Missing Shadows

War Machine · 05-15-2012, 11:03 PM

I just started the game and played through the first episode without noticing that shadows are not showing and that dark places are not dark. It only became apparent at the beginning of Episode 2 in the apartment, when the lights go out there was no change for me whatsoever (I was going like "how come you're scared? I can see just fine"). I just watched a youtube video of that scene and I'm definitely missing out on shadows entirely.

The game is running great on high settings but there's definitely no shadows at all even if I lower the shadow quality or change the rest of the graphical settings to low.

I'm running on an ATI Radeon HD 5770 with latest drivers (I just checked on Steam). If anyone has any idea on how to fix this I'd really appreciate the help.

JagaTelesin · 05-16-2012, 08:56 AM

Are you running the game in a Window, or full screen? If it's in a window it is using Desktop gamma levels, which could be high and washing out the scene.

Have you tried adjusting Brightness in the game? (Options > Graphics > Brightness)

Might want to get a benchmark program and run it through a few times, see what it looks like there. If that fails, validate Steam files for the game, and perhaps even uninstall/reinstall it.

There's a command line switch for the game as well, something like -cleancloud, which will delete all savegames and config settings. If you're concerned about your saves, don't use it. Otherwise give it a shot.

War Machine · 05-16-2012, 02:37 PM

Thanks for the help, but checking the files didn't help, and it was definitely not the brightness or gamma levels, but I did find what the problem was in this thread:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forum...php?p=29396099

Basically, you have to check the "Use application settings" option for Anti-Aliasing in the Catalyst Control Center software (it's under Gaming>3D Application Settings, on the second box). So it's an AMD Catalyst software bug with the game, but it has an simple solution at least.

JagaTelesin · 05-16-2012, 02:39 PM

Makes perfect sense, since Alan Wake has forced in-engine AA. I always left my AA alone in the driver for that reason.

05-15-2012, 11:03 PM	#1
War Machine Join Date: Aug 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 22	Missing Shadows I just started the game and played through the first episode without noticing that shadows are not showing and that dark places are not dark. It only became apparent at the beginning of Episode 2 in the apartment, when the lights go out there was no change for me whatsoever (I was going like "how come you're scared? I can see just fine"). I just watched a youtube video of that scene and I'm definitely missing out on shadows entirely. The game is running great on high settings but there's definitely no shadows at all even if I lower the shadow quality or change the rest of the graphical settings to low. I'm running on an ATI Radeon HD 5770 with latest drivers (I just checked on Steam). If anyone has any idea on how to fix this I'd really appreciate the help.

05-16-2012, 08:56 AM	#2
JagaTelesin Join Date: Dec 2011 Reputation: 31 Posts: 386	Are you running the game in a Window, or full screen? If it's in a window it is using Desktop gamma levels, which could be high and washing out the scene. Have you tried adjusting Brightness in the game? (Options > Graphics > Brightness) Might want to get a benchmark program and run it through a few times, see what it looks like there. If that fails, validate Steam files for the game, and perhaps even uninstall/reinstall it. There's a command line switch for the game as well, something like -cleancloud, which will delete all savegames and config settings. If you're concerned about your saves, don't use it. Otherwise give it a shot. Last edited by JagaTelesin: 05-16-2012 at 09:16 AM.

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05-16-2012, 02:37 PM	#3
War Machine Join Date: Aug 2009 Reputation: 9 Posts: 22	Thanks for the help, but checking the files didn't help, and it was definitely not the brightness or gamma levels, but I did find what the problem was in this thread: http://forums.steampowered.com/forum...php?p=29396099 Basically, you have to check the "Use application settings" option for Anti-Aliasing in the Catalyst Control Center software (it's under Gaming>3D Application Settings, on the second box). So it's an AMD Catalyst software bug with the game, but it has an simple solution at least.

05-16-2012, 02:39 PM	#4
JagaTelesin Join Date: Dec 2011 Reputation: 31 Posts: 386	Makes perfect sense, since Alan Wake has forced in-engine AA. I always left my AA alone in the driver for that reason.