UI Disappearing, Greying Out and Flickering [Archive]

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Nikta

11-16-2011, 10:36 PM

So I have the non-streaming version of EQ2 (downloaded it all in one fell swoop) - not sure if this makes a difference but I thought I would mention it.Ever since I redownloaded the game I've been having a very strange problem where my UI (mainly everything but the mini map) will either grey out, flicker or just disappear all together. Sometimes it's a short thing and happens more in bursts but right now it's simply greyed out and not coming back.I have restarted the game, had no mods to speak of, and not sure what the heck is going on.This is the best SS I could do on the matter. Please help, it's driving me bonkers!<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/xxPinner/eq2/EQ2_000001-2.png" /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/xxPinner/eq2/EQ2_000000-2.png" /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v219/xxPinner/eq2/EQ2_000003-1.png" />I asked my guild as you can plainly see in #1 and no one else seems to be having this issue. Not sure what the heck is up with it. My computer can more than handle this game, almost to max settings and I've been playing on and off for years without this issue so I'm not sure why I'm having it now.Thanks for any help you can provide. ^~

Evanair

11-17-2011, 12:57 PM

You might be having a few different issues. I'd say first, have you run and entire windows update and graphics card driver update? Kinda obvious, but hey, you never know.I also notice you are running the basic UI from EQ2. Perhaps attempt downloading a different UI, seeing if you have the same issue? That will tell you if it's the UI itself or your system. You can always switch back with /load_uisettings as long as you make a copy of your .ini file and rename it something differnt than before.Another crazy question... is your F10 key malfunctioning? Perhaps your pressing it for something different or got that function of the UI assigned to another key? It's the screenshot gray/hide/display key.

Nikta

11-18-2011, 12:59 PM

Updating my ATI drivers & my Windows 7 did absolutely nothing.I did try ProfitUI (which I have no interest in using) and the flickering didn't happen for the whole 10 minutes I was on, whereas it usually begins immediately. So I take that to mean that it's just the DefaultUI having an issue.My F10 is working fine.Would be nice if I could have an official person try to figure out what the heck is going on with this. I'd like to use the Default UI, but right now it's rendering the game unplayable because in the middle of doing anything, including talking to NPC's, it turns off the chat bubbles so I can't see what they're saying and hides my action bars so I can't see what I'm doing.This is really annoying.Update: I also tried to delete the cache & delete both Default UI's, which it repatched and I am still having the same issue.If someone would like me to post my DXDiag, I'll be happy to do so if it will provide some insight.

Nikta

11-18-2011, 03:09 PM

Okay, so I've contacted support directly and I decided that I'll keep updating this until I fix the problem, so that if anyone else has this issue and I find the answer, they can use it to help them.So far the following things we have tried and have failed:<ul><li>Updating GPU Drivers & Windows 7 Drivers</li><li>Turning on and off F10 a few times.</li><li>Deleting cache folder, eq2_recent.ini, eq2_default.ini, EverQuest2.exe, eq2.ini, Servername_CharacterName_EQ2_uisettings.ini & Stationname_characters.ini</li><li>Removing Paks folder to desktop & completely demolishing the EverQuest II folder, then reinstalling after placing the Paks folder back into the new EverQuest II folder.</li></ul><div>Currently I am trying a completely fresh install and seeing if that solves the problem. I am hoping that something was just corrupted somewhere and that installing this will fix the problem.</div><div></div><div>If not, I'm wondering if maybe its an option in the graphics settings that is causing this. Whether it be AA (which doesn't seem to work in game anyway - thus I have turned it off via the in-game settings), or some of these new settings they've added.</div><div></div><div>I run the game on Very High Quality (the second one under the highest), so perhaps something in there is the issue.</div><div></div><div>We'll see!</div>

TSR-JoshuaM

11-18-2011, 03:29 PM

I've had this very same issue twice myself.The first time, I was using an 8800GT that had long since died but I just refused to accept it. Pushed that puppy til it broke. Overheating emphasized it in that situation. The card was burning up.Second time, I was using a disc install of EQII and transitioned to the Streaming LaunchPad. Many assets were missing. I tried to repair it to no avail until I installed the Full download version fresh. Flickering stopped. This was purely a file issue situation which a full scan wasn't repairing.Here's a link to our latest LaunchPad.<a href="http://launch.soe.com/eq2" target="_blank">[EQII] LaunchPad</a>

