Post by andrew on Jun 14, 2024 3:59:26 GMT -5
EA is working on moving TS4 from DirectX 9 to DirectX 11. This is currently available for testing as an opt-in feature. More info from EA HERE
Many players testing this new feature have had issues with images that are not yet compatible with the DX11 mode. Some of the problems show as:
Question mark image
Llama image
Object disappears after placing it in buy mode
Lot in a saved game won't load anymore when one of these objects are placed
S4S has added a batch fix to version 3.2.2.2 (Windows) and 1.4.1.9 (Mac) update these images. You can find it on the menu:
Content Management > Batch Fixes > Misc > Update Images for DX11
EA has mentioned that they are aware of some issues with mods but has not yet provided a timeline for a fix or even promised any compatibility. This could change in the future and make this batch fix unnecessary.
Please do not run this unless you are testing the pre-release of the DX11 version of the game. Keep your backups, and post any items that did not get fixed or had some other issue.
While DX11 doesn't affect Macs, the batch fix is included in Aurora in case a Mac user wants to fix packages they created and shared.
Notes about file size changes:
Tuning/UI images that aren't a power of 2 may shrink because the batch fix removes the mipmaps if they had them.
Build/Buy images always need mip maps. The batch fix scales non powers of 2 up or down to the nearest power of 2, so it could either increase or decrease in size depending on how close the image is to the next power of 2.
Any modification will result in the image being recompressed as DXT1/DXT5, so that could also affect the size if for example, the original was uncompressed or used DXT5 when it could have used DXT1 because it had no transparency.
Many players testing this new feature have had issues with images that are not yet compatible with the DX11 mode. Some of the problems show as:
Question mark image
Llama image
Object disappears after placing it in buy mode
Lot in a saved game won't load anymore when one of these objects are placed
S4S has added a batch fix to version 3.2.2.2 (Windows) and 1.4.1.9 (Mac) update these images. You can find it on the menu:
Content Management > Batch Fixes > Misc > Update Images for DX11
EA has mentioned that they are aware of some issues with mods but has not yet provided a timeline for a fix or even promised any compatibility. This could change in the future and make this batch fix unnecessary.
Please do not run this unless you are testing the pre-release of the DX11 version of the game. Keep your backups, and post any items that did not get fixed or had some other issue.
While DX11 doesn't affect Macs, the batch fix is included in Aurora in case a Mac user wants to fix packages they created and shared.
Notes about file size changes:
Tuning/UI images that aren't a power of 2 may shrink because the batch fix removes the mipmaps if they had them.
Build/Buy images always need mip maps. The batch fix scales non powers of 2 up or down to the nearest power of 2, so it could either increase or decrease in size depending on how close the image is to the next power of 2.
Any modification will result in the image being recompressed as DXT1/DXT5, so that could also affect the size if for example, the original was uncompressed or used DXT5 when it could have used DXT1 because it had no transparency.