Horizons Graphics issues in planets

[c0m4ndo45]

I don't know if it's just me, but graphics have been looking really bad for me in planets/planetary bases even though I kept everything on ultra. I just got Horizons.

There's no FPS issues, it just looks really bad for no apparent reason. I just updated graphic drivers and it made no difference at all.

Screenshots with the issue:
http://imgur.com/a/pAqJW

Screenshots WITHOUT the issue for reference(same settings):
http://imgur.com/a/xJ2zj

Should I submit a bug report, or any hints as of what might be going on?

 

[CMDR Zhon Daeli]

Texture's haven't fully rendered yet.
Does it stay like this, or does it eventually resolve itself?

 

[GG7]

I agree 100%. I'm running a high performance 4k gaming rig using ULTRA graphics settings in the game and the planet textures look like crap after the 2.1 update and I AM getting a noticeable FPS issue now which I never had in 2.0! [sad] Running an overclocked 980ti with the latest N driver, and a i7 6700k overclocked to 4700mhz. This rig ran 2.0 at 1080p resolution without breaking a sweat. (locked 60fps at 60hz)

Seems as if low or medium quality textures are getting loaded instead of the ULTRA high detailed versions at several altitudes above the planet as you descend for landing. These textures lack any significant detail to the point that it makes landing on some of them very difficult, because it is so hard to judge exactly where the surface is. Especially if you are on the dark side using your ship lights. This is due to the lack of the same high level of detail we had in 2.0, which I thought looked GREAT and had no complaints about the quality of the textures or how fast they loaded.

Some planets are so bad that the surface on approach is just a plain brown or grey matt with no detail whatsoever, with the base or crash site just plunked down on top of the plain mono color background. Reminds me of a 1980s video game.

Despite FD saying these textures would increase performance in the game and look even better than 2.0's textures, I have found the exact opposite to be the case. I haven't changed a thing in my settings, yet I am getting much less stable FPS now with nothing to show for it! I've messed around with the settings several times, but I can't get rid of the judder and hiccups I see now which was never a problem in 2.0.

I'm hoping that FD are aware of these issues and fixes these problems in the next point update. Otherwise, 2.1 will have proven to be a giant bust! In addition to the lackluster Engineers add-on, we get a significant step backwards in both graphics quality and performance.

All of this makes absolutely no sense! If I am seeing such low res textures in many areas where before they were high detail, sharp and realistic then WHY is my machine having trouble rendering these lackluster new textures? Before I had a solid/locked 60fps 100% of the time in 2.0 using the same ULTRA Preset for Graphics, with only SuperSampling increased from the preset of 1.0 to my preferred 1.5.

So again....YES! I agree with you! 2.1's planetary textures look like dog doo compared to 2.0 if you are running the ULTRA present with everything maxed.

 

[hab5000]

Yep, Planet textures look very poor when flying at low to medium altitudes above planets compared to previous versions. Terrain in the middle distance is a blurry mess, and there's also a distinct tiling pattern thing going on now.

Used to love cruising above the surface, checking out the scenery. I don't bother now. Some real LOD issues going on. I'll be very disappointed if they don't fix this

 

[GG7]

Yep, Planet textures look very poor when flying at low to medium altitudes above planets compared to previous versions. Terrain in the middle distance is a blurry mess, and there's also a distinct tiling pattern thing going on now.

Used to love cruising above the surface, checking out the scenery. I don't bother now. Some real LOD issues going on. I'll be very disappointed if they don't fix this

Two things really concern me about all of this:

1) Not a word from Frontier about this and a promise to fix it ASAP.
2) More than a few ED players claiming that planetary textures in the 2.1 update look fantastic and are a dramatic improvement to 2.0.

I can somewhat understand number 1 because FD will often "pretend" that everything is perfect in an update when they know full well there are serious issues with it.

But #2?

