Graphics problem

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

To find out, you could whip up an empty route with members of all the different signal families side by side and experiment with 3D weather settings.
A clean and clinical environment for testing purposes should allow you to make conclusions.

Having done just that, I don't notice any problems with Pacific Surfliner BNSF colour light or Donner Pass searchlight signals.
I changed the base weather in the routeproperties.xml to PacificSurfliner\Weather\3D Cloudy.xml, but don't notice any clouds, so I am not sure Silver Lining is actually enabled.
Then I manually edited the scenarioproperties.xml to use PacificSurfliner\Weather\3D Cloudy.xml to get the new weather system. Still no transparancy errors. I am OK.
My settings are: everything enabled and maxed, 3x3 SSAA Anisotropic x 8 on a GTX 770 2 GB using 344.11 drivers.

I play in 1440x900 windowed mode on a 1920x1200 monitor, that might make a difference as some settings only act on a game running full screen. Switching to full screen and back showed no difference, no transparency errors on those two signal families.

Bob, please make sure everything in nVidia's control panel is set to "application default", so no custom nVidia settings are messing you about in case you have created a custom game profile.

What asset pack do those Lakeside signals reside in? RCAP still has no signals I think?

Bingo: Stevens Pass searchlight and colour light signals do have the transparency error!

SignalsTransparencyTest.jpg

Now one must find the difference in their emitter textures or transparency settings ....

I couldn't find significant differences between the actual emitters, but there are some differences between the texture files they use in the parent signal head shape files.
There snippets were taken from the single head searchlight GeoPcDx files:
StP's shader definition

Code: Select all

      <cHcExplicitStateMaterial d:id="312514472">
         <ShaderName d:type="cDeltaString">UnlitSingle</ShaderName>
         <TextureByName>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">textures\[00]gx_signalglow01_grn</e>
         </TextureByName>
         <Name d:type="cDeltaString">green</Name>
         <CollisionSurface d:type="cDeltaString">METAL</CollisionSurface>
         <VertexType d:type="ref">312377640</VertexType>
         <FrameAlphaMode d:type="cDeltaString">ALPHA_MODE_ADD</FrameAlphaMode>
         <PassPlatformData/>
         <DiffuseAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000</DiffuseAsVec>
         <AmbientAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000</AmbientAsVec>
         <EmissiveAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">0.0000000 0.0000000 0.0000000 1.0000000</EmissiveAsVec>
         <SpecularColourAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000</SpecularColourAsVec>
         <SpecularPower d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0</SpecularPower>
         <TextureAddrModeU>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_TEXTURE_ADDR_MODE_WRAP</e>
         </TextureAddrModeU>
         <TextureAddrModeV>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_TEXTURE_ADDR_MODE_WRAP</e>
         </TextureAddrModeV>
         <TextureAddrModeW>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_TEXTURE_ADDR_MODE_WRAP</e>
         </TextureAddrModeW>
         <MagFilter>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_FILTER_MODE_LINEAR</e>
         </MagFilter>
         <MinFilter>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_FILTER_MODE_LINEAR</e>
         </MinFilter>
         <MipFilter>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_FILTER_MODE_NEAREST_POINT</e>
         </MipFilter>
         <MipLodBias>
            <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0</e>
         </MipLodBias>
         <AlphaRef d:type="sUInt32">127</AlphaRef>
         <BackFaceCulled d:type="bool">1</BackFaceCulled>
         <LightGlowFadeDistance d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0</LightGlowFadeDistance>
      </cHcExplicitStateMaterial>


DP shader definition

Code: Select all

      <cHcExplicitStateMaterial d:id="32701088">
         <ShaderName d:type="cDeltaString">UnlitSingle</ShaderName>
         <TextureByName>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">..\textures\[00]glow_green_nm</e>
         </TextureByName>
         <Name d:type="cDeltaString">glow_green</Name>
         <CollisionSurface d:type="cDeltaString">METAL</CollisionSurface>
         <VertexType d:type="ref">32751384</VertexType>
         <FrameAlphaMode d:type="cDeltaString">ALPHA_MODE_ADD</FrameAlphaMode>
         <PassPlatformData/>
         <DiffuseAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000</DiffuseAsVec>
         <AmbientAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000</AmbientAsVec>
         <EmissiveAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">0.0000000 0.0000000 0.0000000 1.0000000</EmissiveAsVec>
         <SpecularColourAsVec d:numElements="4" d:elementType="sFloat32" d:precision="string">1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000 1.0000000</SpecularColourAsVec>
         <SpecularPower d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0</SpecularPower>
         <TextureAddrModeU>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_TEXTURE_ADDR_MODE_WRAP</e>
         </TextureAddrModeU>
         <TextureAddrModeV>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_TEXTURE_ADDR_MODE_WRAP</e>
         </TextureAddrModeV>
         <TextureAddrModeW>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_TEXTURE_ADDR_MODE_WRAP</e>
         </TextureAddrModeW>
         <MagFilter>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_FILTER_MODE_LINEAR</e>
         </MagFilter>
         <MinFilter>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_FILTER_MODE_LINEAR</e>
         </MinFilter>
         <MipFilter>
            <e d:type="cDeltaString">HC_FILTER_MODE_LINEAR</e>
         </MipFilter>
         <MipLodBias>
            <e d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="00000000000000C0" d:precision="string">-2</e>
         </MipLodBias>
         <ZWriteEnabled d:type="bool">0</ZWriteEnabled>
         <AlphaRef d:type="sUInt32">127</AlphaRef>
         <LightGlowFadeDistance d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="00000000775F3E38" d:precision="string">8.9258e-038</LightGlowFadeDistance>
      </cHcExplicitStateMaterial>


Makes sense to anybody?

