[Bug 17927] New: Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Summary: Morrowind: Massive texture flickering
           Product: Wine
           Version: 1.1.18
          Platform: PC-x86-64
        OS/Version: Linux
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: major
          Priority: P2
         Component: directx-d3d
        AssignedTo: [e-mail]
        ReportedBy: [e-mail]

Created an attachment (id=20260)
 --> (http://bugs.winehq.org/attachment.cgi?id=20260)
NPC's head flickering

Most (if not all) textures flicker.
This only happens in outside areas.
It also looks like a Z-fighting issue.

It can be best seen on NPCs (cf attached screen shot taken from JMS who first
reported the bug here: http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iVersionId=3383).
Then gersen and Christian Beckhaeuser confirmed the bug in this thread.

The bug seems to require a motion to be seen as the flickering is constant on
NPCs (and also on me when in 3rd person view), but requires me to move or turn
my character in order to see it on still elements like doors, windows, trees,
ground...

On big elements, it can be best seen on texture intersections.

Note that the closer I am from a considered element, the less I see this bug:
when close to a NPC, only its articulations flicker, but from a further
distance, the whole head (or even arms, legs, armor...) flickers.

If it can help: I also noticed this bug on Cedega versions from 6.1.1 to 7.1.1
(current). However the bug disappear with Cedega 6.1.0. And the game simply
doesn't run with versions below 6.1.0.

This bug is *really* bothering, and I'm very well motivated to do anything
which could help fixing it.

My configuration: Wine 1.1.18, Ubuntu Intrepid 64, Morrowind GOTY 1.6.1820
(French), laptop Sager NP2096 / GPU NVidia 9600M GT 512Mo, drivers
x86_64-180.44 / CPU Intel P9600

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Jeff Zaroyko  changed:

What    |Removed                     |Added
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           Severity|major                       |normal

--- Comment #1 from Jeff Zaroyko   2009-04-01 21:49:42 ---
not major, http://bugs.winehq.org/page.cgi?id=fields.html#bug_severity

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

--- Comment #2 from Austin English   2009-04-02 00:06:02 ---
Looks fine for me in git.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Austin English  changed:

What    |Removed                     |Added
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             Status|UNCONFIRMED                 |NEW
     Ever Confirmed|0                           |1

--- Comment #3 from Austin English   2009-04-02 02:06:30 ---
Err, nevermind, I see what you mean now.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

--- Comment #4 from Mehdi Yousfi-Monod   2009-04-02 09:14:28 ---
Thank you for correcting the bug severity (and sorry for the mistake).

Another remark: gersen and JMS reported that the bug disappears if downgrading
the NVidia driver to version 100.14.19. However this is a quite old driver that
does not support recent GPUs like mine
(http://appdb.winehq.org/commentview.php?iAppId=1015&iVersionId=3383&...).

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

john.moonsugar  changed:

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                 CC|                            |[e-mail]

--- Comment #5 from john.moonsugar   2009-04-02 13:08:24 ---
A windows user reported the same problem to me (they were using the same card I
have, the 9750GT) and said that they were able to configure their system to use
the z-buffer setting of "D24X8" instead of the default "D24S8", and this fixed
it. But I have no idea how to set that on Linux.
-JMS

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

--- Comment #6 from Mehdi Yousfi-Monod   2009-04-02 13:18:17 ---
It can been done using MGE (Morrowind Graphics Extender,
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5535), but I was not able to make
it working well under Linux.

It requires an installation of .NET (and I also had to install DirectX 9).
I did it using Winetricks (with something like "sh winetricks corefonts
directx9 dotnet20"), which allowed me to launch MGE. Unfortunately, changing
Z-buffer settings didn't seem to impact Morrowind. MGE does some DirectX tricks
and fakes, so I guess it can't work with native wine dlls.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

--- Comment #7 from joaopa   2009-04-02 13:32:55 ---
Anyway, the initial bug report is not a Wine bug, since it occurs in Windows
too. So, the bug should be marked as INVALID.

