Lighting Bug When Ghost Fleet World Event Is Active (PC)

@realstyli said in Lighting Bug When Ghost Fleet World Event Is Active (PC):

I've already submitted a new bug report for this (after initially reporting it several years ago) but I'm trying to gauge the actual scale of the issue.

Basically, when the Ghost Fleet World Event (green tornado) is active, there is a visible flicker in the lighting engine when the camera is panned.

I've uploaded a short clip to YouTube here to illustrate what I mean.

I've seen this across several GPUs, Nvidia and AMD, so it's not specific to a GPU or driver. I've also seen it on live streams and friends have mentioned also seeing it, so I know I'm not the only one who sees this problem.

It may be at specific times of day or when the storm is close to the world event, as that is a trend I have noticed, with very similar symptoms.

Anyone else seen this?

Yup, annoying and immersion breaking as hell, and I actually didn't even figure out it's during Ghost Fleet, so great catch mate!

I simply just noticed this, especially on empty Skeleton Forts when I go for quick supplies. Depending on the horizontal camera angle, it becomes super bright.

It's almost as if the game can't decide what source is gonna be drawing shadows/casting light - the sun itself, or the tornado. Could also be a shader bug. Could also be screen space reflections having a seizure, as they do in many other games.

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Now I wonder, since both Ghost Fleet and Ashen Winds are featuring a tornado (red one for Ashen Winds), have you noticed the same behavior when Ashen Winds event is active during the day (I've only encountered this during the day)?

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PS. and you're also probably right about the distance playing a part, due to LODs. I doubt all the tornado details are loaded by the game when it's 10 squares away.

But affecting game lighting/shadows when 1 or 2 squares away, I can definitely see this being a thing. Though I really can't recall seeing any storms possibly affecting it, this is something I'll be happy to test if I get an opportunity.

I'll keep an eye out, and post here if I find something interesting. Thanks for bringing this up again!

I initially reported this in September 2023, I believe, but it is kind of disappointing it hasn't been addressed. And there are other lighting issues as well, such as at Skeleton Camps, but this one differs in that it could have the potential to cause issues for folk with photosentivity conditions, as the light can change rapidly.

@r3vanns said in Lighting Bug When Ghost Fleet World Event Is Active (PC):

It's almost as if the game can't decide what source is gonna be drawing shadows/casting light - the sun itself, or the tornado. Could also be a shader bug. Could also be screen space reflections having a seizure, as they do in many other games.

Yeah, so this is my theory and how I think the storm is somehow involved.... I think what is happening is that specific tornado has light casting emissives which are casting light rays across the map. The storm is blocking rays from the sun (casting shadows) at the same time. So when the sun is behind the storm and this tornado is casting light rays, there's a conflict in the engine between whether to cast light or shadow. Especially when they are next to each other from your perspective. If this is correct, it may be less noticeable if the sun, storm and tornado aren't closely lined up.

Now I wonder, since both Ghost Fleet and Ashen Winds are featuring a tornado (red one for Ashen Winds), have you noticed the same behavior when Ashen Winds event is active during the day (I've only encountered this during the day)?

I've only ever had it with the specific tornado tied to the Ghost Fleet World Event. It may be the light casting on that is set waaaaayyy too high.

PS. and you're also probably right about the distance playing a part, due to LODs. I doubt all the tornado details are loaded by the game when it's 10 squares away.

I have seen it when the tornado is halfway across the map (Daggertooth, when the event is at Crook's Hollow, for example). So I think it's more to do with the distance between the event and the storm. If my theory above is correct, it would be more likely you'd see it further away, as there's more chance for those conditions.

I'll keep an eye out, and post here if I find something interesting. Thanks for bringing this up again!

Please do, and no problem.