Windows In Regards to Windows Laptop and SDV 1.5.5

[ZeroMeters]

As of patch 1.5.5 in Stardew Valley, the 64-bit conversion patch, the game changed in regards to how it renders/draws things onto your screen. Prior to this patch it was using a graphic library called "DirectX 9c". Now it is using "OpenGL 2.0". Some end users have noticed that the game has issues running, or won't even open now. Especially Windows users on a laptop. I've come to identify a particular issue and I'm posting this to inform players what is potentially going on, and how to resolve it.

Please keep it mind this may or may not solve your issue. I am providing a possible generic solution to that can potentially cover many issues. From my experience with graphic programming, Windows OS on a laptop running OpenGL is problematic; a cursed triad.

-- GPUs and Laptops: The potential cause
Laptops are great as they provide portability. You can take games and your work on the go. However, in order for your laptop to be portable, it needs a portable source of power; your battery. And the longer this battery lasts, the more portable your laptop is. As a result, Windows attempts to reserve power. This is typically done by doing less work (less computations), utilizing power efficient hardware, etc.

In order to run a video game, you need a GPU of some sort. Be it integrated (iGPU) or dedicated (dGPU). The latter is a power hungry device, contradicting the design and purpose of a laptop. Some laptops have only an iGPU, and some have an iGPU and a dGPU. You can see this by hitting Start, typing "Device Manager", and expanding the category "Display Adapters".

When Windows detects its a laptop with an iGPU and dGPU, it will attempt to balance between performance and saving power during game play. This is done by throwing all trivial graphic operations onto the iGPU, while throwing all intensive operations onto the dGPU. This creates context switching. At this point it depends on your GPU Vendor, and the graphics driver they wrote. Some are good. Some are decent, but could be better. Some are terribly written, or have become misconfigured due to a Windows 10 update.

You can imagine this "context switching" with the graphic driver as an individual reading a story. However, this story is written in two different books with the even pages in one, and the odd pages in the other. The reader can only hold one book at a time, and therefor must flip between both of them... back and forth. If the reader is good, switching between the books is seamless. If not, the story might get jumbled.

-- Potential solution: Inform Windows 10 to only use dGPU
Luckily we have the option to inform Windows 10 to only use the dGPU. This may resolve issues such as low FPS, frame stuttering, or general clunkiness.

Step 1.) Hit Start, type "Graphic Settings". You should see a program with the corresponding name. Click that to open it.


Step 2.) In the window that appears, the bottom portion should be labeled "Graphics Performance Preference". This is where you get to inform Windows to run SDV using only the dGPU. Make sure "Choose an app to set preference" is set to "Desktop app", then hit "Browse". Stardew Valley is typically located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stardew Valley" if you installed it on Steam.


Step 3.) After you select the .exe file of Stardew Valley, it should be populated below. Click it, then click "Options". Click "High Performance". Hit "Save". Close out of Graphic Settings. From here the game should be running with only the dGPU, and your issues may be resolved.


Side note: Since SDV is now throwing all graphic operations onto the dGPU, this means it will be consuming more power. Therefor, your laptop will not last as long on battery mode when running SDV.

 

[ZennyCat]

Thanks very much for this post. I was very hopeful that it would resolve my inability to play since the migration/update in December. But alas it did not. Still grateful to know it isn't just me being ignorant... but a wider group of us ("The Cursed Triads"). I also replied in another thread, hopeful about your considering the creation of a DirectX mod.

 

[ZennyCat]

ZeroMeters... This question of The Cursed Triad has been on my mind since I first read in your post about "Windows OS on a laptop running OpenGL is problematic; a cursed triad.". While I am not at all knowledgeable about computers or tech in general, I am a decent (and stubborn) researcher. Trying and relentlessly refining my search terms started to reveal a potentially more specific source for the problem: older laptops (and possibly PCs) which have been "updated" to Windows 10, which evidently restricts OpenGL to version 1.1 by default. I may be missing some relevant aspects of the problem and not understanding others but...

It would be interesting to see if those of us who simply can't get the game to run through Steam (or other sources) since the migration that requires OpenGL 2.0 (or higher) are all (or mostly) "upgraded" Windows 10 users. Here is a sampling of what I've found referencing how "upgrading" to Windows 10 on an older system limits your graphics capabilities. And in the case of OpenGL, seems to lock them permanently into version 1.1.

1. There is a special situation worth mentioning where upgrading to Windows 10 actually limits your graphics capabilities: Intel routinely stops supporting hardware after a certain number of years. So, 10 year old systems haven't had any driver updates since the release of Windows 10. This is troubling because Windows 10 requires new drivers made specifically for Windows 10. Because Intel doesn't provide updated drivers but Windows 10 requires an updated driver... you are stuck with the generic Microsoft driver. So, even though the hardware may support the OpenGL standard that Synthesia requires, Windows 10 doesn't know how to utilize it. This is a rather unfortunate situation and a fairly good reason not to attempt using the latest operating system on a very old machine. https://www.synthesiagame.com/support/opengl

2. Microsoft seem to be trying to pass this off as a driver problem, but the evidence suggests otherwise. The driver works fine on Windows 7 and 8.x with Minecraft and other applications, but stops working on Windows 10. Other applications, such as Stellarium, report no OpenGL 2 support with this driver under Windows 10. Both Windows and Intel report the driver is up to date and as it works on previous versions of Windows that suggests the problem is Windows 10.

The problem for MS here is that they told us our hardware was Windows 10 compatible before the upgrade, as such they are unable to blame the hardware and therefore need to sort out the issue. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...ndows-10/aff41ab9-0b6f-4317-8dcb-67ba861584c5

Before I discovered Stardew Valley, I had been playing Minecraft for approx. 10 years. It worked beautifully on this same old Toshiba Satellite with Windows 7, right up until I upgraded it to Windows 10 a few years ago. Minecraft also kept upping its graphics after being purchased by Microsoft. I finally reached a state of unplayable lag and then received notification that my device would no longer be supported (though I appeared to meet all the surface Minimum Requirements). Then a couple of years ago a friend turned me on to Stardew Valley. Again, I was able to play SDV on this old Toshiba with approximately 100 mods with virtually no lag or issues whatsoever. Until the 1.5.5 update. Now I can't even get it to launch (repeating that I've tried every troubleshoot/fix I could find including every step on the forum post). This laptop also appears to meet all of the current Stardew Valley minimum requirements as posted. Only it doesn't.

If my DirectX Driver Version: 8.15.10.2702 is irrelevant now, and the game is dependent on OpenGL 2.0 or higher, I seem to be locked out of the game with the OpenGL 1.1 Windows 10 mandates. It would be nice to know once and for all that it is time to give up trying to find a fix. And not have to be told to update my drivers over and over again (which I literally can't) or upgrade my hardware (which I also can't afford to do) in order to play.

I don't know what the answer is. Maybe just not being able to play SDV anymore unless I play in compatibility mode, which is really hard to do after falling in love with so many wonderful mods which became a huge part of my individual SDV experience. But I am still wondering if your idea of a DirectX mod might make it possible for some of us to play (modded) again? Could that be a thing?

 

[BlaDe]

A lot of stuff.

Thank you for the information.

Even though I don't have a laptop, I still set it up. It has stopped the issue I was having streaming the game - I can click to other programs and the game no longer flashes black.

I still can't drag other programs on top, but I can sort that out with the streaming program.