Screen garbled, HUD unreadable in certain systems/areas

There are 9 replies in this Thread. The last Post () by bluesbroeast.

  • Hello all,


    I started recently playing Freelancer Crossfire 2 after finishing the vanilla Freelancer.

    I want to express firstly my awe and amazement of the great work represented by this mod. I was fascinated by Freelancer, as a game developed 15 years ago, but the community effort to grow this great game into Crossfire is something I consider a true expression of dedication, passion and collaborative creativity that truly is human.

    Thank you all that are part of this community!


    About my experience with the game: I started using free software (well, long discussion could start here about open source/blobs/proprietary code and such) quite few years ago and now I run most of my systems under GNU/Linux. I experiment with using Windows software under Wine, and it seemed I managed to play quite nicely Freelancer under Debian Stretch/Sid with the current WIne version. Then I learned about the Crossfire mod, so I tried to make it work with the same setup. I didn't work, starting with the installer that hang up on me while selecting the packages to be installed. Then I found an unpacker, so I got the content of the downloaded packages that I could start to install. I found some info on the internet about people being able to play Crossfire with a tool named playonlinux, so I followed that path and managed to install and run both the FLMM and the game. It works wonderfully, the new graphics are amazing, the story is interesting and captivating and the multiplayer system is the cherry on top!

    But: both in SP and MP, in certain conditions that I couldn't yet manage to consistently reproduce, the screen becomes garbled, super magnified text is spread and warped all over the screen, the HUD is blank, it flickers and it becomes really difficult to play for me. In the beginning of the game, the old systems seemed ok, without many incidents like this, maybe a second or two of errors that disappeared with my ship moving through the system. As soon as I reached Custodian and then the rest of the gates in X3043 and then IC, it began to manifest more and more and for longer periods of time, with no pattern of appearance. Starting the IC, in Wenn I didn't manage to avoid being smashed in less than a minute by the dooms, as I couldn't really see where from they were coming at me and target/shoot at them. I am posting some screenshots of my experience, maybe you can help me with some directions of avoiding these errors.
    I have tried by now to change the renderer from Sweet FX to Vanilla FL and a few others, but besides degrading the general graphical quality of the game, I couldn't get rid of the screen garbling.
    I am running the game on:

    "

    Linux wonderland 4.18.0-2-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.18.10-2 (2018-11-02) x86_64 GNU/Linux

    PlayOnLinux 4.2.12

    Wine 3.0.2



    Computer

    ********


    Summary

    -------


    -Computer-

    Processor : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz

    Memory : 6069MB (5360MB used)

    Machine Type : Notebook

    Operating System : Debian GNU/Linux stable-updates (sid)

    User Name : dan

    Date/Time : Sat 01 Dec 2018 02:47:36 PM EET

    -Display-

    Resolution : 1366x768 pixels

    OpenGL Renderer : AMD TURKS (DRM 2.50.0 / 4.18.0-2-amd64, LLVM 6.0.1)

    X11 Vendor : The X.Org Foundation

    -Audio Devices-

    Audio Adapter : HDA-Intel - HDA Intel PCH

    Audio Adapter : HDA-Intel - HDA ATI HDMI

    -Input Devices-

    AT Translated Set 2 keyboard

    Power Button

    Lid Switch

    Power Button

    Video Bus

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 Mouse

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 Consumer Control

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 Consumer Control

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 System Control

    SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad

    PC Speaker

    HDA ATI HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm:3

    HDA Digital PCBeep

    HDA Intel PCH Mic

    HDA Intel PCH Headphone

    TOSHIBA Web Camera - HD: TOSHIB

    -Printers (CUPS)-

    ML-1520

    Samsung-SCX-4521F : <i>Default</i>

    SCX-4x21-Series


    Devices

    *******



    Processor

    ---------


    -Processors-

    Package Information

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 0 0:0 2400.00 MHz

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 1 0:0 2400.00 MHz

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 2 0:1 2400.00 MHz

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 3 0:1 2400.00 MHz

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 4 0:2 2400.00 MHz

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 5 0:2 2400.00 MHz

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 6 0:3 2400.00 MHz

    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3630QM CPU @ 2.40GHz 7 0:3 2400.00 MHz


