Hi,

I am having an issue with my fog of war, being a weird colour and also f****ing.

The only work around i have found is running the game at the resolution 1 under my native resolution (so 1920x1080 stretched to my monitor) and also unticking "start in windowed mode". + NVIDIA control panel, set scaling to full screen
---I have no idea why this combination works, but the colours go back to normal and game runs fine (but i don't want to be playing on a massive chunky non native resolution especially coming from 1k games on AOE2HD playing at 2560x1440)

Is there a fix for this?

I have tried all the common answers in similar threads i have found

-I have tried changing my monitor profile on windows (Changes look slightly overall, but again problem is there, f****s / wrong colours)

-I have tried changing brightness/contrast/colour temps/saturation using the side of the monitor (All this did was change the shade of "wrong colours" showing and still f****s

-I have tried the different preset profiles on my monitor (racing mode, cinema, rts mode) (same as above, clearly changed the look, but still f****s / wrong colour scheme)

I went to voobly tech support and talked to Hassan (thanks again for all the time) and tried some other trouble shooting methods as well. Including:
-Changing nvidia 3d game settings for AOC (which seemed again to change the look slightly but problem clearly was still there - just again looks slightly different but still f****s.)
-Turning on and off gsync
-running game at 60hz, 59hz (rather than 144hz)
-Scaling off (100% windows, off in nvidia)
I have tried using only 1 monitor (as i have two usually plugged in, both monitors run at 144hz one is only 1920x1080 though) - so i tried this with display port and hdmi by itself (Same problem showed trying to use my native 2560x1440)

I have installed my game using aoe2tools, i then uninstalled, and did the conversion again using the compatibility patch instead - both installs showed the same exact problem. (I haven't done a complete "fresh" install - by redownloading aoe2HD over again --- could this possible fix this issue?)

Other info:
My water is not purple (Which was something mentioned if it was a colour issue)
When i used all visable, everything as far as i can tell looks normal
I made sure that windows scaling was off (or any type of scaling on my graphics card settings)

---

Not sure if this is related or a separate issue but anytime the game pauses (Continue screen, i bring up options menu etc) in a online voobly game - for the rest of the game i get massive lag (not internet) but game lag, scroll lag (when i move around the map) anytime i go to build or select something it lags (this continues until i restart voobly until again a menu or something changes mid game, then it lags for the rest of the game (basically unplayable) -- i have a feeling this is a separate issue as i had this same issue around 1-2 years ago on my old PC while trying to convert over

Really frustrating each time i try and move across have huge issues, just want to play some slightly higher level AOE, thanks for any help

EDIT:

Monitors:

ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q 27" 2K IPS Gaming Monitor 165Hz (2560x1440)

ASUS ROG Swift PG248Q 24" Gaming Monitor Monitor 1ms 180Hz (1920x1080)

Video Card:

EVGA GeForce GTX1080 SC 8GB GDDR5 Gaming Graphics Card

I am willing to try things i have already done if you think i might have done it wrong or missed a setting or know it is likely that issue - thanks again

Hi there,

Thank you for a detailed explanation and for providing most of the information needed.

It seems you are having scaling problem trying to upscale beyond 1080p.

Disconnect both monitors and connect PG248Q as the only primary monitor. Make sure you disable display scaling (set it to 100%) and use the default native resolution (1920 x 1080). Run the game at 1080p as well and with window mode turned on. Test that the game is working fine and that there is no fog issue. Thereafter check for the in game lag as well under the same setup. Report anomalies if you find any.

If all goes well, disconnect the primary monitor and switch it with PG279Q. Set the display resolution to 1920 x 1080 (not your native resolution for this monitor) and display scaling still turned off. Test a game. Then come back and increase the resolution to the native one (1440p). Display scaling still stays at 100%. 'Window mode' and 'Render in 32 bit' must be turned on in your game room. Now test the game again and let us know how it goes.

ok thanks i will try this.

Just a small update while trying to test things out

The only way i currently have got it to show normal colours on my 2560X1440 monitor is this combo

Resoution tool:
Force desktop resolution TICKED

Direct X :
Render in 32bit colour TICKED
Start in windowed mode UNTICKED (HAS to be non windowed Seems to make a difference for some reason)
Disable Hardware Acceleration: UNTICKED

Window Compat:
Disable high DPI: TICKED
Run as admin: TICKED
Run in windows XP SP2: UNTICKED

Ingame set 1920x1080

NVIDIA control panel
Scaling set to full screen (so it stretches my game to 1920x1080 but on my 2560x1440 screen)

This shows completely normal colours and game -- with the same exact settings if i change it to my normal resolution(2560x1440) the game break again (then if i swap back fixes)

If i have nvidia scaling off (which i did through all the rest of testing) any combination in game menu or resolution all have the same problem with fog.


Ok thanks i will try plugging in just 1 monitor and testing with no scaling and 1920x1080 (native res) for the smaller monitor and i will let you know.

Thanks

(also, i think having "Run in windows XP SP2 compat" is making me lag (when i turned this option off, i can now access menus with out lag -- but havent tested it in game yet to see if this fixes the lag fully)
---have now played 1 game with 1920x1080 stretched, with that setting off with no lag (but again still want my native res to work somehow) - but i might of fixed one of the problems (sample size of 1 game though..)

