Screen Issues after Windows Update, 27 Oct 2017

[apbarog]

I had a Windows 10 update today.

In the replay, where the phases of the turn are displayed on a black background, the desktop picture shows in that spot when the message goes away. This isn't a big deal in the replay, but it alerted me that something was different.

When doing a turn, when I hover over a base and see the base detail popup on the map, it shows, then when I move the mouse away from the base, the area where the popup was is now a box with the desktop picture showing through the map. If I then scroll the map, the map redraws and everything is ok again. This happens immediately and every time, and happens because of something I'm doing, not some Windows process taking control.

Also, when I tried to screen capture this, the capture was of the whole desktop, and none of the game. As if the game wasn't really displayed.

I haven't made any changes, other than the automatic Windows 10 update (which was a big update) that installed this morning. I checked my command lines settings and they are unchanged.

[edit: My command line settings are : "C:\Matrix Games\Aurorus\Beta2\War in the Pacific Admiral Edition.exe" -px1920 -py1080 -dd_sw -deepColor -SingleCpuOrders

using Windows 10 Professional 64]

[apbarog]

I removed the -dd_sw in the command line, and that seems to have fixed the screen issue. I don't know if this is advisable or will negatively affect the game in some other way, but it seems to have fixed my issue.

This is from the Readme file for the game:

-dd_sw : Handles DirectDraw via Software. We’ve found this can make a huge difference on many systems as far as reducing interface lag and making button clicking in-game more responsive. On a few newer systems this can cause some visual glitches and slow combat animations though, so give it a try and remove it if it’s not ideal on your system.

Map scrolling speed is still acceptable for me now, so I think this is the fix for me.

[Lecivius]

Very interesting. I will have to look at this when I get home [;)]

[witpqs]

Not sure if this will help or not:
https://www.pcmag.com/article/351494/how-to-fix-the-most-annoying-things-in-windows-10

12. No More Notifications
You either love notifications or hate the distraction. The noise, the popup, it's too much when your phone is likely displaying most of the same info. Go into Settings > Notifications & Actions. Turn off all the toggle switches. Turn them off for individual apps, especially the ones you find most annoying. Or click on the App name in the list for even more granular control—get notifications from one app on the lock screen, for example, but nowhere else, or turn off sounds for all but one notifier, that kind of thing. Play with the settings to get it just right. This is also where you can personalize the Quick Action buttons that appear at the bottom of the Windows Action Center (the pane where notifications appear on screen)—they give you quick access to settings like Airplane mode, turning off Bluetooth or Wi-Fi or VPN, or creating a note in OneNote.

https://www.howtogeek.com/233215/how-to-configure-do-not-disturb-mode-in-windows-10/

In Windows 10, when an app is trying to get your attention, a rectangle message slides into view at the lower right of the screen. These are sometimes called toast notifications and they generally disappear automatically after a few seconds. If you need to get work done on your PC, it can be distracting when a pop-up alert appears, informing you of newly arrived emails, Facebook messages, upcoming appointments and birthdays, and more.

This one has a lot of screen pics so I can't helpfully copy-paste all the text.

[apbarog]

Removing the --dd_sw switch has fixed the graphical problem, but at a cost. That switch had improved map scrolling speed immensely way back when that was added as an option. Now the scrolling can be painfully slow. But that is better than the graphical problem.

[edit: Loaded the latest Nvidia driver, dated this week, and this did not fix the graphical error.]

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

Removing the --dd_sw switch has fixed the graphical problem, but at a cost. That switch had improved map scrolling speed immensely way back when that was added as an option. Now the scrolling can be painfully slow. But that is better than the graphical problem.

[edit: Loaded the latest Nvidia driver, dated this week, and this did not fix the graphical error.]

I found the scrolling speed issues responded when I add the -singleCPUorders and -CPU2 switches. I let CPU1 handle Windows while CPU2 handled the game without having to refer back to CPU 1 all the time.

[apbarog]

I experimented with the various -singleCPUorders and -CPU# switches, and none seemed to make any difference to map scrolling speed for me. I'm going to use the -cpu2 switch now, instead of the -singleCPUorders switch. I always load the game, watch the replay, then exit the game entirely, then restart the game to do my turn. Using -cpu2 seems to make more sense for me. But again, it didn't affect map scroll speed, for me.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

I experimented with the various -singleCPUorders and -CPU# switches, and none seemed to make any difference to map scrolling speed for me. I'm going to use the -cpu2 switch now, instead of the -singleCPUorders switch. I always load the game, watch the replay, then exit the game entirely, then restart the game to do my turn. Using -cpu2 seems to make more sense for me. But again, it didn't affect map scroll speed, for me.

