Shading Stripes and Blocks. [graphics setting 3 or below]

edited May 2010 in Sam & Max
So, as many of you may have already noticed, when the graphics settings are put below 4, there are dramatic dark or light stripes and random shapes that will appear from time to time on your playable characters.

Particularly, when speaking to Momma Bosco.


Dear Telltale Games,

Is there any way you could possibly disable whatever causes these jarring stripes and shapes when the graphics settings are placed at 3 or below? I only ask because my computer will not run at 4 or above very efficiently, to the point where the lipsynching does not even match up properly. I'm sure Im not the only one.

I still think the game looks absolutely great at 3, 2, or even 1 to an extent. But when these impossible to miss contrasts in lighting show up on Sam and Max, it's just... de-immersing.. [not sure that's a word] but it throws me out of the story and environment so much that I may become distracted to the point where I miss part of the story or I don't laugh at a joke because I'm genuinely bummed out about these awful shapes on my buddies.

A great example is when you're speaking to Momma Bosco, it looks like part of Sam's skull has been hollowed out or something and his face isn't looking too good either.


I would rather have them look light slightly out of place due to improper lighting than have these really ugly stripes and blocks scattered all over the models... I don't want to ramble I think you get what I'm saying, probably 2 paragraphs ago...

I'm simply asking if there's ANY way to have this lighting feature atuomatically disable itself when running at lower graphics settings [or even manually would be fine] so that I'm not forced to see them? I put up with it through W&G but I would hate to see this bug enter the world of S&M.


Anyone feel the same way or have something to add? I hate to complain, I really do because I love what you guys are doing and have done in the past, but I just can't seem to let this one go.

Comments

  • edited May 2010
    Although oddly enough, W&G ran fine for me at 4... S&M season3 won't however...
  • edited May 2010
    Pics or it didn't happen.

    No, seriously.
  • edited May 2010
    I do not have that problem.... I play the games with it cranked to 9
  • edited May 2010
    dont have the problem and I ran on 3 to be safe since I had the crashing problem
  • edited May 2010
    I ran into this and I was running it on 3 too, and it was pretty noticable at Momma Bosco's lab. If it's not happening to some people, maybe it's a graphics card thing? Mine is an ATI Radeon Mobile X1400 (which is old, and apparently wasn't that great even when it wasn't old, so yeah.)
  • edited May 2010
    I normally play on higher graphics levels so this hasn't been an issue for me, but I also happened to notice it the other day while playing around with the lower levels. I'm using an ATI card as well.

    Quality 1
    boscolabs1.png

    Quality 9
    boscolabs2.png
  • edited May 2010
    I have that exact same problem. And my graphics card is a piece of junk (to the extent that it causes my computer to bluescreen constantly during Bioshock and sometimes after playing Team Fortress 2), so I'm also stuck on the lower end of the graphics settings. I thought about posting a thread about it when the game came out, but I was too lazy to try and duplicate it and take a screenshot.
  • edited May 2010
    Hmmm so apparently it varies from user to user... I had a feeling this might be the case.

    If it's fixable it would make a world of difference to those of us who don't have the money for a higher end computer at the moment. Or higher end graphics card for that matter.


    To the person who said pics or it didn't happen, maybe I will when Sammun-Mak comes out but not for now, although someone posted some [thank you] there are much better, more dramatic and jarring examples.
  • edited May 2010
    I have similar problems. I have to run my game at setting 3, and this means that not only do I get the weird shapes, the shadows which should appear in the cutscene when Sam gives Max the engagement ring outside Momma Bosco's don't show up.
  • edited May 2010
    I can only remember one specivic spot where it happened (so I made a screenshot of it) but it was happening quite a lot throughout the whole game.
  • edited May 2010
    I wish I could edit the first poll option... I tried to like 5 seconds after I posted it... Kinda makes you want to not vote it, even if you see them. :\
  • edited May 2010
    my graphics card is a piece of junk (to the extent that it causes my computer to bluescreen constantly during Bioshock and sometimes after playing Team Fortress 2)

    Are you sure that it's not just overheating?
  • edited May 2010
    Yeah, the bluescreen message refers to the Nvidia drivers. It's the graphics card.
  • edited May 2010
    Mac running with a GT330M at 800x600 with gfx settings from 9 to 1.
    At 7 things kind of fuck up and going back to lower settings doesn't change a thing performance related.
    I wonder if Sam&Max uses the Intel gfx by default.
    It doesn't seem to like changing the settings during the game a lot.

    sams3e1_mac_gt330m.jpg
    sams3e1_mac_gt330m.png
  • edited May 2010
    I have that exact same problem. And my graphics card is a piece of junk (to the extent that it causes my computer to bluescreen constantly during Bioshock and sometimes after playing Team Fortress 2), so I'm also stuck on the lower end of the graphics settings. I thought about posting a thread about it when the game came out, but I was too lazy to try and duplicate it and take a screenshot.

    Semi-off-topic, but have you tried different drivers for your card? I have a couple of games I can't run at all with my original drivers, but I switched to Omega Drivers and they work fine. I think they only support Nvidia and ATI, though.
  • edited May 2010
    I remember seeing a problem like this in a VERY SPECIFIC PLACE, I don't remember where, but this was on graphic setting 9. It was like, one tiny spot of ground so it probably wouldn't be seen during normal play.
  • edited May 2010
    Semi-off-topic, but have you tried different drivers for your card? I have a couple of games I can't run at all with my original drivers, but I switched to Omega Drivers and they work fine. I think they only support Nvidia and ATI, though.