Nikta

11-19-2011, 11:24 AM

Hey TSR-JoshuaM,I'm running an ATI Radeon HD 5870 and it's only a year old, it's also watercooled so I'm pretty sure the heat is not killing it. This is the only game I've had any issues with and while it's true that the game sucks resources like a child with chocolate milk, I highly doubt my card is suffering.What I'm thinking is the following:I did a fresh install and had no issues until I set my settings back to how I always have them. I had a weird feeling suddenly that it might be one of the "Special Effects" at the bottom of the graphics settings page. So the next time it happened I started with Depth of Field and wouldn't ya know, I haven't had the issue since. I played for another seven or so hours and it never reoccured.So for whatever reason, Depth of Field hates me.I also think there may have been issues due to having accidentally downloaded the Streaming version and then deciding part way through that, that I didn't WANT the streaming version, so I downloaded the full version and installed that and seemed to have some issues there too.But so far, I'm putting my money down on Depth of Field. Perhaps you would be so kind as to report the issue to the devs or tell me how to report it, along with my screenshots. It would be nice to be able to use this option. I also have my DxDiag.txt and MSInfo.txt available from going through support.

TSR-JoshuaM

11-20-2011, 03:20 PM

<cite>Pipsy@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hey TSR-JoshuaM,I'm running an ATI Radeon HD 5870 and it's only a year old, it's also watercooled so I'm pretty sure the heat is not killing it. This is the only game I've had any issues with and while it's true that the game sucks resources like a child with chocolate milk, I highly doubt my card is suffering.What I'm thinking is the following:I did a fresh install and had no issues until I set my settings back to how I always have them. I had a weird feeling suddenly that it might be one of the "Special Effects" at the bottom of the graphics settings page. So the next time it happened I started with Depth of Field and wouldn't ya know, I haven't had the issue since. I played for another seven or so hours and it never reoccured.So for whatever reason, Depth of Field hates me.I also think there may have been issues due to having accidentally downloaded the Streaming version and then deciding part way through that, that I didn't WANT the streaming version, so I downloaded the full version and installed that and seemed to have some issues there too.But so far, I'm putting my money down on Depth of Field. Perhaps you would be so kind as to report the issue to the devs or tell me how to report it, along with my screenshots. It would be nice to be able to use this option. I also have my DxDiag.txt and MSInfo.txt available from going through support.</blockquote>Have you made any driver level changes for EQII like forcing AF, AA transparency, image quality, or any setting under Texture filtering? Give me the incident number you have your DXDIAG/MSINFO on and I'll include that information when I send it over to the dev team.

Zomboss

12-12-2011, 07:31 PM

Hey, so I am totally having this exact same problem. Im using an ATI Radeon HD 5770.I also already tried the obvious steps (update Windows 7, update the ATI drivers, clear the EQ2 cache, reinstall EQ2), and it still happens. I also monitored my GPU temps while playing, and they are no where near dangerous levels. I also can play a number of other games with no issues, so I assume it is indeed one of the EQ2 settings. I also know that I played the game about 6 months ago and didn't have this problem (although I have no idea if I had depth of field on or off back then).After work today I can see about turning depth of field off and see if that fixes it (although it really would be a shame... I actually like how the game looks with DoF on =[ ).Okay, so yes, it does seem to be the depth of field option. I made a short video of the issue (sorry for the really bad quality), if it helps at all. If you look at my maintained spells in the upper-left portion of the screen, or my current buffs in the bottom-right portion you can see it flicker in and out as I move my character or just pan the camera around. Also you can see that it immediatly stops if I turn depth of field off.<a href="http://youtu.be/6T9MusBwRLA" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://youtu.be/6T9MusBwRLA</a>

Maguu

12-16-2011, 02:42 AM

I'm gonna throw in here too. I have been having this issue for over a month now. It's at relatively irregular intervals. usually immediately after zoning. Sometimes it fixes itslef soon after. The affected UI elements vary. My video card is a new AMD 5950, which does not typically exceed 52 celsius, with the exception of the public quests it gets around 53. While playing Everquest 2 (Also concurrently running a web browser that uses GPU accelleration) my video card typically runs aroun 48c. This is not an overheating issue. Plese note that in my situation, this issue is also crossing the barrier of a fresh install of windows 7, and of Everquest 2, and all drivers, and additionally crosses at least 3 different AMD catalyst driver revisions. Currently I am using 11.11, I believe I was using 11.8 when I first saw it (or possibly 11.7). I do not believe this to be even remotely related to drivers.