The graphics were working fine for months, but today I got the (game quit unexpectedly msg with a notice I needed to reset the graphics.

Ever sense then there have bee odd lines a flickering throughout the game, the "surface" of the water is not there or blurry, so I mostly see the sea bottom. The lines are particularly noticeable where there are shadows. every time I shift the screen there are flickers of brightness scattered about eh screen.

The game went from fun to the graphics being so distracting that the game is functionally unplayable.

I have an ATI Radeon 2600 card, but as I said it was working fine. I have changed resolutions, detail settings, anti-aliasing, and everything else I can think of, the problem persists.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Try deleting the game's shader cash in %appdata%\tropico 4

That did not work, screenshot posted below.



If you look at the shore the problems is very obvious.

Try reinstalling/updating the video drivers. If the problem persists then perhaps you have some kind of a hardware problem.

hmmm, actually the ATI catalyst drivers just did update, maybe the new drivers are the issue...

Ok I removed/uninstalled all of the ATI drivers and software and reverted back to the 12.1 version, but that did not fix the problem.

(22-03-2012 01:23 PM)Ragnoff Wrote:  hmmm, actually the ATI catalyst drivers just did update, maybe the new drivers are the issue...

Ok I removed/uninstalled all of the ATI drivers and software and reverted back to the 12.1 version, but that did not fix the problem.

I was about to suggest this.

Try removing them all (completely), rebooting, then reinstalling.

The latest Catalyst drivers were causing random BSODs for me.

Unfortunately I was not able to fix the situation. I removed the drivers, using catalyst uninstall. Rebooted the computer, downloaded the 12.1, had the same issue. And I removed those, re-downloaded the 12.2 version, same issue.

Moreover, now when I'm attempting to take screenshots to post, those cause the game to crash. (Actually that happened a few times before successfully getting the first screenshot as well, issue is unresolved at this point).

This is frustrating, I really want to play modern times, but after having the graphics work so much better for so long this is to annoying to look at to enjoy playing more than a few minutes.

(22-03-2012 08:46 PM)Swixel Wrote:  

(22-03-2012 01:23 PM)Ragnoff Wrote:  hmmm, actually the ATI catalyst drivers just did update, maybe the new drivers are the issue...

Ok I removed/uninstalled all of the ATI drivers and software and reverted back to the 12.1 version, but that did not fix the problem.

I was about to suggest this.

Try removing them all (completely), rebooting, then reinstalling.

The latest Catalyst drivers were causing random BSODs for me.

The problem getting worse after you re-installed suggests you've got some files it didn't purge ...

Any idea on how hot the card is getting? I think svetlio is right about suspecting the hardware issue.

I am not entirely sure it got worse, it must have taken over half a dozen attempts to get a screen shot the first time, and the first 3 attempts did not succeed this time, too small a sample size. I never used to take screen shots while I played, only when this issue arose did I try.

I will try a number of other games to see if I get lines in anything else. If it only happens in Tropico that seems like that would tend to discount a hardware problem.

I will also turn off the computer for a while to be sure there is not a buildup of heat, and try it immediately after restarting the computer. I don't think this is the problem, the case is well ventilated with an extra case cooling fan, but I will try to test that too.

I appreciate the suggestions, i would really like to play, but I don't know that we have found the cause of the problem yet.

---

I managed to get another screen capture.



Notice that it ie the water and shadows in this shot where it is worst!

antialiasing problem?

maybe disable it since it isn't being processed properly.

Ragnoff, I have exactly the same problem. Tropico 4 worked fine until I bought Modern Times and the graphics are now just like your screenshot. I even uninstalled the games, re installed Tropico 4 without Modern Times but the graphics are still dodgy. The only other game I have is Battlefield 3, which is much more demanding on my graphics card, but that works fine. Have you contacted the Kalypso's customer service? If so, what did they say?

I can also confirm this issue. It started appearing after 1.05 patch.

Other games works correctly. The glitch is present also on the select-a-campaign-mission "book" screen just after the game start.

ATI HD 3870, drivers 12.3 (the same for 12.2), Win7 x64 SP1.

I think that might be the link between our problem. I also have an ATI Graphics card.

Have you by chance enabled some kind of antialiasing in the drivers, from the ATI control panel?

(02-04-2012 09:23 AM)assen Wrote:  Have you by chance enabled some kind of antialiasing in the drivers, from the ATI control panel?

I guess not. I found antialiassing keywords just in the "3D Application Settings" tab:
SMOOTHVISION HD:Anti-Aliasing - [x] Use application settings checked
Adaptive antialiasing - [ ] Enable Adaptive antialiasing

Neither turning off antialiasing in the ingame options did not help.

Thanks Assen! I looked at the ATI control panel and for the option of SMOOTHVISION HD:Anti-Aliasing I UNCHECKED [Use application settings] and then CHECKED [Temporal anti-aliasing] and set the scroller to 2x and the Filter to BOX. That has worked for me, but I'm really not sure why!?

If it helps I have a ATI Radeon HD 3870. I also had SMOOTHVISION HD:Anisotropic [Use application settings] CHECKED and [Disable Catalyst A.I] UNCHECKED

look that the shadows arent normal too (if i look the screens ) on my nvidia works..so hmm..
try more older driver?...

i had (other kind of graphic bug) same problem on battlefield 3 as they make new update...ther i had newest driver...later i downgrade back to v. 285 and now all look fine again maybe...same problem..on other graphiccard?

I have a problem with the graphics on Tropico 4 MT 1.05 as I have recently updated my graphics card drivers and now in ALL of my Kalypso games I have this graphics bug which removes small chunks in the textures of people, the landscape and buildings it also causes random things to have massive stretch things going all the way into the sky. However it is still playable but very annoying to look at this bug. If anyone could help me with this I'd be very grateful for your help!

Also if it helps I have ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 Series updated to the most recent version.

You sir, are a genius! You've given me back the gift of Kalypso games. I am eternally grateful.

(02-04-2012 07:17 PM)mave535 Wrote:  Thanks Assen! I looked at the ATI control panel and for the option of SMOOTHVISION HD:Anti-Aliasing I UNCHECKED [Use application settings] and then CHECKED [Temporal anti-aliasing] and set the scroller to 2x and the Filter to BOX. That has worked for me, but I'm really not sure why!?

If it helps I have a ATI Radeon HD 3870. I also had SMOOTHVISION HD:Anisotropic [Use application settings] CHECKED and [Disable Catalyst A.I] UNCHECKED