Black Screen when standing in certain things?

Support Technical Support
1

Random thing. This has only occurred since 8.1.5. I had zero issues before the patch.

Essentially, certain bad things on the ground cause your screen to get an… eye shaped warning? I don’t know how to phrase it? The corners close in and you get a literal eye shape.

Examples of this are Ivus the Forest Lord, Merektha, etc.

Well, anytime that happens, my screen goes COMPLETELY black now. If I’m Lucky it will go away after about 5 seconds and the eye shape will appear instead and I can get out of the bad. But otherwise, I’m dead.

When it happened on Ivus, I died. I couldn’t get out of the bad. When I died, about 20 others died. I asked in raid if anyone else’s screen turned black and about 12 others said yes.

Any idea what graphic setting could be causing this or how to fix it?

Here’s my DxDiag as well as the contents of my Config file, so you know what my graphics settings are set to: (I do not know if I have this issue with DX11 or DX12, as my computer cannot run them. It CAN but it’s VERY choppy and it’s unplayable, again, I had zero issues before this patch)

DxDiag - https://pastebin.com/0JaUm468

I just put the config under a spoiler tag. And yes I removed my account name and email.

Summary

SET portal “US”
SET textLocale “enUS”
SET audioLocale “enUS”
SET agentUID “wow_enus”
SET gxApi “D3D11_LEGACY”
SET hwDetect “0”
SET videoOptionsVersion “21”
SET gxWindow “1”
SET gxMaximize “1”
SET graphicsQuality “3”
SET RAIDgraphicsQuality “1”
SET farclip “3000.000000”
SET horizonStart “800.000000”
SET particleDensity “50.000000”
SET particleMTDensity “70.000000”
SET waterDetail “2.000000”
SET rippleDetail “1.000000”
SET reflectionMode “0.000000”
SET sunShafts “0.000000”
SET refraction “0.000000”
SET groundEffectDist “70.000000”
SET projectedTextures “1.000000”
SET shadowMode “0.000000”
SET shadowTextureSize “512.000000”
SET shadowSoft “0.000000”
SET SSAO “0.000000”
SET DepthBasedOpacity “0.000000”
SET textureFilteringMode “2.000000”
SET terrainLodDist “250.000000”
SET wmoLodDist “300.000000”
SET terrainMipLevel “1.000000”
SET worldBaseMip “1.000000”
SET OutlineEngineMode “1.000000”
SET lightMode “0.000000”
SET lodObjectCullSize “27.000000”
SET lodObjectCullDist “30.000000”
SET lodObjectMinSize “0.000000”
SET lodObjectFadeScale “80.000000”
SET RAIDfarclip “1500.000000”
SET RAIDWaterDetail “1.000000”
SET RAIDSSAO “0.000000”
SET RAIDDepthBasedOpacity “0.000000”
SET RAIDgroundEffectDensity “16.000000”
SET RAIDgroundEffectDist “40.000000”
SET RAIDshadowMode “0.000000”
SET RAIDterrainLodDist “200.000000”
SET RAIDwmoLodDist “250.000000”
SET RAIDterrainMipLevel “1.000000”
SET RAIDworldBaseMip “2.000000”
SET RAIDtextureFilteringMode “0.000000”
SET RAIDprojectedTextures “1.000000”
SET RAIDshadowTextureSize “512.000000”
SET RAIDshadowSoft “0.000000”
SET RAIDreflectionMode “0.000000”
SET RAIDrippleDetail “0.000000”
SET RAIDsunShafts “0.000000”
SET RAIDparticleDensity “10.000000”
SET RAIDparticleMTDensity “20.000000”
SET RAIDrefraction “0.000000”
SET RAIDOutlineEngineMode “0.000000”
SET RAIDLightMode “0.000000”
SET RAIDlodObjectCullSize “35.000000”
SET RAIDlodObjectCullDist “30.000000”
SET RAIDlodObjectMinSize “0.000000”
SET RAIDlodObjectFadeScale “50.000000”