Open new bug report for other bugs.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Austin English  changed:

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                 CC|                            |[e-mail]

--- Comment #8 from Austin English   2009-04-02 13:49:14 ---
Can someone run the regression test:
http://wiki.winehq.org/RegressionTesting

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

--- Comment #9 from john.moonsugar   2009-04-02 14:00:47 ---
> Anyway, the initial bug report is not a Wine bug, since it occurs in Windows
> too. So, the bug should be marked as INVALID.

As I understand it, while the flickering occurs with some graphics cards under
Windows, it is also fixable under Windows as Windows users have the ability to
modify the z-buffer settings. It would be great if there also an easy way to do
this under Wine, if that is at all possible.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

--- Comment #10 from Mehdi Yousfi-Monod   2009-04-02 17:03:30 ---
> Can someone run the regression test:
> http://wiki.winehq.org/RegressionTesting

I followed the howto for 64bits architectures
(http://wiki.winehq.org/WineOn64bit) the wine started to compile.
However each version below 1.0.0 I tried stop compiling with errors
(‘VIF_MASK’ undeclared (first use in this function)).

Starting with 1.0.1 I know the bug is here as this is the Ubuntu wine stable
version.

Also I tried wine 0.9.60 package for Hardy 64 and the bug was still here.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Tobias Jakobi  changed:

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                 CC|                            |[e-mail]

--- Comment #11 from Tobias Jakobi   2009-06-17 17:36:27 ---
I think this is a duplicate of http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14633.

Seems to only affect nvidia cards so far. I can't reproduce it on my Radeon
HD3200. I'm checking again once I get a lowcost NV card (probably 8400 series).

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Ethan Baldridge  changed:

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                 CC|                            |[e-mail]

--- Comment #12 from Ethan Baldridge   2009-11-08 01:03:24 ---
I am also affected by this bug. I tried to use MGE (Morrowind Graphics
Extender) to resolve the problem but after generating a d3d8.dll file which
forced the use of a 32 bit depth buffer, Morrowind failed with:
err:module:attach_process_dlls "d3d8.dll" failed to initialize, aborting
err:module:LdrInitializeThunk Main exe initialization for
L"C:\morrowind\morrowind.exe" failed, status c0000005

Setting an override for d3d8.dll=builtin allowed Morrowind to run again, but of
course it doesn't fix the blinking
hair/helmets/banners/doors/windows/signs/water/etc.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

[e-mail] changed:

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                 CC|                            |[e-mail]

--- Comment #13 from [e-mail]  2010-01-11 07:47:06 ---
I am also affected by this bug but after some research it seems that it is a
driver issue. I came accross this small article which brings some light on this
problem.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforcefx,581-12.html

basicly what I understand from this article is that some applications use the
"ChoosePixelFormat" command to get the right depth buffer size. My guess is
that wine picks up this command from the game and sends it to the opengl
driver. Then the graphics card sets up the wrong depth buffer of 16-bits
(because of the bad driver) and we get nasty z-fights.

I am not a programmer so what I propose could be ridicoulus. Is it not possible
to let wine choose the depth buffer. Or better say intercept the
ChoosePixelFormat command and send a working command to the driver so that we
can decide which depth buffer gets used?

On a further notice. After testing Morrowind under cedega and crossover games.
It seems that wine is coming out better. Under wine the z-fighting is less
severe.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

--- Comment #14 from Mehdi Yousfi-Monod   2010-03-02 13:20:51 ---
> I think this is a duplicate of http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14633.

I finally agree, it seems to be the same bug: z-fighting and flickering on
nvidia cards. I also see the same water bug from the top of
the Seyda Neen lighthouse.

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Mehdi Yousfi-Monod  changed:

What    |Removed                     |Added
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             Status|NEW                         |RESOLVED
         Resolution|                            |DUPLICATE

--- Comment #15 from Mehdi Yousfi-Monod   2010-03-02 13:23:12 ---
Marked as duplicate of bug #14633.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 14633 ***

[Bug 17927] Morrowind: Massive texture flickering

http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17927

Vitaliy Margolen  changed:

What    |Removed                     |Added
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             Status|RESOLVED                    |CLOSED

--- Comment #16 from Vitaliy Margolen   2010-03-02 20:56:11 ---
Closing dup