    Those Omega drivers were the reason I had to reformat my harddrive the last time I did it. I will keep away from them and I would recommend everyone to do the same.
  • edited May 2010
    Yeah, the bluescreen message refers to the Nvidia drivers. It's the graphics card.

    I don't think that means it couldn't be overheating. Most video cards are designed to prevent themselves from overheating by shutting down.
  • edited May 2010
    But if that's the case, then it's still the graphics card, isn't it?

    In Bioshock, it seemed to be more or less random, though the graphics would start to flicker and behave weirdly before a bluescreen. In TF2, it generally happens when I quit the game after something, such as opening the character loadout during a match, caused a similar graphics problem.
  • edited May 2010
    But if that's the case, then it's still the graphics card, isn't it?

    In Bioshock, it seemed to be more or less random, though the graphics would start to flicker and behave weirdly before a bluescreen. In TF2, it generally happens when I quit the game after something, such as opening the character loadout during a match, caused a similar graphics problem.

    Well, if your case isn't properly ventilated, or your fans are clogged up with dust/hair, those can cause overheating also, as well as just having a small case or an inefficient cooling system.

    And if it's flickering and behaving weirdly, that is probably a good sign that either your power supply is insufficient or you're getting overheating issues.
  • edited May 2010
    Is this (in reference to the screenshots) really a problem or just a product of a low graphics setting? I don't think it's something Telltale need to 'fix', if people are worried about immersion or lackof then they need to upgrade surely?
  • edited May 2010
    Is this (in reference to the screenshots) really a problem or just a product of a low graphics setting?

    But you would agree that something like this is not as intended even on low graphics settings?
  • edited May 2010
    Yeah.

    As for overheating; I got that in 205; Max turned red, as did most of the screen, the cursor got replaced by a random texture etc.
    It definitely sounds like that could be your case if the bluescreens are after graphic corruption...
  • edited May 2010
    der_ketzer wrote: »
    Those Omega drivers were the reason I had to reformat my harddrive the last time I did it. I will keep away from them and I would recommend everyone to do the same.

    I've had them for months and I've had zero problems. Eh.
    Is this (in reference to the screenshots) really a problem or just a product of a low graphics setting? I don't think it's something Telltale need to 'fix', if people are worried about immersion or lackof then they need to upgrade surely?

    Not everybody can afford to upgrade. Plus, I don't think anyone's figured out if it's an issue with the lower settings or an issue with certain graphics cards.
  • edited May 2010
    I've had them for months and I've had zero problems. Eh.

    I restarted my PC after I installed them and I could no longer read anything on my screen. Eh, Eh (Nothing else I can say).
  • edited May 2010
    Yep, i noticed some lighting and shadow issues at those levels.
    One that annoyed me most was the lighting difference between Max and his teeth in some areas, making them look like if they were glowing.

    My solution was to play at a higher level but in a lower resolution (800x600) Yeah, it sucks a bit but glowing teeth are gone.
  • edited May 2010
    Ignatius wrote: »
    My solution was to play at a higher level but in a lower resolution (800x600) Yeah, it sucks a bit but glowing teeth are gone.

    I would try this but everything above 3 makes the game have like 5 fps for me no matter how low the resolution is.
  • edited May 2010
    Pale Man wrote: »
    Well, if your case isn't properly ventilated, or your fans are clogged up with dust/hair, those can cause overheating also, as well as just having a small case or an inefficient cooling system.

    And if it's flickering and behaving weirdly, that is probably a good sign that either your power supply is insufficient or you're getting overheating issues.

    I'll have to check out my case to see if it's clogged, then. And if it is an insufficient power supply issue, I'd be somewhat surprised. Other than the TV card I added, my system is exactly as it was when I bought it. I would think that a large manufacturer like Dell would make sure all the parts were compatible, though I suppose I wouldn't put it past them to screw something up.
  • edited May 2010
    I'll have to check out my case to see if it's clogged, then. And if it is an insufficient power supply issue, I'd be somewhat surprised. Other than the TV card I added, my system is exactly as it was when I bought it. I would think that a large manufacturer like Dell would make sure all the parts were compatible, though I suppose I wouldn't put it past them to screw something up.

    I wouldn't put it past them to skimp on the power supply and hope it never ended up being a problem.
  • edited May 2010
    Ignatius wrote: »
    My solution was to play at a higher level but in a lower resolution (800x600)

    I thought about that but since the shadows only show up now and then it didn't seem like a worthy trade off...

    Still... When they do show up it can be quite awful, not always, but sometimes... It's just hideous.
  • edited May 2010
    Is this an issue that anyone has brought up at the support forum? I'm having these problems with periodic ugly shading (or lack thereof) as well, similar to the screenshots that were already posted. I guess the solution is... buy a better video card? (I'm running a GeForce 6600 if that helps)
  • edited May 2010
    But if that's the case, then it's still the graphics card, isn't it?

    In Bioshock, it seemed to be more or less random, though the graphics would start to flicker and behave weirdly before a bluescreen. In TF2, it generally happens when I quit the game after something, such as opening the character loadout during a match, caused a similar graphics problem.

    That is definitely a sign that your card is overheating. I get funny flickers in Assassins Creed 2, Metro 2033 and Splinter Cell Conviction, but I downloaded Rivatuner and when I play anything set my fan to 61 and it stops it happening.
  • edited May 2010
    Can anyone make a list of what each graphic level adds to the game? I only know that 7 and above gives realtime shading, which is when the game starts lagging for my computer. Below 7 is fine, though.
  • edited May 2010
    Yeah maybe I shoulda posted this in support, whoops.


    *crosses fingers that TT will address this issue at some point in the future*
Sign in to comment in this discussion.