SET componentTextureLevel “1.000000”
SET RAIDcomponentTextureLevel “1.000000”
SET weatherDensity “1.000000”
SET RAIDweatherDensity “0.000000”
SET graphicsTextureResolution “2”
SET graphicsTextureFiltering “3”
SET graphicsViewDistance “3”
SET graphicsEnvironmentDetail “3”
SET graphicsGroundClutter “3”
SET graphicsShadowQuality “1”
SET graphicsLiquidDetail “3”
SET graphicsSunshafts “1”
SET graphicsSSAO “1”
SET graphicsDepthEffects “1”
SET graphicsLightingQuality “1”
SET graphicsOutlineMode “2”
SET raidGraphicsTextureResolution “1”
SET raidGraphicsTextureFiltering “1”
SET raidGraphicsViewDistance “1”
SET raidGraphicsEnvironmentDetail “1”
SET raidGraphicsGroundClutter “1”
SET raidGraphicsShadowQuality “1”
SET raidGraphicsParticleDensity “1”
SET raidGraphicsSSAO “1”
SET raidGraphicsLightingQuality “1”
SET playIntroMovie “8”
SET Sound_MusicVolume “0”
SET Sound_AmbienceVolume “0”
SET engineSurvey “7”
SET raidOrBattleCount “30”
SET mouseSpeed “1”
SET Sound_MasterVolume “0.19800001382828”
SET Sound_SFXVolume “0.10000000149012”
SET Sound_DialogVolume “1”
SET Sound_EnableDSPEffects “0”
SET gameTip “107”
SET spellClutterRangeConstant “10.000000”
SET spellClutterRangeConstantRaid “5.000000”
SET CACHE-WQST-QuestV2RecordCount “37422”
SET CACHE-WQST-QuestV2HotfixCount “0”
SET CACHE-WQST-QuestObjectiveRecordCount “38195”
SET CACHE-WQST-QuestObjectiveHotfixCount “3”
SET CACHE-WQST-QuestObjectiveXEffectRecordCount “12448”
SET CACHE-WQST-QuestObjectiveXEffectHotfixCount “2”
SET CACHE-WGOB-GameObjectsRecordCount “77263”
SET CACHE-WGOB-GameObjectsHotfixCount “0”
SET lastAddonVersion “80100”
SET lastTransmogOutfitID “1”
SET DesktopGamma “1”
SET Sound_EnablePetSounds “0”
SET ffxGlow “0”
SET worldPreloadNonCritical “0”
SET RenderScale1 “”
SET seenCharacterUpgradePopup “7”
SET characterFrameCollapsed “0”
SET statCategoriesCollapsed_2 “x”
SET groundEffectDensity “16.000000”
SET Sound_NumChannels “64”
SET RAIDsettingsEnabled “1”
SET expandUpgradePanel “0”
SET volumeFogLevel “1.000000”
SET entityLodDist “5.000000”
SET entityShadowFadeScale “10.000000”
SET RAIDhorizonStart “400.000000”
SET RAIDentityLodDist “5.000000”
SET RAIDentityShadowFadeScale “10.000000”
SET RAIDVolumeFogLevel “0.000000”
SET checkAddonVersion “0”
SET lockedWorldMap “0”
SET pvpBlacklistMaps0 “607”
SET pvpBlacklistMaps1 “761”
SET showArtifactXPBar “0”
SET VoiceSelfDeafened “1”
SET VoiceSelfMuted “1”
SET Sound_EnableErrorSpeech “0”
SET raidGraphicsProjectedTextures “2”
SET seenAlliedRaceUnlocks “A@@@|k”
SET ffxDeath “0”
SET ffxNether “0”
SET screenshotFormat “jpg”
SET screenshotQuality “10”

2

Hi Maizou

If this happened to the entire raid I suspect that issue was a game thing. It does look like you are having other problems as well.

Looking over your DXDiag report the notebook is well below the minimum spec requirement for BfA. You can expect issues.

The notebook has to run either DirectX 11 or DirectX 12. Go to the Menu > System > Advanced pane. Look for Graphics API. Test things there. Try both the DirectX 11 and the DirectX 11 Legacy settings.

A good deal of issues after the patch dropped have been caused by various Overlays. Discord overlay is the main one. Others are Overwolf, PrecisionX, Nvidia Share, MSI Afterburner/RivaTuner etc. Really any overlays at all. Check for those.

