maybe they don't officially support 4K resolution but games like Tales of the Borderlands etc works 100% right with 4K resolution.
Also company of their size, you would think they already got 4K monitor for testing purposes.
I'm pretty sure this was just their first crack, canned response. I had sent in an update earlier requesting them to reference this thread, but I'm guessing that the person who responded fired off a response without actually reading the thread.
I'm hoping my response will cause them to review the ticket details and then read this thread for further information.
Telltale aren't going to fucking patch the game anymore I bet. This sucks.
I'm certain that they will. Telltale has always been good about support for me in the past, and I have no doubt they're very aware of the issues. I just want to make sure that I'm documenting the issue properly, and that if anybody else has workarounds or fixes that have been tried, that they get documented as well.
(I work in the support industry myself, so I understand how important detailed notes are for proper troubleshooting.)
In another note - does anybody know how to edit posts with the new forums? I accidentally listed my native resolution as 3840 x 2156 in my first post (which I think led to some confusion) - it's actually 3840 x 2160.
Just received the following response from Telltale.
I am at work at the moment, and unable to test - but hopefully this will be of use to somebody else experiencing the same problem.
Will update with my own results after I get home.
Here's the email:
Hello,
Please try the following steps to potentially resolve this error:
1. Right click on the game in your Steam Library and select Properties.
2. Click the Local Files tab, then click Browse Local Files.
3. Right click on the Batman_win7 or Batman_win8 file, depending on which one you use.
4. Select Properties and click on the Compatibility tab.
5. Click on the checkbox for Disable display scaling on high DPI settings. Click Apply when you are finished.
This seemed to have helped others fix the same issue, so please let us know if this works or not.
If it doesn't work can you please send over your Dxdiag?
I've heard this solution for the past 2 days. It doesn't do shit for me.
Hey freelance. Did you manage to play through the game?
I got up to my first achievement but stopped. I really don't want to experience the game in this condition. I'll probably fucking break down and playthrough it if its not fixed by the end of the week though.
So sorry to hear that buddy.
I've tried this method. Still doesn't work. It's such a shame as I was really looking forward to playing
Rest assured, they're well aware of the problems and are on top of it. There will be more patches.
After I got home this evening, another patch was downloaded.
Neither the patch, nor the instructions above resolved the issue.
I've provided my dxdiag output to Telltale in hopes that it will help them find the issue. I've also referenced another thread (the slow thread) in which another user seemed to pinpoint the issue to a problem with resolution switching when using Optimus to switch from the integrated video card to the high-end video card.
Hopefully this will get us further down the road.
I've now applied the third patch. Still no effect on this particular bug. I've updated my open ticket with Telltale.
Just a quick update - I received another response from Telltale Support last night.
They've developed a more comprehensive tool for analyzing systems that are having issues running the game, and asked me to capture output from that tool.
The tool captured another dxdiag, hardware and driver profiles, installation/configuration file location information, crash logs, etc.
I've forwarded that back to support, and am awaiting another response.
I am a bit nervous that they seem to be focusing on crash logs, as (technically speaking) the game isn't actually crashing - it's simply displaying improperly. I made sure to mention this in y response to them, and said that the crash that they did see in the log was likely my force-quit of the game after the display errors.
I've referened the Optimus issues that others have noticed in another thread, and also let them know that if they still don't have what they need for the logs, I can try to dig up some desktop recording software and record a short video demonstrating the problem.
Will follow up if I hear anything new.
They asked me to use the same tool. I did as it said and uploaded it, but I decided to look into the file itself afterwards and it looks like it didn't detect any problems which is BS.
Yeah I was going to link them my gameplay recording of the game running (terribly) on my specs, so support could get the idea.
That's sort of what I was alluding to. Because the game isn't technically crashing, I don't think the crashlogs are going to be of use, and I wanted to make sure they didn't focus on that.
I was sure to mention in my message that the crash that is recorded is most likely me force-quitting the applicaton.
I'm hoping they respond today - I do think a video of the issue would be helpful to them.
Unfortunately, I'm getting a bit nervous about continuing to troubleshoot - I'm already up to 56 minutes "playtime" on the game from troubleshooting. I think there's only a 2 hour play window before you can no longer request a refund.
Yep, but I've overexceded the playtime. I'm sort of hollow at this point over the issue, so I don't even care about refunds I just want to play the episode to completion at a consistent frame rate.
I suppose I really shouldn't be worried about the refunds either. It's not like I intend not to buy the game. It's just that this is the first time I've actually had an issue that has't been resolved almost instantaneously.
I have no doubt that they'll get it sorted out...but I do kind of wish they'd pushed the release back to perform more QA testing. I understand that probably wasn't possible given the fact that they want to have consistent monthly releases for each of their series, but I'm betting this is going to cause some rolling problems into the future, not least of which is trust factor.
Oh definitely. Could you imagine if The walking dead season 3 had this terrible of a launch week. People would be fucking pissed.
Exact same problem. This is garbage. Can't believe I bought another game from this people.