    Memory

    ------


    -Memory-

    MemTotal Total Memory 6069080 KiB

    MemFree Free Memory 133092 KiB

    MemAvailable 545540 KiB

    Buffers 75672 KiB

    Cached 603600 KiB

    SwapCached Cached Swap 5132 KiB

    Active 4424656 KiB

    Inactive 1021276 KiB

    Active(anon) 4130040 KiB

    Inactive(anon) 729496 KiB

    Active(file) 294616 KiB

    Inactive(file) 291780 KiB

    Unevictable 96 KiB

    Mlocked 96 KiB

    SwapTotal Virtual Memory 6287356 KiB

    SwapFree Free Virtual Memory 6269680 KiB

    Dirty 752 KiB

    Writeback 0 KiB

    AnonPages 4724048 KiB

    Mapped 372796 KiB

    Shmem 92756 KiB

    Slab 202388 KiB

    SReclaimable 80272 KiB

    SUnreclaim 122116 KiB

    KernelStack 15600 KiB

    PageTables 69092 KiB

    NFS_Unstable 0 KiB

    Bounce 0 KiB

    WritebackTmp 0 KiB

    CommitLimit 9321896 KiB

    Committed_AS 13085396 KiB

    VmallocTotal -1 KiB

    VmallocUsed 0 KiB

    VmallocChunk 0 KiB

    HardwareCorrupted 0 KiB

    AnonHugePages 1716224 KiB

    ShmemHugePages 0 KiB

    ShmemPmdMapped 0 KiB

    HugePages_Total 0

    HugePages_Free 0

    HugePages_Rsvd 0

    HugePages_Surp 0

    Hugepagesize 2048 KiB

    Hugetlb 0 KiB

    DirectMap4k 459976 KiB

    DirectMap2M 5793792 KiB


    PCI Devices

    -----------


    -PCI Devices-

    Host bridge : Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor DRAM Controller (rev 09)

    PCI bridge : Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port (rev 09) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

    USB controller : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI Host Controller (rev 04) (prog-if 30 [XHCI])

    Communication controller : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)

    USB controller : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #2 (rev 04) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])

    Audio device : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)

    PCI bridge : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 1 (rev c4) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

    PCI bridge : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C210 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 2 (rev c4) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

    USB controller : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller #1 (rev 04) (prog-if 20 [EHCI])

    ISA bridge : Intel Corporation HM76 Express Chipset LPC Controller (rev 04)

    SATA controller : Intel Corporation 7 Series Chipset Family 6-port SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 04) (prog-if 01 [AHCI 1.0])

    SMBus : Intel Corporation 7 Series/C216 Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 04)

    VGA compatible controller : Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Thames [Radeon HD 7500M/7600M Series] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])

    Audio device : Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. [AMD/ATI] Turks HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 6500/6600 / 6700M Series]

    Ethernet controller : Qualcomm Atheros AR8161 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 10)

    Network controller : Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 Wireless Network Adapter (rev 01)


    USB Devices

    -----------


    -USB Devices-

    Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub

    Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

    Importek

    Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTS5129 Card Reader Controller

    Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub

    Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

    Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub

    Microsoft Corp. Nano Transceiver v1.0 for Bluetooth

    Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub


    Printers

    --------


    -Printers (CUPS)-

    ML-1520

    Samsung-SCX-4521F : <i>Default</i>

    SCX-4x21-Series


    Battery

    -------


    -Battery: BAT0-

    State : Full

    Capacity : 100 / Full

    Battery Technology : Li-ion

    Manufacturer

    Model Number : PA5024U-1BRS

    Serial Number : 28A4


    Sensors

    -------


    -Sensors-

    acpitz/temp1 Temperature 59.00°C

    radeon/temp1 Temperature 51.00°C

    coretemp/temp1 Temperature 61.00°C

    coretemp/temp2 Temperature 59.00°C

    coretemp/temp3 Temperature 61.00°C

    coretemp/temp4 Temperature 56.00°C

    coretemp/temp5 Temperature 58.00°C

    thermal/thermal_zone0 Temperature 59.00°C

    thermal/thermal_zone1 Temperature 63.00°C


    Input Devices

    -------------


    -Input Devices-

    AT Translated Set 2 keyboard

    Power Button

    Lid Switch

    Power Button

    Video Bus

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 Mouse

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 Consumer Control

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 Consumer Control

    Microsoft Microsoft® Nano Transceiver v2.0 System Control

    SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad

    PC Speaker

    HDA ATI HDMI HDMI/DP,pcm:3

    HDA Digital PCBeep

    HDA Intel PCH Mic

    HDA Intel PCH Headphone

    TOSHIBA Web Camera - HD: TOSHIB


    Storage

    -------



    DMI

    ---


    -Product-

    Name : SATELLITE L855

    Family : Dakar 10F/FG

    Vendor : TOSHIBA (TOSHIBA, Loading site please wait...)

    Version : PSKAEE-00W00PG6

    -BIOS-

    Date : 10/30/2012

    Vendor : Insyde Corp.

    Version : 6.40

    -Board-

    Name : Portable PC

    Vendor : TOSHIBA (TOSHIBA, Loading site please wait...)

    Version : MP

    Serial Number : (Not available; Perhaps try running HardInfo as root.)

    Asset Tag : (Not available; Perhaps try running HardInfo as root.)

    -Chassis-

    Vendor : OEM Chassis Manufacturer

    Type : [10] Notebook

    Version : OEM Chassis Version

    Serial Number : (Not available; Perhaps try running HardInfo as root.)

    Asset Tag : No Asset Tag

    "


    Thank you for the time reading this long post, and for any idea that you want to throw at me that would help me solve this issue.