3

i’ve had same thing happen on 3 of 6 of my 120’s tonight on ivus i didnt notice it was eye shaped so now u got me wondering if its all part of the upcoming stuff with n’zoth and crucible of storms. I hope so cause i’d hate for it to be some sort of glitch they gotta patch and mess things up.

4

Hi Valanna

I would check over on the Bug report forum. There may be threads you can add your name to. If not I would start one myself.

5

So far this is the only issue I’ve had actually, and it was not present before this patch. And as I said, it wasn’t just me, it was to multiple people in the raid. (And as Valanna said, they had it happen to them too.)

And as you can see in the Config I posted, I am indeed running DX11 Legacy. I am also not running any Overlays. The only programs I run while playing wow are Discord and JetBoost (which closes unnecessary background programs/processes like GameBooster, just with less memory usage) Everything else is closed.

6

So, funny story. I managed to snag a screenshot of one of the effects causing the issue. (I had to stand in the pool for about 12 seconds for the black screen to go away, so it DOES go away, just after being in the bad for a VERY long time)

It seems to be any effect that adds an overlay to your screen. But in this case, it’s an overlay that Blizzard adds to your screen.

Pretty much any effect that lands on the ground that you stand in. Fire on Jaina, the green stuff on Stormwall. The bad on Ivus. Etc.

I do not know if this issue persists in DX11 or DX12, but I know for a fact this is an issue in DX11 Legacy.

Is there anyway to disable these effects in-game? :confused: This was NOT an issue before 8.1.5, and this is literally making the game unplayable.

The black screen cannot be screenshotted, by the way. Attempting to screenshot the black screen (which is COMPLETELY black except for the UI) resulted in this screenshot:

And yes, the LFR healers hated me.

(And I wouldn’t even keep posting, but my main issue is according to the blue post, they didn’t change anything with Direct X 11 Legacy, so I shouldn’t have any issues that weren’t present pre-patch, which is why I think this is a legitimate bug that should be fixable, especially since I play with my graphics settings set to “3” with 15 FPS and no issues whatsoever.)

7

There were other changes - Blizzard doesn’t advertise everything. We have seen a good number of unsupported systems that simply can’t play the game after the patch. There are likely far more that we haven’t seen on the forum. Technology marches on as they say.

There are 2 settings you might try.

First would be the Menu > System > Graphics Particle Density. I suspect you may have this setting turned right down already.

Second would be Projected Textures - it is likely you won’t see anything on the ground with that setting disabled.

If those help what I would do is download - install this addon. I use it - I consider it “essential”. It will be the only way you can tell you are standing in fire.

https://wow.curseforge.com/projects/gtfo

8

I asked a couple friends who have computers well over the recommended settings who had the Discord Overlay issue.

They have the same problem I’m describing.

So I guess I’ll wait to see if someone else might help, or if someone with a better computer posts the same issue, since you seem stuck on my computer being below the minimum specs despite playing the game fine.

I understand you’re a Tech Support MVP, but disregarding an actual problem just because a computer is under the minimum requirements is terrible support. Especially when another poster has posted with the same problem, as well as when the OP posts that the problem goes away on its own after a few seconds. As well as the OP mentioning other people saying they’ve had it happen, including friends. That alone should tell you its not a hardware problem. There’s something in the game doing it.

And I plan on doing Ivus on 4 toons over the next few days, and I can guarantee you if I ask in raid how many people experience a black screen when they step on the ground, I’ll get 10+ replies in each group.

Most people are probably just waiting for Blizzard to patch it as a bug, or they have a fast enough computer the black screen only lasts for a second so it doesn’t bother them enough to make a thread.

If I can find something in the overworld that causes this effect, I will test changing to DX11/DX12 tomorrow to see if it has the same issue there.

I do feel the need to point out the only part of the specs my computer does not meet are RAM based, and as such, it should not cause black screens from something as simple as a screen overlay. Especially when things like the red overlay from entering combat with my map open, etc. do not cause it.

EDIT: Edited cause I got snappy. Apologies Tratt.

9

I volunteer my help here - since this forum existed. I don’t work for Blizzard - don’t even live in the USA. I call things as I see them. Your little HP notebook is well below the processor requirements and the R5 onboard graphics would be far below.

The first thing I said was this could well be a game bug. Anyone reading this would disagree that I brushed you under the table because your system isn’t supported.