Just received another response from TellTale. Once again, I am at work so am unable to test, but I'm placing it here in case anybody can use it to troubleshoot their own issues:
Hi,
Thank you for sending your Support Tool. I will pass it along to the team for further investigation. In the meantime, please open C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\Telltale Games\ and cut out any game folders of ours with save data you want to keep. Please then paste these folders on your desktop.
After doing this, please delete the entire Telltale Games folder in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\, including the Batman folder. Please also empty your recycling bin afterwards.
Please then launch the game and go into the Settings menu to adjust the resolution to 1920. Please also see if you are able to change into full screen mode here. If not, please launch the game in windowed mode again, change the resolution to 1920, then go back into the main menu to save your settings. Please then press Alt+Enter to play in full screen mode.
If you are able to play in full screen this way, please close the game and move your game folders on your desktop back to C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\Telltale Games.
Some thoughts:
Basically, this isn't all that different from what I've already been doing. The only difference is that I haven't been moving ALL of the game folders out of the users document folder - I've only been deleting the Batman folder.
As such, I don't expect this fix to work, unless something in the other folders is causing an issue, but I can't imagine how that would be the case.
That said - if anybody else is able to give it a shot, please feel free.
"Telltale confirmed that PC gamers will be able to tweak visual settings more than in their previous games for those after extra sharpness."
Well, the game was actually released with LESS options than in their previous games...
I got the same response yesterday. Didn't do shit. My response just now is
"Hi,
Thank you for sending your Support Tool. It appears both .exe files in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ are still set to High DPI settings. Could you please confirm if you have done the previously suggested steps for Disable display scaling on high DPI settings? I recommend checking this again to ensure high DPI is disabled. The latest changes you have made to the game may have removed your previous settings.
After checking this, please launch the, click Settings, then click Graphics. Please turn off anti-aliasing in here, and set the texture quality to a lower setting. Please then go back to the main menu to save these settings. If you are still in windowed mode for the game, please then press Alt+Enter to see if you are now able to successfully change into full screen mode."
I sent them a picture to prove its already set to disable, so I can at least get that problem away. Its almost the weekend and support is closed on weekends...Fuck
This is sort of what I expected (and what I was afraid of.)
Part of the problem is that we're also running multiple tests that are disconnected from each other. I only turned off the high DPI scaling for one test, and then set everything back to defaults so as not to pollute the testing.
My gut tells me that the real problem is that (for some reason) Optimus switching is breaking something....I almost feel like it's not actually switching, but trying to display through the integrated video card at a resoution it's not able to support - but even THAT doesn't make sense because A) Optimus is controlled by the NVidia Control Panel, not the software being run and
some of the resolutions I've tested should still be supportable through the integrated video card.
I have a feeling the only way to really get this resolved is to take video of the changes that we're making, show the results, and upload it to a server where they can download it. If they actually see the results, it'll probably help.
Unfortunately, that also probably means gathering all of the other relevant data and forwarding it to them again. (dxdiag/Windows Version/Driver Version/Nvidial Control Panel Settings, Steam Launcher settings, etc.) sighs
they actually said that?
That is a bit of false advertisement there.
So when is this gonna be fixed?
Well, I didn't have any issues until the update(or it could have been just because I relaunched the game after changing settings). I got that black screen where nothing happens(no phantom buttons nor other detected issues). Anyway, I forced windowed mode upon the game. That still had the same outcome. I launched the Windows 7 option(I use 10). Same outcome. I then forced window launched the 8+ version, forced the 7 version, then launched 8+ normally. That got it going.
Basically, I reset the launch options for both, which still kept my game save and options for AFTER launch. It was a pain, but this issue lies somewhere in there. Something seems amiss with either the config or how it's implemented.
(I was trying to discover a simple way of doing this other than actually editing the config file, since a lot of people are not comfortable doing so. That and it wouldn't help troubleshoot. Note: I did not touch my resolution, which some stated could be an issue)
I bought the game yesterday night and after a 6-hour download, fingers crossed, I started up the game. Of course, it launched in a windowed 1024x768 resolution. I messed around with the in-game graphics settings but my changes in resolution and trying to enter fullscreen had no effect. So far I have tried:
I also noticed that the Steam patch didn't do anything to fix which graphics the game would use- I had to manually use the nvidia control panel to direct it to my nvidia GTX 965M. Restarted the game and nothing changed.
I went to bed after all of this, and retried running the game earlier today. It opened in a 1024x768 window. As soon as I clicked after the "press any key to start" screen, all I see is my cursor floating around on a black screen. Yay.
I almost envy the people who are having framerate & floatey cursor problems. Having played Tales from the Borderlands at an average of 10-15 FPS, I could learn to live with it, at least for the first episode. But all these other issues, before I even try to play the episode... I have no words.
Telltale posted a possible fix for the black screen bug on the Batman support section.
From what i understand they are still working hard on a fix for the lag issues so keep an eye on the support section or this forum for updates.
Thank you for the reply but unchecking the box has made no difference. Whether the box is checked or unchecked the window is still black, but when I hover over the top window border the cursor changes to a circle as if it's trying to load something.
I would wait to see if anything changes after ten or fifteen minutes, but I want to savour the time in case I decide on refunding it.
Anyway, thank you for the update. I'm really eager to play, but I guess all I can do for now is be patient.