[Info needed] transparent-screen-after-launch-but-things-are-running-behind-it

Please reference this thread:
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f...gs-are-running-behind-it.126673/#post-1045043

Previously everything was white, after R54 release everything is transparent. I did have a start screen cursor and guessed where the play button was located. Then I could hear the normal sounds when I hit ESC key (like an old door opening or something).

Cannot give you specs other than what I found from dxdiag because I cannot get into the game from this laptop.
Nvidia drivers are updated.

Previous thread has all the specs I found but I'll copy them here again if requested.

 

I recall that thread. I'm sorry to hear that you are still having issues.
To help with troubleshooting further, can you break down everything you have tried so far? Aside from updating Nvidia drivers. Have you unintalled and reinstalled?
I see you play through steam, but have you tried the sota client directly?
Do you have any antivirus programs installed?
If you can grab us a screenshot of what you are seeing that may possibly help as well. Thank you.
@GreyMouser Skye

 

@Lexie
Steam user. I have not tried the client but will. This all started after a patch in R53, worked fine before that.
The weird part is that the program is running in the background, it is a graphical problem only.
By transparent I mean that I still see my windows background but I cannot do anything else other than click the PLAY button once I guess where it is located and then I dare not click much more so I do not delete a character or the like.

It was fully whited out in R53. Transparent now in R54. Antivirus is Windows Defender and nothing has changed there. Screen shot would truly not help unless you want to see my windows background (but my kids are cute).
Thank you for any thoughts on this. Maybe it is a hardware problem, but it was strange how the only thing that changed was a patch... and then I updated the graphic drivers to see if that was the problem.
I still play on my desktop, so I am not out of the game because of this, but it is frustrating.

 

@Lexie: Still not working. Can someone please tell me what info they need? Again, Steam user so I do not know where the error files might be located. Please help.

 

I'm sorry, but I'm still not clear if you have attempted to do an uninstall and reinstall of the game.

With what Liz said in the other thread:

"Assuming you arent using steam, right click your launcher and select "open file location", then "Shroud of the Avatar_Data" (Not the one with launcher in it) and look through sota_log.txt for errors - now. I do get errors, but not effecting my gameplay.. so look for anything error like but not"

Since you use steam, you can go into your steam settings and check where you have previously installed your game. Even if you use steam there is still an installation of the game itself that you can find via properties.
Once you find what drive and folder your game is under, go into your file explorer and find the file location. It's the same thing, except you are not finding the file location via the game icon.

 

@Lexie
Reinstall Steam: same problem
Install Sota Launcher: same problem (but the music is nice, I think it ran the intro. Think because I was still looking at my desktop through a transparent window).
sota_log.txt looks like this from the Sota launcher attempt:

Initialize engine version: 2018.1.1f1 (b8cbb5de9840)
GfxDevice: creating device client; threaded=1
Direct3D:
Version: Direct3D 11.0 [level 11.1]
Renderer: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (ID=0x13d7)
Vendor:
VRAM: 4053 MB
Driver: 24.21.13.9793
Begin MonoManager ReloadAssembly
- Completed reload, in 0.118 seconds
<RI> Initializing input.
<RI> Input initialized.
<RI> Initialized touch support.
UnloadTime: 17.654483 ms
GameManagerSceneObject.Awake. 6/8/2018 10:12:17 PM
SystemInfo, graphicsDeviceName=NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, graphicsMemorySize=4053, graphicsDeviceType=Direct3D11, operatingSystem=Windows 10 (10.0.0) 64bit, processorCount=8, processorType=Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700HQ CPU @ 2.60GHz, systemMemorySize=16265
SotA.Win.64.791.Date.06.06.18, LocalTime=6/8/2018 10:12:17 PM, Patch=aether-chorus.2
LanguageManager: Setting Language=English, Partner=None
PreviousApplicationExit status=clean systemMemorySize=16265
Pathfinding: Init
Steam Initialized: False
AI Behaviors Preloaded
no rune found for skill marked as rune: LunarBlessing (path: PortResources/Runes/POT/LunarBlessing)
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug.bindings.h Line: 43)
no rune found for skill marked as rune: SolarBlessing (path: PortResources/Runes/POT/SolarBlessing)
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug.bindings.h Line: 43)
no rune found for skill marked as rune: SafeFallField (path: PortResources/Runes/POT/SafeFallField)
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug.bindings.h Line: 43)

 

Hello? Anyone? I did what you asked... how long should I just not be able to play? @Lexie

 

Thanks for the info. I'm afraid you're going to have to basic troubleshoot further since it still isn't working for you.

It's hard to tell without sitting in front of your PC and seeing what you are seeing, but it sounds like the window border is loading and then nothing else, visually. My next instinct is to check into making sure nothing on your system is blocking Sota.

1) Windows Defender firewall settings - Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall" Check to make sure both Shroud and Steam are set to communicate through your firewall correctly.
2) Anti-virus programs - if you use any - need to check to see if it has accidentally blocked anything related to the game.
3) Making sure you are on an administrator account on Windows AND right clicking the game icon, selecting 'run as admin' (This you could do on the sota launcher version, to make it easier for you to find.)

I feel this is either a permissions issue (something is blocking it) or a video graphics related issue. You have updated to the latest Nvidia drivers, which is good. Sometimes, simply updating them is not enough and a manual/clean installation is recommended. This is when you remove any previous versions prior to updating. If it is an older version causing problems (and Nvidia did have some problems not that long ago) it should help. There is a document in the official Nvidia section if you are not sure how to do this:

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10/kw/clean install/session/L3RpbWUvMTUyOTA4NjA3My9zaWQvZlVtNjBmbFpreThfYUFJdHNOaWhXbGYlN0VyR2NrRFI3R1N6UWI5WnQxdjVnM0ZXZXlVaXJXa1BfUDZ5Zjl0anMxTDd2alpDU2dZd3pEV1QxMHVzYzNTMTNmMWpQeWw2TyU3RXd6d2Mzb1dmM0l5YUx0QSU3RUE2NVhhSVhRJTIxJTIx

Just pulling stuff from my brain here. I know you are frustrated, and I would be too if I couldn't play. The problem is every machine is unique in its set up and your particular issue is not one I've heard of before - at least for it to be SoTA specific. When it is all said and done, I'd follow it up with another install of the game.

I hope this helps ya out.

@GreyMouser Skye

 

Change your AntiAliasing settings on the nvidia control panel.

If that does not help try pressing ALT + Enter when you have the window open. See if that changes anything.

 

@Feeyo I will try, thank you. A clean install of the video drivers did not change things. All nvidia settings should be standard though as I do not mess with them.
My next thought is did the opening page change the resolution? I might work out the spacing of trying to get settings and adjust the resolution while being blind. I have the PC to help with this, but I am not completely sure I can do it.

 

Try ALT+Enter that should change your full screen to window mode. That should at least help I guess.

 

@GreyMouser Skye Any progress on this subject?

 

My wife has been working on the laptop, so did not try yet. I have little hope that it will do anything different as I had jumped around in the modes before when it was just white screen. I still think it is resolution related because it happened right after a patch. Never had any troubles up till that point.

 

@Feeyo No luck. I do get a black flash for a moment (sometimes) then back to transparent.
Do you know if there is a resolution setting in a config file for launch? Something I can modify and see if that is it.

 

Not that I know of. But you can add commands to your .exe file and add:

Fullscreen Mode
Open fullscreen (1) or windowed (0)

• -screen-fullscreen N

Screen Height
Open with specified height (must be valid)

• -screen-height N

Screen Width
Open with specified width (must be valid)

• -screen-width N