You need to keep in mind that this forum was designed as Player help Player. It isn’t official support. Even the Forum Agents you see only pop on and off as their normal jobs permit. Official support is only through the ticket system.

13

EDIT: Now have an active ticket. The issue is now active in all 3 APIs, DirectX 11 Legacy, DirectX11, DirectX12. Updating this post with everything I’ve tried for people also with this issue.

I’ve tried: (I think this is everything but I might have forgotten some)

Changing various graphics settings, including the various APIs.
Disabling all background process, program, and applications.
Setting every setting, effect, etc. to the lowest possible.
Disabling every overlay.
Running in safe mode.
Running in a new administration account.
Uninstalling Twitch and Doing a Full UI Reset.
All Drivers are Up to Date.
Doing a Completely Clean Video Driver Update. (This fixed my FPS issues in DirectX11, but introduced the Black Screen Bug in the API as well as another bug which I’ll deal with later)
Scan and Repair Two or Three Times
Clearing AMD Graphics Cache.

Whatever we did today made it possible to take a screenshot of the black screen now, so here’s what it looks like, if anyone has the issue and maybe hasn’t noticed and this makes you notice:

I have posted a Reddit thread to hopefully get some DXDiag logs here.

I find a lot at Ivus every day with the issue (while checking if each thing I try fixed it I ask the raid group). I just ask “Anyone else’s screen turn black when they step in the stuff on the ground?” and someone always say yes (Hell, I had 62 say yes over the past 2 days :/). But no one seems to want to come here and post their DXDiag. I can’t make them come here or anything, lol.

If anyone out there finds time to ask people at Ivus, please, feel free to try to convince some people to come post their DxDiag if they have the issue. It takes like 5 minutes max and then maybe we can find a solution to the issue we’re dealing with. It might only be a few bosses right now, but who knows what will be in the next raids.

After getting the file, have them copy the text in the file, paste it there, set the expiration to like a week or two, maybe make it unlisted and save, then either post the link surrounded by two ` or just the part of the URL after the .com.

17

I’m getting a similar issue to Maizou, along with some serious framerate issues after the patch. Before the patch I could run at max settings with 50+ fps, now I’m hitting <10 fps during raids on minimum settings.

After restarting the game tonight, I had the black screen issue. Stepping in bad fades out everything but the UI instead of the darkening-screen-edges effect that’s supposed to happen. This only happened for me for about 10 minutes until all of the game assets fully loaded (for some reason it took a while for all the textures to load and up to that point most of them were low-res).
(I’m getting the sense that this is something to do with a bug in the low-quality version of the screen-edge effect which is darkening the whole screen instead of just the edges for anyone running with low-quality assets, but that’s just my guess.)

DxDiag: https://pastebin.com/XFVvKXkg

18

And a GIF of the issue, courtesy of Tenxian:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/428385297215127554/558108498404048946/wow.gif

I have not noticed the issue going away if I wait long enough like he did however. I had it occur in LFR Stormwall, so I was in the raid for 20ish minutes prior.

All of my testing on Ivus was also from me logging on fresh. I can test logging on, letting me sit there for 10-15 minutes, THEN running through the bad though then edit this post if there was an improvement.

19

Hey there, I wish to clarify once again that there isn’t proof pointing towards Overwolf being a possible cause for these issues. WoW is among the 10 most popular games that Overwolf’s users play, and we would have known about it if there was such a critical issue as the game crashing. I would prefer it if you wouldn’t mention Overwolf as the cause of these issues, as we have not found anything to support that.

On that note, if any of our users here suspect Overwolf could be causing them issues while playing WoW - please contact us on support@overwolf.com and we’ll do all we can to help!

20

Disabling all overlays to remove them as a cause is standard diagnostics. All overlays are a possible cause as wow does not really like any of them. There is no proof that it is not a cause either . And again removing all overlays is standard diagnostics.

23

For me, the black screen was my nVidia display drivers crashing and restarting (monitor basically losing connection to the card.) I tried EVERYTHING (clean install of drivers, messing with every setting under the sun, even put new thermal paste on both GPU and CPu) and nothing worked until I turned Vertical Sync and Triple Buffering on. Hope this helps anyone who combed the forums for an answer like I have done!