Or is it the alpha mask of the emitter's glow texture?

[Ericmopar]

It would be interesting to try and cross reference our graphics issues by motherboard, chipset and GPUs.

Some of us don't get those black signals, but we're getting white mountains intermittently, and Bad AA qualities and worse than normal screen tearing apparently.
Others don't report those things, but are getting things like these blacked out areas around light emitters.

We'd need very specific settings.
Does a person use Nvidia Inspector?
Does a person have headlight flares on?
Does a person have Adaptive Bloom on?
What are All settings in the in game and GPU control panel?

We'd need very specific info on Mobo make, model, chipset on the Mobo. Overclocked or stock settings. GPU model and the specific manufacturer. Not just the make like Nvidia or AMD, but whether it was made by MSI, EVGA, Gigabyte etc.

I think since discovering another loco glitch, IE Dynamic brake issue while driving the DDA40x in the F4 Driver Interface (HUD) that there may be missing things in the DLL libraries, or maybe they got pirated for the new Weather, or something else.

I know this after some experimenting, it's not the Assets or Content folders, it's definitely things in the core program.
There are some rather large file differences. Some much larger, and some that have shrunken to much smaller sizes since the update.
BTW, think much larger or smaller on a percentage scale.

[Ericmopar]

I almost forgot to add.
I haven't had a chance to test the setting yet, but Nvidia added "Shader Caching" to their control panel settings....
That might be something to check out.

[plethaus]

Do you have Stevens Pass, Ericmopar?

[GSkid]

OK....it is a transparency issue with the signals on Stevens Pass cuz I indeed have the problem too with my AMD GPU.

So this doesn't appear to be a GPU or driver issue. To those that say they don't have it, try Steven Pass and confirm. If you don't have the route or a route that uses the Stevens Pass signals, you have nothing to worry about or to confirm at this time.

So while the actual problem isn't solved yet.........the diagnosis of what the problem is and on what routes it occurs appears to be solved.

[artimrj]

That's what I said a few posts up eh? It is the textures. And everyone gets the white mountains. This is a known problem. White mountains depend on the season and weather you use. If they ae not white they are blue. The blue comes from the fog settings in the weather files. No need to compare systems or settings, they do not matter. My 760 is maxed out with every setting except depth of field which just blurs the distance. I don't use NVidia inspector. AA is application controlled.

[artimrj]

Shader cache is now turned off and it is doing what it says it does, reduce shimmering. Did not know that setting was there, thanks for pointing that out. It also reduced moire on the switches even more. Signals still have black square as they have no transparency layer.

[GSkid]

That's what I said a few posts up eh? It is the textures. And everyone gets the white mountains. This is a known problem. White mountains depend on the season and weather you use. If they ae not white they are blue. The blue comes from the fog settings in the weather files. No need to compare systems or settings, they do not matter. My 760 is maxed out with every setting except depth of field which just blurs the distance. I don't use NVidia inspector. AA is application controlled.

Well until it was narrowed down to the Stevens Pass signals, we just weren't seeing them elsewhere Bob. You were right.

[artimrj]

If you have the Lakeside route you would have seen them there also. Both routes are G-Trax, so the same guy (Rick), probably made both of them. Another test would be the Durango route.

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

Not so fast, GSKid, in your conclusions.
Other people should whip up an empty route to check as well.

There are more signal families around I haven't tested yet. I believe The Port Road also uses its own signals.
Plus there might be other assets which might suddenly have a black background when viewed against a 3D sky background.

So if we assume there is a transparency interaction between the light emitter texture and the 3D background. The 3D background negates/cancels out the transparency of the whole texture, not just the alpha masked part, right?

I copied the DP shader definition to the StP shader definition in those code snippets I posted, but that didn't seem to make any difference.
So now I suspect the alpha channel mask. Are these LOD dependent?
Perhaps somebody with more knowledge can look the StP textures over thoroughly and compare them with DP's for instance?

Copying DP's emitters over StP's, textures and all, should cure the problem, but will require editing of the StP GeoPcDx files and could have undesireable ugly results if things don't fit.

Best to confirm the findings and send word to Michael Stephan or Rick Grout, Stevens Pass authors, I believe.

[artimrj]

I will wait for DTG to straighten things out. The problem is all over the net so they know about it.

[GSkid]

Actually you may be right _o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha..... after all..... it is on the headlight of that BN SD40-2 as ColoradoRailfan's pic shows. I guess we should look at anything lighting fixture related. Just start testing everything with a light.

It could go beyond content and DLC centered around Stevens Pass, but as of yet.... no indications at this time.

[peterhayes]

There are some new shaders been included in TS2015 (\dev\shaders and \data\SilverLining\Shaders) dated 19/09/2014 and it could be one of those causing the issue or one of them interacting with previous unchanged TS2014 shaders. There is a Volumetriclighting.fx shader ands also TrainBasicObjectUnlit.fx shader are they anything to do with train/signal lighting?

Shader cache on or off should not affect the "black" squares issue in fact "ON" might well improve it as many of the shaders are cached and do not have to be rendered or re-rendered. On my 3 rigs, GTX 670, 750TI, 760TI - I do not see the black squares artefact but I see less cpu load with Shader Cache - ON.

Bob - did you say that this artefact disappears as you pan around or am I dreaming? If it does it seems to point to a rendering issue which might well be computer specific. If it doesn't - another theory just bit the dust.

pH

[buzz456]

The black square behind the signal only shows up when the background is the sky. I just tested it because I was about to report that I didn't have the problem until I went by a signal the was silhouetted by the sky. As I changed the view to slowly put a mountain behind the signal it went away as the sky was obscured.

[plethaus]

It's not computer specific!