    Regards,


    Dan

  • that looks really strange

    unfortunately is my experience limited to windows only

    signew.jpg


    cfmoddblogo.png5904.png5904.png
    http://www.moddb.com/scripts/topsite.php?ts=4766


    Only dead fish swim with the stream.
    Don't discuss with idiots. They only drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience there.


    This is ten percent luck,
    Twenty percent skill,
    Fifteen percent concentrated power of will,
    Five percent pleasure,
    Fifty percent pain,
    And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!

  • Thank you, SWAT_OP-R8R, it would be great to get some advice as for a windows user, maybe I can understand what causes that. Did it happened before to anybody? Is it a renderer issue, DirectX or graphical card drivers one? Maybe I can fiddle a bit more with the libraries I am using under Wine and solve this. I have to mention that the game doesn't brak, the systems in the background are still visible and the other ships/NPCs/MPs are functioning normal. Jumps are working too, and by changing direction of flight or the sector of the system, the error goes away by itself.

  • SWAT_OP-R8R : Since the original Freelancer works with the same setup (using system DirectX files), could it be that the issue is caused by one of the additional libraries included with Crossfire? (e.g. the D3DX9_43.dll or the dxgi.dll found in the EXE folder)


    Can any of these files be removed/replaced by system versions without functionality impact?


    bluesbroeast : Have you tried adding your graphics card to flconfigdatabase.txt as in these instructions? How to avoid grafic Problems while playing Freelancer


    Also, it could be worth trying different API wrappers, such as dgvoodoo or WinD3D, just to see if that has any effect on the visuals.


    A guy on our Discord channel has just mentioned that using WineD3D can solve graphic issues on newer AMD cards. This may apply to your case since you also have an AMD one.

  • (IOC)Wanderer thank you! Yes, I read as much as I could find on the forum, tried the trick with adding my card to the flconfigdatabase.txt, but it didn't do anything that I could notice in terms of gameplay. I have also adjusted the performance settings in game, but I didn't manage to get rid of the errors. I'll look up the WineD3D post and see if it helps.


    [Later Edit] Read the Discord discussion and the Wined3d site, I actually use that library already, as it's a part of the Wine environment. Probably that's why I can run the game in the first place. Of course, it's not the windows .dll, but the *nix .so, but it's there, so for me installing Dossena's .dll's won't do any good. If there is a part of that code that is already incorporated in the Crossfire code, that might be something, but then, I have no idea how to look it up.

  • I guess only a test can show this.

    signew.jpg


    cfmoddblogo.png5904.png5904.png
    http://www.moddb.com/scripts/topsite.php?ts=4766


    Only dead fish swim with the stream.
    Don't discuss with idiots. They only drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience there.


    This is ten percent luck,
    Twenty percent skill,
    Fifteen percent concentrated power of will,
    Five percent pleasure,
    Fifty percent pain,
    And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!

  • Update: After playing 2 more SP missions ( Ashcroft and Artifact escort to Willard) I think I can throw in some more observations about the errors.


    1. The soon the foes are generated and go into combat with Trent and the team, the screen becomes really unreadable. I can't see, can't target, can't shoot, and my eyes get really sore from the bright lights and the texts flying all over constantly. I barely managed to finish Ashcroft, after 15 minutes of flying around, trying to get to an area free of errors, which usually happens with the sun behind ( maybe the errors are generated while casting the shines and shadows of the sun on so many ships flying erratically during battle?). I had no error experience in free flight mode in California, even while fighting some navy, but when I got next to Willard with the artifact convoy, as soon as the Outcasts Daggers went into combat, all hell broke loose, so I gave up, after 2 attempts to blindly shoot at them. Again, I am not 100% sure because of the cloud, when I could direct the ship away from the sun, for a few seconds, the screen cleared, but as soon as I turned, it got garbled again.
    It never happened while playing the vanilla Freelancer. Do you still think it's about the DirectX dll's in the mod? Could it be something else changed in the way the objects and their lighting is generated? Especially ships in combat.


    Thanks again for any comment.


    Have a great week there,


    Dan

  • Well, the only time I saw such artifacts (on windows), was many years ago when my old card failed once due to a bad driver update or so. Card itself was fine

    Chars: [CFPD]Michael~something (x25), [CFPD]~SQMS~{[(store)]} (x3), [CFPD]xfer, Event~Manager~Michael, StarfIier~EM~Michael, Event_Team_2, [GR]Michael[SP] and a blueprint of [CFPD]Sephirothis

  • SilverFox,


    Right now it's SweetFX, but I have tried with Vanilla FL, and basically all of them, one by one. I mean, I have selected one from the launcher menu, then launched the game, loaded the Willard station save, went to the 3rd checkpoint, waited for the outcasts to show up, then the screen artifacts kicked in, exited, loaded another shader, repeated. All of them had the same error.

    Surprisingly. the next mission at Willard's, with Walker and the Rheinland pirates had no distortion at all, even with the multitude of NPC ships flying all around.


    Have a great one,


    Dan