It seems to be happening also on my other monitor, it isn't as easy to see, but it is still there (it is like the shadows being cast off the units is across the whole screen when they move (as they say run down, the perpendicular tiles across the whole screen change colour where it is walking. again to a slightly lighter green) So the colours are slightly off (and turning back to normal where the units walk) - but it is much worse on my other monitor. (again all visible seems to show what i expect the colours to be)

So i guess this might be a good thing? (as it might be more localised to my PC settings or install maybe? over a monitor hardware issue (unless same brand causes it) What would you recommend next?

Did a clean install follow this page
https://support.voobly.com/display/vkb/KB1054+Clean+installation+of+Aoe2HD+with+compatibility+patch/

Same issue is still there (after installing the newest user patch and running a game) + no mods installed (small trees, gridlines etc)

Not sure what to try next

Did you find the Classic version CD you told me about?

Since the game works fine on HD on PG279Q with 1440p native resolution, I do not believe it is a hardware issue neither does it seem to be a graphic setting or scaling issue.

I can't think of anything that could be the problem cause in your case.

If you can, I would suggest you to look for the CD version and see if you have the same problem out there.

Hi, ok thanks i will try and find my old CDs somewhere.
- can i ask how i would install this correctly (do i need to have HD uninstalled, or can i somehow make voobly direct it to the CD game over the installed HD conversion?)

---

An update after the clean install -- HD still works totally fine on 2560x1440 (normal colour scheme/walked fog of war normal)
--but again only way i can produce that on voobly is
start in window mode UNTICKED
1920x1080 in game
and in nvidia scale to full screen
produces correct colour scheme and no weird "walked" fog of war f**** / shadows off units across the screen in line with where the units are. (But games looks big because it is scaled and non native)

Showing the problem for others who might have similar issue
It is hard to fully show this problem in a static image (as you cant see the colours shifting like shadows / changing constantly as i move things around) - which does not happen on HD / voobly when correct colours show.

But here are two images, the first is how the game should look (and i can produce this colour / look on HD 2560x1440 and the weird combo of settings above for voobly)

[You must login to view link] - How everyone's games look

The second image shows what the different colours look like (and also remember this sometimes f****s (back to normal colours for a second and then back) and also weird shadows cast off units (perpendicular to where the unit is stand across all tiles in the same line across the whole screen)

[You must login to view link] -Wrong colours/ fog f****s/ shadows cast by units change colour of fog of war walked / terrain

Both images are from the same game and spot on the map.

All visable or areas where i have units or buildings show totally normal colour on all settings (so if every game was all visable i wouldn't even notice this issue, normal colours show)

Just to be clear (to people viewing the images) it is not a sharpness / colour issue, it may look like i can just adjust the shade/contrast/brightness/sharpness to somehow attain a better look but this is not the case, as the colours are are wrong in the first place. (I can't make a wrong green, a better wrong green - it still f****s/clearly a problem)

I've had this problem with my 2550x1440 Monitor as well. Changing the monitor settings helped a bit but not much. You can test if it's a monitor issue by making a screenshot of the game and moving that around on the monitor. With mine, it was f****ing and the green tint turned on/off. Since for the PC it's just a static picture it has to be the monitor displaying things in a weird way (You can also compare the same picture on both monitors)
If that's the case, unfortunately I don't think you can do anything about it besides lower the resolution.

The reason HD and the original game behave differently is because the Fog of War is drawn in different ways. I believe on the original game it's just alternating black pixels being laid over it (or something like that), while on HD it's a semi-transparent layer that affects the color of all pixels.

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah sounds like the same issue, i just don't get why i can produce correct colours at all then (on the lower resolution)

It seems on my other 1920x1080 it has the exact same issues - and i have to also use 1 resolution under my native (otherwise same green / f****s wrong colours 'walked fog of war'.) to produce the normal colours or look. (maybe something to do with asus monitors, but they are two different panel types TN and IPS)
--maybe something to do with fullscreen resolutions i have no idea..

I haven't had this issue with any other game/movie/anything at all on the PC (just aoe voobly) other than when the green tint is there, then if i have the game still open it also applies to the desktop or programs i move around until i close aoe (or as you say take a screenshot of this green tint and move it around it is still there until i close the image). So probably is something to do with display doing something weird but no basic monitor adjustments change the problem (just make it a slightly less aggressive bright wrong green

Guess ill just stick to HD version.

Thanks for the help.

Please try to test with the CD version of the game, without any conversion or using your Age2HD. Let us know your feedback.

I'm having this exact same issue with the exact same monitor (Asus ROG Swift PG279Q)

I can't currently find the CDs, i will have a better look later on, is there another way to purchase the game officially other than the steam version?

Interesting to see you have same issue on the same asus monitor, i wonder if they other people in the past who posted and had this issue also had the same screen or a different brand.

@steve - How did you install your game? conversion from HD or using the CDs? (you wouldnt happen to have access to the CDs to test at all?)

@N1K conversion from HD using AoE2Tools. I don't have access to the CDs to test

No worries, same as how i did it originally. I then deleted and tried to install using the compatibility patch instead. (so no third party tools), I then tried a complete fresh install (deleting aoe2 HD off steam) and then again used the compatibility patch (as stated on voobly help page for "fresh install"). All three methods seemed to have the same problem (and minor fix by adjusting and stretching a lower resolution. using nvidia control panel)

I can't seem to find the CDs, i found like 3 copies of AOE 3 (but no aoe 1 or aoe 2 which i owned in the past).


Is there an online store somewhere other than steam where i can purchase the game? or will i have to try and buy or find the actual CDs (like on ebay,amazon, trademe(nz version))