DirectX9 nvidia interaction?
in Bugs
Recent nVidia GPU drivers appear to be complaining when UO starts up "DX9 Overlay is disabled".
See the thread here:
https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/nvd3drel-gr-805-dx9-overlay-is-disabled/196940
Thread isn't clear on what the side effects are, but I see the video going completely blank in game (sound continues) with the latest nVidia drivers -- occurs randomly.
Drivers that don't exhibit the problems are here:
https://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/180555/en-us/
One interpretation of the nVidia thread is some deprecation of DirectX9 is taking place, not sure if the UO client needs to update to use later versions, or whether broadsword should contact nVidia regarding the implications of this change, if true.
See the thread here:
https://forums.developer.nvidia.com/t/nvd3drel-gr-805-dx9-overlay-is-disabled/196940
Thread isn't clear on what the side effects are, but I see the video going completely blank in game (sound continues) with the latest nVidia drivers -- occurs randomly.
Drivers that don't exhibit the problems are here:
https://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/180555/en-us/
One interpretation of the nVidia thread is some deprecation of DirectX9 is taking place, not sure if the UO client needs to update to use later versions, or whether broadsword should contact nVidia regarding the implications of this change, if true.
Comments
The message implies the EC UO client is using certain DirectX9 functions.
The nVidia forum post implies nVidia may be / may have deprecated certain DirectX9 functionality. Other posts suggest the applications using the features in question be changed to use DirectX10 or later.
How this may or may not translate to lost graphics / functionality in the EC UO client would be for the devs to comment on, probably.
Asking others to check for the problems may not produce much feedback, as users may not know what to look for. (Most users won't be good virtual car mechanics). For instance, are shadow details lost? Is idle animation detail lost, etc? is lighting detail lost, is the FPS reduced, is there more CPU consumption, etc etc. (As a side note, I am not seeing idle/fidget animations for the human male anymore, though I see it for female wraith, whether that's related to the reported issue here is unknown to me -- the fidget for human male appears limited to the held weapon moving, or a cape moving).
The devs of the game are in the best position to comment on what may be functionally broken/degraded/etc given the GPU driver behavior. Some of these things might be subtle.
Keeping the "old" nvidia driver in place and active, for A->B comparison won't be straightforward for most people either.
DirectX 9 on Windows 10 - Microsoft Community
This DX9 error is common with games that require Direct Play to be activated, so there is really no need to stuff around reinstalling DirectX . I had Direct Play activated from day one Win10, so missed this erroneous error message. ] DX 11.2 indicates the DX 'Feature level' your graphics card is capable of running.
Why are you running DX9 when DX12 is out.
In terms of DirectX 12 Ultimate support, NVIDIA GPUs currently have a huge advantage, since all the technologies implemented in the new API had already been implemented in their RTX 2000 series and obviously inherited in the RTX 3000.
The DirectPlay links are interference / red herring in nature:
"DirectPlay is a DirectX API component that works as a network communication library. It allows video games to connect to the internet, a modem link, or a network to find game sessions for players."