Anyone else get an issue with Skyrim in 4K? There's a flashing of sorts on trees when running or panning. Like a strobe light. Non existent while not moving though. Very frustrating, issue disappears on any other resolution. No other game has this issue in 4K mode.

Can't find any posts about it. Can't just be me surly!?


This is also posted in the PS3 section as there doesn't seem to be a PS4 section for now. Don't know how much traffic PS3 section gets though.

Help appreciate!

Their are a few thing's that it could be... if you could post your load order that would be a big help. It maybe a bottleneck... happens with PC user's that overload on high res and heavy script mods....

I tend to stick to 2k and 1k things... but also have a lot of landscape type overhauls... at one point I had to deal with really low FPS or loose a couple of the mods... I weened out some mod's!

I just disabled all mods and it's had no impact at all. I tried to record the problem with the share button for YouTube, but even though I can see the problem while recording I can't see the problem while watching it back as it records in 1080.

Might try to record on my phone and upload.

If you were on PC, I'd suggest you turn UP the resolution past 4k to test if the problem gets worse. If it did then that would be a positive sign that the machine is struggling to keep up at 4k and whatever refresh rate you have it using. If it did not, then it would suggest that it's really only specific to that one resolution and could assume it's an artifact of the game or some kind of upscaling. The reason I say that is because trees and grasses have a TON of transparencies, which are notoriously more difficult for a system to render than solid objects, and Skyrim has a LOT of trees. Your machine at 4k might be right on the dividing line between keeping up and catching up. If it's something related to the hardware struggling, then it's a certain bet that lowering the resolution or changing the refresh rate that your TV or monitor uses to one setting lower would make a huge difference. Even just lowering the refresh rate by itself may make the difference.

Got a video, please ignore the fact I'm naked (removed mods), and hopeless with the bow (turned off HUD to see better).

https:// youtu.be /Ak9Aj88fRr0

Take out spaces as I don't have permission to post links

I know it's not the greatest, but best I could do.

I don't understand how it could be an issue with the refresh rate though, the machine is able to record while it's happening but because it records in 1080 it doesn't show. Also, wouldn't it happen in other 4K games?

I can't lower the refresh rate either. Stuck on 60hz. Even game mode isn't helping me.

If it's a wider issue then I'd be happy, I will play in 1080 and wait for a patch. If not, I'm going to have to try and get to the bottom if this myself. Bethesda aren't exactly going to release a patch for me alone!

It's much more noticeable in snow areas, but it does happen with all trees.

OK, after seeing what you mean with the trees, it kind of looks like the machine is having a slow response to redrawing the shadows that cast ON those transparent tree textures. Notice how almost all of it happens on just the trees that are inside the radius of the highest detail, closest to the player? It has to recalculate and redraw every single shadow when you move or pan the camera, and shadow detail is also another 'hard to render' element. Try lowing the shadow detail in the game graphics setting by a number or two and see if that helps. It still looks like a hardware struggling issue, but one that seems more related to graphics memory than anything else.

And no, for the record everything that says 4k is not even close to the same thing. In games it ALL depends on what the machine is being asked to do at any given moment, and every game has different content and ways of rendering images. That is why for comparing pieces of hardware to each other, the testers use benchmark software that throws exactly the same code at each piece, so the result differences can actually be compared to each other with a bit of meaning. Comparing games to each other on a certain system is fairly pointless in itself, unless your aim is to see which one uses fewer modern techniques and is easier on that system. Apples to oranges there, I'm afraid.

That is perfectly describes it! But I can't lower shadow settings as this is all through ps pro. Also, playing the pro in 1080 mode shouldn't lower shadow setting either. Guess it just struggles to run both at high quality. I thought consoles were supposed to be easy?!

That is it though, without a doubt. Only question remains is if I'm the only one who has this issue. Perhaps it doesn't bother other people?

See, I play on PC and wasn't even aware that you couldn't lower the game detail setting in the games options on PS4. How very strange... I used to have this same kind of issue on my old PC, not exactly the same issue but close, and I solved it by using the No Tree LOD mod available for pc. It prevent the game from automatically changing levels of tree texture detail depending on how far away it is. I had the flickers too, but it was the texture itself, not the shadows. Either way you're sort of correct.. yes, lowering the resolution won't lower the amount of detail you're asking the machine to think about, but it WILL lessen the overall load that the system has to put up with, by asking it to forget about the shadows on the pixels that aren't being shown any more. That gives it that much extra resources to draw those shadows ON TIME, before they're late and miss the call to draw a frame, and then they glint or flicker and you see it.

Thanks Bonedog. I've since watched Skyrim 4K PS Pro vids on YouTube and they have no issue whatsoever.

Could it simply be a faulty machine? Can't see it being a tv issue as it's only trees that are effected. Consoles have no graphical settings at all, so not like I can tamper with those either. I'm going to have to take my Pro to another 4K tv and test it out.

Nightmare

Just be aware that a lot those video capture software will chop off and not record any details that are late for the frame buffer, because the frame buffer is how those things capture and record video. These other videos may indeed have the original source issue you have, but just not recorded it.. like yours didn't record it, and these other people may not have noticed the glinty trees. I only noticed it really because you told me where and what to look for, so it's not glaringly obvious by any means.. still annoying once you do notice it though. Testing on a different TV sounds like the best next step to me. Watch, it'll turn out to be a loose hdmi plug because your cat was playing with the wire lol.

We only need one thread so I'll close the other one and move this

My son seems to enjoy pulling those wires certainly! I would've put it down to that if it was everything. It was the fact it was only trees that made me question it. The fact it's not as noticeable outside snow areas is what took me so long to spot! I'm level 40 almost, but just entered my first snow forest so don't know if it's always been this way or not.


Thanks for all the info though, appreciate it and all very handy to know. My brother has the pro and skyrim so might give him a call and see if he spots it.

How bright do you have your settings? I know that seem's weird, but I noticed on my 360 that the tree's would flicker before I turned the brightness down on both my TV and the 360.. Yours doesn't look to bright, but it's very hard to tell. The native setting's for my TV had me squinting at the brightness in the northern area's on a cloudless day... I turned it down out of self defense the 1st time, then I realized that I could see detail better and that the game looked better with less flickering.

May not of course be your problem... but it's worth a shot.

I like my games fairly dark, so doubt it's that. Brightness in game can't actually go any lower! Tv settings fairly low also. Will play about and see how it goes though!

Thanks

You have me the push to finally calibrate my tv properly. So thank you. At least every ther game looks fantastic!

Didn't help skyrim though

Well It didn't look all that bright.. but you never know and it was worth mentioning...

I have different issues with SSE...and am not playing it...sticking to the old version for now..