Description:

The Force Lightning effect doesn't show in full on AMD/ATi video cards. When you fire force lightning or any other abilities that display lightning, the lightning oftne lacks bolts, sometimes only having one or even just showing the light but not the bolts themselves. On Nvidia Video cards, the lightning effect always shows in it's full glory.

Driver version and video quality settings do not seem to make a difference.

It makes force lightning look far less impressing on AMD/ATi video cards than it does on Nvidia cards. In fact, on Nvidia cards it looks similar to what is known from the Star Wars movies and other games, while on AMD/ATi cards it doesn't look much like force lightning at all much of the time.

This bug has been around since beta and has never been fixed. Hopefully you can add a fix to the graphical updates patch or earlier this summer.

 

Reproduction Steps:

1. Install FRAPS or any other utility that can capture game videos for later comparison to see how Force Lightning should look (on Nvidia cards).
    
    
   
2. Prepare an Nvidia video card as well as an AMD/ATi video card for testing.
    
    
   
3. Boot up your system with an Nvidia video card (I've used 2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 680 4GB with SLi enabled and disabled and 2x Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 3GB with SLi enabled and disabled on Windows 7 Professional 64 bit for this test) with the latest drivers (although any driver should do) cleanly installed.
   
4. Log in a Sith Inquisitor (ideally a level 55 Sorcerer ith all kinds of lightning abilities).
   
5. Set all in-game options to maximum detail.
   
6. Find a target.
   
7. Begin recording your video.
   
8. Use Force Lightning on the target repeatedly and change camera zoom, angles, etc.
   
9. Note that the Force lightning effect looks perfectly fine all the time.
    
    
   
10. Boot up your system with an AMD/ATi video card (I've used 2x AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB with CrossfireX enabled and disabled, 2x AMD Radeon HD 7970M 2GB in CrossfireX enabled and disabled and a AMD Radeon HD 5970 4GB for this test on Windows 7 Professional 64 bit)) with the latest drivers (although any driver from the past 2 years should do, as this bug has been around since beta) cleanly installed.
    
11. Log in a Sith Inquisitor (ideally a level 55 Sorcerer ith all kinds of lightning abilities).
    
12. Set all in-game options to maximum detail (the same settings used with the Nvidia card for perfect comparison).
    
13. Find a target.
    
14. Begin recording your video.
    
15. Use Force Lightning on the target repeatedly and change camera zoom, angles, etc.
    
16. Note that the Force lightning effect is seemingly randomly missing detail almost all the time.
     
     
    
17. Compare the videos you've recorded on Nvidia and AMD/ATi cards to see the difference.
    

Edited May 29, 2013 by Glzmo

Yeah, i can attest to the above. Just doesnt look as good when you have bolts missing.

I was under impression that it's my particular video card that doesn't work well with SWTOR lightning effects (ATI Radeon HD 3870), but now i see that the problem is of larger scale.

Currently i'm leveling a new SI and recording all the cutscenes with him, and this issue really ruines some of them

I've been having this issue with my ATi Radeon HD5970 4GB since beta. When will they finally fix it? I guess Bioware uses only Nvidia cards to test their game... I hope that now that EA has a partnership with AMD video cards, they will finally have this bug fixed. Edited August 20, 2013 by Stubacca

can someone please tell me they will fix this its really annoying makes me want to buy a nvidea just for SWTOR -_-

Hi Bioware!

 

I have the same problem with my ati radeon card as others in this thread described, that my sith sorcerer lightning effects doesN1t show most of the time or shows but not very good (1 lightning arc not 2, I can see the light on the ground but not my lightning). Please cant you do some patching that we ati card owners too can enjoin this game for the fullest?

 

Thank you very much.