I have no words. [rolleyes]

 

[c0m4ndo45]

Texture's haven't fully rendered yet.
Does it stay like this, or does it eventually resolve itself?

Does not resolve itself. In fact, I landed on a planet just now then landed on an outpost in space and the textures remained bugged/low res even long gone from the planet. I had rebooted my pc prior to landing on the planet and the textures looked good (not sure if as optimal as they should, but fine: http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...167/2D3F155C0A53C8CBBE55A710D897FBEA458A91B2/ ) but after leaving and landing on a space outpost, the textures looked bugged again.

As for performance, no noticeable fps drops at any time during the entire game session.

 

[GG7]

Does not resolve itself. In fact, I landed on a planet just now then landed on an outpost in space and the textures remained bugged/low res even long gone from the planet. I had rebooted my pc prior to landing on the planet and the textures looked good (not sure if as optimal as they should, but fine: http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...167/2D3F155C0A53C8CBBE55A710D897FBEA458A91B2/ ) but after leaving and landing on a space outpost, the textures looked bugged again.

As for performance, no noticeable fps drops at any time during the entire game session.

What are you running for a GPU and CPU? Speeds? Unless you are using a new GTX1080, I can't see how you would not be having fps issues in 2.1.

If you are running through STEAM you can put an FPS counter on while playing the game. I would be surprised if there were no fps issues. I ran this overlay several times in 2.0 to the point that 60fps may as well have been burned into the screen since it never waivered, but in 2.1 I see a lot of drops down to below 30fps, but it doesn't happen consistently at the same places in the game, which leads me to the conclusion that it is game optimization bugs rather than my system having rendering problems.

As I said... My rig is a monster when it comes to running games at high fps and maxed graphic settings. ED isn't even close to being in the top 5 most demanding, yet it runs the worst of anything I own right now. All started with the 2.1 update.

 

[CMDR Zhon Daeli]

Does not resolve itself. In fact, I landed on a planet just now then landed on an outpost in space and the textures remained bugged/low res even long gone from the planet. I had rebooted my pc prior to landing on the planet and the textures looked good (not sure if as optimal as they should, but fine: http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...167/2D3F155C0A53C8CBBE55A710D897FBEA458A91B2/ ) but after leaving and landing on a space outpost, the textures looked bugged again.

As for performance, no noticeable fps drops at any time during the entire game session.

Your linked pic seems normal to me, but there is a known bug with the planetary textures not rendering properly that's related to draw-distance issue.

 

[c0m4ndo45]

It's not a new rig but its decent, should be enough for this. Core i7 2600k, 16gb ram, GTX 580, 1080p

I'm not saying there are no fps drops at all, they are just not really significant to be a bother (no freezes, no lock ups, seems to stay above 30fps). I just landed on a big city planetary base, had no lag (again, nothing noticeable) but now the textures bugged even more. It seems that in the first time everything loads okay then in subsequent planet landings (or anything after a planet landing) the textures go awry. Really awry. Look at this     : http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...609/217F91A15046F57935837D81BB0CBBC4086A1F5F/

Here, i'm gonna stream this. It's completely bugged right now: https://www.twitch.tv/c0m4ndo45

 

[CMDR Zhon Daeli]

It's not a new rig but its decent, should be enough for this. Core i7 2600k, 16gb ram, GTX 580, 1080p

I'm not saying there are no fps drops at all, they are just not really significant to be a bother (no freezes, no lock ups, seems to stay above 30fps). I just landed on a big city planetary base, had no lag (again, nothing noticeable) but now the textures bugged even more. It seems that in the first time everything loads okay then in subsequent planet landings (or anything after a planet landing) the textures go awry. Really awry. Look at this : http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...609/217F91A15046F57935837D81BB0CBBC4086A1F5F/

Here, i'm gonna stream this. It's completely bugged right now: https://www.twitch.tv/c0m4ndo45

Regarding that interior shot, that looks like a bug with rendering. That should not be happening at all. With planets, sure, but not in a station. I get that occasionally, but it's gone within a second or two as it renders.

