Running WoW 9.0.2 on the new MBP 13" w/ M1 Chip and 11.0.1 Update (Post Updated)
Issue: Entire external display flickering, regardless of whether WoW is in Windowed or Fullscreen mode. Flickering is almost instant and visually looks like a whole-display gamma adjustment rather than off/on. The WindowServer process uses almost as much CPU % as WoW itself.
Issue occurs on a completely clean install of macOS Big Sur with only Battle.net/WoW installed and no peripherals connected. Does not occur on an Intel MBP on Big Sur with identical connection. Does not occur with other games from Blizzardāonly occurs with WoW.
Steps to reproduce: Flicker can be reliably induced by putting WoW into Windowed mode and moving the mouse back and fourth between the internal and external display.
Console Message associated with each flicker:
WindowServer - [1.26.0] +[ASEProcessing shouldEnhanceWidth:height:destinationWidth:destinationHeight:]: src={ 3840w x 2160h }, dest={ 2880w x 1620h }, aseFunctionOnYesOffNo=0
Steps so far with no effect:
- Disabling/Enabling VSync with and without Triple Buffering
- AA and post-process AA changes
- Windowed (Fullscreen) and Fullscreen
- Occurs on loading screen and in-game
- Only Ethernet (via dock) or Only Wifi
- Disabling True Tone / Auto Adjust Brightness (and both) in Mac settings
- Disabling Displays Get Own Spaces in Mission Control
- Disabling Screen Time
- Reduce Transparency / Disabling Window Tinting
- Clean install of macOS Big Sur with nothing else installed
Edit: Similar issue as was discussed and shown here (described as a āgamma flickerā): https://eu.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/constant-gamma-flickers/89658
Temporary fix: Put external display into Mirrored mode (Best for External) and graphical glitches will only occur on the internal display.
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Hiya,
Looks like your setup is REALLY similar to mine. I love those Cal Digit TB3 docks. Have you checked all of the TB3 cables? I got flickering with mine when I overhauled my setup to a 16ā MBP at home. Another idea might be to step the resolution down to 1080p. A third yet out there solution might be to try to SMC reset the machine.
I work for Apple - just curious though, how are you liking WOW on the M1 aside from the flickering 
ThanksāI have an Apple TB3 cable I can try in the morning but havenāt had issues with this one before. Lower resolutions seem to reduce the frequency of flicker but still have the issueāhoping itās not a bandwidth thing (but they support 6K displays so it shouldnāt be right?)
M1 performance is really impressive. I did not expect roughly 40fps at full 4K on non-minimal settings in BFA zones. Getting close to 60 with the rendered resolution turned down to 80-85% is perfect for me.
Decided on this over an intel MBP + eGPU and very happy with the performance so far. Itās also crazy quiet, the fan rarely kicks up at all and the machine is never hot.
Does it happen without the dock?
Iām seeing minor flashes using the hdmi port on my M1 Mac mini. Iām getting 45-50 fps at level 9 settings at native 4K(2160p) in org by turning off the shadows settings. Very impressive.
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Yes, just confirmed flickering happens when connecting the monitor directly to the Mac via USB-C.
Update: If I put the settings on 1 but crank up the resolution to go above 4K, the issue happens. If I leave the resolution at 4K or less and the settings on 1, I donāt see the flicker (at least standing around Zuldazar).
So far, Iāve seen flickering in each tested case:
-
MBA and MBP (bought both to see difference for my workflows) on internal screen, qualities 1, 5, and 7 on 1600p and 900p (native res and scaled, respectively)
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MBA/MBP on 1440p monitor via Caldigit TB 3 dock, qualities 1, 5, and 7
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MBA/MBP on 1080p monitor via Caldigit TB 3 dock, qualities 1, 5, and 7
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MBA/MBP on 1440p monitor via HDMI dongle (official Apple), qualities 1, 5, and 7
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MBA/MBP on 1080p monitor via HDMI dongle, qualities 1, 5, and 7
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MBA/MBP on 1440p monitor via DP-USB-C dongle, qualities 1, 5, and 7
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MBA/MBP on 1080p monitor via DP-USB-C dongle, qualities 1, 5, and 7
All tests were repeated with vsync on and off. All tests repeated with monitors first set to 144 Hz, then set to 60 Hz.
While I did notice less flickering at lower qualities, it was still present. I imagine this is something in code that they will have to fix.
Thatās interesting it happens on your internal displayāI havenāt been able to replicate internal flickering even with maxed out settings (at 5K rendered resolution).
Whatās the scaled resolution of your external display?
I noticed also that merely moving the window from internal to external causes the whole display to flicker, even when nothing is happening in-game.
Catching up on this thread and talking to some folks at work about it.
Have you gone into āmission controlā and unticked the ādisplays have separate spacesā option in macOS? That seems to solve it for me on 11.0
100% scaling in each case with the externals, so 1440p on one and 1080p on the other.
Hmm, Iāll give that a whirl later today and report back!
No luck on 11.0.1 unfortunately. Flickering happens as soon as the game window opens (to the log-in screen).
Iāve also noticed when putting the game into Windowed mode at some smaller resolutionāthe border around the window flashes between a slightly thicker window border and a thinner border with a smooth shadow.
Any chance this is a transparency setting issue with Big Sur?
[Edit: Enabling Reduce Transparency in Accessibility has no effect. Iām sort of convinced this is some weird scaling/windowing issue.]
Same here. The icons and whatnot get blurry/dimmer and then snap back to what I would consider ānormalā.
Iām actually not having this issue on my MBP 13" M1 edition. Iāve sorta run the gamut on what might be doing it.
What display and cable do you use? Iām considering getting a different monitor.
Pro Display XDR :x
I donāt recommend buying it on a whim, but you probably already know how expensive it is lol
Ah thatād of course be amazing to have. Someday!
Edit: Added links to old thread in original post with video of issue.
Two more data points on this issue:
- I do now see it on the internal display (macOS resolution set to 1440x900; Windowed (Fullscreen); resolution set to 2560x1600.
- Two-finger click on the trackpad to attack a mob will crash the game, requiring a force quit. [Edit: this happens with a Bluetooth mouse too. Disabling Click to Move fixes it]
No obvious errors in the console aside from a repeating āFailed to write keyā¦ to SMCā message, even during the crash.
Update: I think Iāve isolated the Console message associated with the whole-screen flicker. Text copied below. I discovered I can reliably induce the flicker by putting WoW into windowed mode on the external display and moving the mouse from the internal to the external display.
The flicker is accompanied by the Title Bar of the window lengthening and then shortening back to the ādefaultā size. Perhaps something with the new Big Sur title bars is causing the issue?
Console message:
WindowServer - [1.26.0] +[ASEProcessing shouldEnhanceWidth:height:destinationWidth:destinationHeight:]: src={ 3840w x 2160h }, dest={ 2880w x 1620h }, aseFunctionOnYesOffNo=0
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