For Windows 10 the -deepColor switch is usually very important for that. I know you listed it earlier, but it makes a difference for so many people it might be worth trying again. Double check the exact spelling (don't assume I got it right, I might have remembered it wrong).

The other thing is the - (dash) character. In the manual they use the wrong one because fancy typesetting automatically converted a plain dash to something called an en-dash that would look better. Result is that if you copy-paste from the manual into the command the shortcut will not work even though it looks right. The fix for that is to delete it and re-type it from the keyboard.

Don't know what else to suggest.

[BBfanboy]

Did you double-check your map scrolling speed setting in the Preferences? I never use more than 1 for the scroll delay.

[apbarog]

My map scrolling speed in the Preferences setting is 2. I've never changed this, and with the -dd_sw switch, it was fine, and that has worked for years. I tried setting it to 0 and tried 1, and then loaded my saved game. I saw no difference, it was still very slow. I got out of the saved game, and the setting was back to 2. I then loaded the saved game, and changed the setting to 0, and I did notice that it was faster than before, but not as good as it was when -dd_sw worked. It's noticably slower over land. SE Australia is slower than N Australia. So it helps some. I suspect that if I wanted to use 0 or 1, I would need my Japanese opponent to set the new setting, so it would stick in the saved game. And to maybe help prevent the Synch bug.

It's marginally better. I think I'll keep looking for a cure to the -dd_sw graphics glitch.

[Banzan]

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update broke the game for me, too. No matter what kind of swith combination i'm trying, all ingame "windows" will be filled with grafics from the Windows Desktop behind and only change back when scrolling the map. When i tried to make a screenshot showing it, i get a screenshot of my windows desktop...

I am out of ideas.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Banzan

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update broke the game for me, too. No matter what kind of swith combination i'm trying, all ingame "windows" will be filled with grafics from the Windows Desktop behind and only change back when scrolling the map. When i tried to make a screenshot showing it, i get a screenshot of my windows desktop...

I am out of ideas.

Long ago Moose pointed out this gem for stopping Windows 10 from bleeding through desktop images:

[Banzan]

Fascinating. Never heard (or read) about this one, but it worked. No idea why it wasn't a problem till the last update.

Thank you very much.


Edit:
Well, for some reason it now works for about 30 seconds when getting into the game, but then its the same as before.

Edit 2: After talking to a dev of our company, i tried the Window-Mode and thats works for me. Time to buy a bigger Screen.

[apbarog]

My Personalization screen looks a bit different. It may have changed with this Fall update. Regardless, Transparency was set to ON. I turned it OFF and it did not fix the problem. Tinkered with other seemingly unrelated settings here and in other parts of Personalization, but no luck.

[apbarog]

Interesting that when I remove the -deepColor switch, I get a small error box that says can't set display mode.

Still experimenting.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

My Personalization screen looks a bit different. It may have changed with this Fall update. Regardless, Transparency was set to ON. I turned it OFF and it did not fix the problem. Tinkered with other seemingly unrelated settings here and in other parts of Personalization, but no luck.

Yes, that suggestion was for Banzan's post, I did not think it would help the issue you described.

I am sure it looks different now from when the screen pic was taken just due to continuing changes in Windows 10.

[apbarog]

When I left a window up, and then started the game, I got the game menu with the window on top of it, like it's giving focus to the other window. I could, however, still click on the part of the game menu still visible.

I will continue playing without the -dd_sw, with the -deepColor switch, and make do with the map screen lag.

Thank you all for your help.

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: apbarog

When I left a window up, and then started the game, I got the game menu with the window on top of it, like it's giving focus to the other window. I could, however, still click on the part of the game menu still visible.

I will continue playing without the -dd_sw, with the -deepColor switch, and make do with the map screen lag.

Thank you all for your help.

I know you've tried them to some extent, but just so you know: the single cpu orders and cpu (number assignment) switches are independent of -dd_sw and -deepColor so you can mix and match if needed.

[Lecivius]

Removing the -dd_sw switch does fix the problem, but then the click delay becomes excruciating. Any thoughts on what switch to use in place of that one?

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: Lecivius

Removing the -dd_sw switch does fix the problem, but then the click delay becomes excruciating. Any thoughts on what switch to use in place of that one?

(switch spelling inexact): Make sure you have -deepColor. Try -SingleCpuOrders.