My net is up dudu creak this evening, so the streaming keeps jumping and buffering but from what I saw it looked pretty normal (normal with the bug that is). Detailed up close, but smooth and unrendered in the background; mine looks similar.

 

[c0m4ndo45]

Regarding that interior shot, that looks like a bug with rendering. That should not be happening at all. With planets, sure, but not in a station. I get that occasionally, but it's gone within a second or two as it renders.

Nope, it just stays like that. When switching stations sometimes the textures get better but the ship textures bug and stay bugged forever it seems, like so: http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...208/6ACF1F776856EC9EE1D18ABE55538E9813DB5813/

Bug report it is then. As for FPS.. stayed above 40 in any planet so far

 

[GG7]

It's not a new rig but its decent, should be enough for this. Core i7 2600k, 16gb ram, GTX 580, 1080p

I'm not saying there are no fps drops at all, they are just not really significant to be a bother (no freezes, no lock ups, seems to stay above 30fps). I just landed on a big city planetary base, had no lag (again, nothing noticeable) but now the textures bugged even more. It seems that in the first time everything loads okay then in subsequent planet landings (or anything after a planet landing) the textures go awry. Really awry. Look at this : http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...609/217F91A15046F57935837D81BB0CBBC4086A1F5F/

Here, i'm gonna stream this. It's completely bugged right now: https://www.twitch.tv/c0m4ndo45

Yeah... I see much the same as you are, but my machine is literally 10 times faster than yours, so you know there is something screwy going on here! lol!

I've done several tests with 2.1 and there is definitely something bogging down my GPU and CPU on a random basis which causes the fps to stutter or drop from a locked 60 to single digits for micro seconds, but when you are accustomed to a locked 60fps or higher, you definitely can tell when you aren't there anymore.

When I am driving the SRV on the surface in 2.1, I can look down at the surface going by, and see the motion "stepping". Its not smooth like it was in 2.0. Don't know if this is some kind of motion blur issue or something else.

Its too bad we have no way to jump back to previous versions of the game. I would love to be able to create a side by side video of the same exact location in both versions and submit that to FD. The difference would be obvious to anyone with a pair of functioning eyeballs.

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Your linked pic seems normal to me, but there is a known bug with the planetary textures not rendering properly that's related to draw-distance issue.

Did FD actually come out and admit that there was a known issue with this? As in saying it was Draw Distance related? I've been looking through the forum trying to find any thread where FD comments about these 2.1 texture/performance issues, but no luck so far.

I'm not going to waste my time filing a bug report or a ticket because I already know they are just going to blame it all on my $4500.00 custom built rig. They always do!

The fact that this same machine using identical settings ran 2.0 like butter everywhere doesn't seem to matter to tech support.

 

[Whiteball]

Can someone try setting the planet detail to minimum as after I recently re-installed I noticed it had defaulted there. Thing is I had been playing and not noticed any 'problem' with grpahics.

Once I set it to full (where I always had it before) I thought they actually got worse. I have moved it around myself but not sure if i'm just imagining this or not (now knowing there is an issue people are having).

 

[GG7]

Can someone try setting the planet detail to minimum as after I recently re-installed I noticed it had defaulted there. Thing is I had been playing and not noticed any 'problem' with grpahics.

Once I set it to full (where I always had it before) I thought they actually got worse. I have moved it around myself but not sure if i'm just imagining this or not (now knowing there is an issue people are having).

I will give that a try next time I am in-game. I never considered that perhaps setting the textures to low or medium might actually look better! lol! It would be a good way to see if the LOW or MEDIUM textures are basically the same ones I am getting on ULTRA. I have tried HIGH already, and the graphic quality looked more or less the same as ULTRA.

