Troubleshooting guide/Display and visual problems
- Ensure you have updated your video card drivers (AMD, Nvidia, Intel). For laptop, mobile, and all-in-one systems check the manufacturer's site first for customised drivers (if applicable).
- Ensure the settings in the video card control panel are set to "application-controlled" or "let the application decide" for the affected game.
- If you have overclocked your hardware, try disabling the overclock.
Output is wrong/no signal
Games use incorrect refresh rate
- This occurs when running some games on displays that report TV-compatible timings.[1] If the correct refresh rate cannot be chosen in the game's settings set the desktop to the intended refresh rate and use borderless fullscreen windowed or windowed mode.
Game does not fit screen correctly
Ensure you are using the correct resolution for the game. Check the video card's GPU scaling and overscan settings. If you are using a TV as the display you may also need to adjust the TV's own settings.
- Many DOS games are designed with a 320x200 resolution but with a 4:3 aspect ratio. For modern systems, see the Issues Fixed section of the DOSBox or ScummVM pages, depending on how the game is being played.
Black screen but audio is playing
- This may be caused whenever a game goes out of range.
- Some games have a similar issue for the intro videos; pressing Esc a few times may skip past them and then display the game normally (not all games support skipping intro videos this way).
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Graphics are wrong
Window border visible in fullscreen mode
Some games have a window border visible in fullscreen mode on Windows 8 and later. Most games sold on GOG.com are already patched to fix this issue. Refer to the individual game pages for pre-made fixes for many games. To fix this manually install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit and apply the ForceSimpleWindow compatibility fix.
Colors are wrong
- See the DirectDraw troubleshooting article.
Textures are muddy or badly dithered
- This only applies to older games. The game may be running in a 16-bit color mode. Choose a 32-bit resolution. Glide rendering always uses 16-bit color, so choose a different renderer if applicable. Some older games only support an 8- or 16-bit color mode.
- Some games may be dithered incorrectly when the color depth differs; use Reduced color mode or Run in 256 colors.
Overlay problems
In-game overlay does not open or does not work correctly
- For the Windows 10 Game Bar see List of games with Game Bar support for full-screen mode.
- For games using Games for Windows - LIVE see In-game interface does not open.
- Client overlays are not supported for some older games so may be unavailable even if enabled in the client.
- Overlays may cause visual issues when opened. Disable the overlay in the game's properties in the client if problems occur.
Performance issues
Low frame rate in fullscreen mode
This issue occurs on Windows 8 and later when playing certain older games. Most games sold on GOG.com are already patched for this when needed. See the individual game pages for pre-made fixes for many affected games. This can be resolved manually by using the Compatibility Administrator to make a compatibility fix with the DXPrimaryEmulation -DisableMaxWindowedMode
parameter,[2] or with the aid of dxwrapper.
Nvidia Optimus systems always run legacy DirectX games on integrated graphics
This behaviour affects DirectX 8 and earlier,[3] presumably because they were thought to be old enough not to justify the extra labour and complexity needed to add support for hybrid graphics device enumeration.[4] This limitation can be circumvented by using a wrapper, such as Dd7to9/d3d8to9 or dgVoodoo 2.
Stuttering when using f.lux
- f.lux users may experience stuttering; enable the f.lux Safe Mode setting to avoid issues[5], or use a more gaming-centric[6] alternative like Lightbulb.
References
- ↑ Screen refresh rate in Windows does not apply the user selected settings on monitors & TVs (that report specific TV compatible timings) - last accessed on June 2023
- ↑ Windows 8 strange things and 3d faster in window (retrieved)
- ↑ Games based on DirectX 8 and older versions of DirectX will only run on integrated graphics in an Optimus laptop under Windows 10 - last accessed on June 2023
- ↑ Windows 10, hybrid GPU setups and DirectX <= 8 \ VOGONS
- ↑ If you get lag spike every second in demos it may be flux : oculus - last accessed on June 2023
- ↑ LightBulb - gaming-friendly f.lux alternative : osugame - Reddit - last accessed on June 2023