I suspect that the only textures the game is currently providing me are LOW and MEDIUM. Based on what I remember from the detail in 2.0, I am not getting either HIGH or ULTRA textures on planetary surfaces.

For the record I have everything maxed at the moment as follows:

BLOOM: HIGH (High is max setting)
BLUR: ON
ANTI-ALIASING: SMAA
SUPER SAMPLING: X1.5
AMBIENT OCCLUSION: HIGH (High is max setting)
ENVIRONMENT QUALITY: ULTRA
FX QUALITY: HIGH (High is max setting)
DEPTH OF FIELD: HIGH (High is max setting)
REFLECTIONS QUALITY: HIGH (High is max setting)
MATERIAL QUALITY: ULTRA

TERRAIN QUALITY: ULTRA
TERRAIN WORK: 100% (all the way to the right)
TERRAIN MATERIAL QUALITY: ULTRA
TERRAIN SAMPLER QUALITY: ULTRA

 

[c0m4ndo45]

So, my rig might not be top-notch but there is definitely something really funky going on with video memory management and graphics quality here.

I played around with the settings and noticed that with lower terrain samper/material quality the issue inside planetary bases or stations reduces.. the graphics still look messed but after a few seconds return to normal.

So I left them at those settings.. But then when I arrived at a planet ring for mining in another system, my fps dropped to 20.. reloading the game resolved the issue. I can only imagine there's something really bad going on with memory management for my fps (and asteroid texture quality) in a planetary ring in space in another system to be affected by my terrain quality settings... Makes no sense

 

[Spacecat]

My textures look good when the finally appear, but the pop-in is horrid.

 

[c0m4ndo45]

My textures look good when the finally appear, but the pop-in is horrid.

Well, yeah. When I'm not bugged, all looks great.. The problem is they never "pop in" at times and just stay horrid forever.

 

[Cmdr Ultra]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the standard 580 only has 1.5gb of VRAM right?

Or do you have the 580 3gb version?

You can't just run games on good intentions and past victories. 1.5gb isn't good enough anymore.

 

[c0m4ndo45]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the standard 580 only has 1.5gb of VRAM right?

Or do you have the 580 3gb version?

You can't just run games on good intentions and past victories. 1.5gb isn't good enough anymore.

It's easy to blame it on the hardware but how do you explain then that I get low fps if i go to an asteroid field after landing on a planet and everything looks low res then when I restart I get smooth 60fps and all looks good as long as I don't land in a planet?

It feels like it's just failing to unload unused textures or something...

Edit: I'll make a video when I'm home

 

[GG7]

Correct me if I'm wrong but the standard 580 only has 1.5gb of VRAM right?

Or do you have the 580 3gb version?

You can't just run games on good intentions and past victories. 1.5gb isn't good enough anymore.

How do you explain the fact that I am having the same issues with an overclocked 980ti? I've got 6GB of VRAM and my base clock is running at over 1300mhz.

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It's easy to blame it on the hardware but how do you explain then that I get low fps if i go to an asteroid field after landing on a planet and everything looks low res then when I restart I get smooth 60fps and all looks good as long as I don't land in a planet?

It feels like it's just failing to unload unused textures or something...

Edit: I'll make a video when I'm home

I forgot to add that my system drive is a 512GB Samsung 950 PRO M.2 NVMe SSD. Anyone familiar with this SSD drive knows that it has the fastest read and write speeds of any consumer hard drive on the market today. Several magnitudes faster than SATA. These texture problems have NOTHING to do with load times on our hardware. I have Horizons installed on this SSD and because of its amazing speed, I can load the galaxy map instantly on my machine, (literally no delay at all) and system maps load in under 2 seconds. Usually under 1 second depending on the size of the system.

Whatever is going on here, it is totally related to some kind of bug/bottleneck in the game code that needs to get fixed ASAP! I HATE seeing my game look like crap when I have a very expensive high end gaming rig I built specifically for playing Elite Dangerous!