TC_Giant

I should have been more clear: It wasn't letting me install, probably because I was PLAYING when I was trying. Nevertheless, I cleaned out the Steam directory for City of Heroes and reinstalled it to a more normal location in my D:\Program Files(x86) directory. I let it go overnight, and when I woke up at the crack of twelve-thirty this afternoon(so glad for a day off, phew) I fired up CoH. It's been four and a half hours or so, and no graphical glitches to report.

I think, for whatever reason, the Steam Overlay was responsible for this! I'd urge anyone who's having problems with a Steam-downloaded copy of the game and crazy textures to try my solution and see if it works for you.

It won't install if the game is already present, so I can't run it until I quit my current session and delete it from Steam's directories.

Also: yes, several times.

So do you think that something about the way Steam works is doing it? Maybe it's the Steam Overlay or something? It'd be interesting to turn it off and see what happens.

EDIT: Another idea: Installing the game to a different location?

Don't give up on me yet! I'm still interested and looking for a solution. /reloadgfx does temporarily fix the problem, but it's not enough for me! I know, I'm needy! If anyone out there has encountered these kinds of graphical glitches and found an actual, factual solution for them, please, let me know!

Well, at least it's not just me. You'd think someone'd have a real solution, though...

I'll go through and clean out the "file missing" entries. This install of Vista is seriously like four weeks old, though; I can't imagine there'd be much to worry about. As for Google Update, you're very correct. But would either of those really cause corrupted textures?

Also, regarding the drivers, the other night I actually DID uninstall my graphics drivers, and then ran DriverCleaner.net with all the ATI options checked, then restarted, then reinstalled the Catalyst 9.5 package, and the problem persists.

I mean, to me this looks like some kind of texture caching glitch. Does CoH put temporary shader/texture files anywhere that I can just clear them out of?

Here's a full HJT log.

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 11:02:45 PM, on 6/11/2009
Platform: Windows Vista SP2 (WinNT 6.00.1906)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6002.18005)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Ink\TabTip32.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS WiFi-AP Solo\RtWLan.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Pantone\hueyPRO\hueyPROTray.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Carbonite\Carbonite Backup\CarboniteUI.exe
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Ctxfihlp.exe
C:\Program Files\Logitech\GamePanel Software\LCD Manager\Applets\LCDMedia.exe
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\CTXFISPI.EXE
C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenOffice.org 3\program\soffice.bin
C:\Program Files\Logitech\SetPoint\x86\SetPoint32.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Thunderbird\thunderbird.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
D:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
d:\program files\steam\steamapps\common\city of heroes\CityOfHeroes.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: Google Toolbar Notifier BHO - {AF69DE43-7D58-4638-B6FA-CE66B5AD205D} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleToolbarNotifier\5.0.926.3450\sw g.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avast!] C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Carbonite Backup] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Carbonite\Carbonite Backup\CarboniteUI.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTxfiHlp] CTXFIHLP.EXE
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Sidebar] C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\sidebar.exe /autoRun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Pidgin] C:\Program Files (x86)\Pidgin\pidgin.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Core Temp] "F:\My Documents\Downloads\CoreTemp64\Core Temp.exe"
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [DisplayFusion] "C:\Program Files (x86)\DisplayFusion\DisplayFusion.exe"
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-18\..\Run: [CtxfiReg] CTXFIREG.exe /FAIL2 (User 'SYSTEM')
O4 - HKUS\.DEFAULT\..\Run: [CtxfiReg] CTXFIREG.exe /FAIL2 (User 'Default user')
O4 - Startup: OpenOffice.org 3.0.lnk = C:\Program Files (x86)\OpenOffice.org 3\program\quickstart.exe
O4 - Global Startup: ASUS WiFi-AP Solo.lnk = ?
O4 - Global Startup: hueyPROTray.lnk = C:\Program Files (x86)\Pantone\hueyPRO\hueyPROTray.exe
O4 - Global Startup: Logitech SetPoint.lnk = ?
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: AMD External Events Utility - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\atiesrxx.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Antivirus - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Mail Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Web Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe
O23 - Service: CarboniteService - Carbonite, Inc. (www.carbonite.com) - C:\Program Files (x86)\Carbonite\Carbonite Backup\carboniteservice.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Audio Engine Licensing Service - Creative Labs - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Creative Labs Shared\Service\CTAELicensing.exe
O23 - Service: Creative Audio Service (CTAudSvcService) - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\Program Files (x86)\Creative\Shared Files\CTAudSvc.exe
O23 - Service: @dfsrres.dll,-101 (DFSR) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\DFSR.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdate1c9df11c41dc424) (gupdate1c9df11c41dc424) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Software Updater (gusvc) - Google - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Logitech Bluetooth Service (LBTServ) - Logitech, Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Logishrd\Bluetooth\LBTServ.exe
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: O&O Defrag - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\oodag.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: ProtexisLicensing - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\SysWOW64\PSIService.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\SLsvc.exe,-101 (slsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\SLsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Steam Client Service - Valve Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe
O23 - Service: TabletServiceWacom - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Wacom_Tablet.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Zune Wireless Configuration Service (ZuneWlanCfgSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\ZuneWlanCfgSvc.exe (file missing)

--
End of file - 8552 bytes


I'm going over the "Common Solutions" thread right now. I swear I've been in there before, though.

As for temperatures, I'm running CoreTemp for CPU temperatures since SpeedFan doesn't really accurately show the temperatures for each CPU core. Temperatures right now, with the game open on my first monitor, are between 57 and 62 degrees Celsius. I just downloaded and ran Speedfan, and it doesn't report my GPU temperature anyway. Last time I checked, I was running at about 40 degrees Celsius.

My PSU is a 700-watt FSP. It's been good to me so far.

I took both posters' suggestions, and it's still happening. In fact, it just happened right now, flying across Talos. Does anyone have some other solutions that have worked for them in the past? I'm looking for something to fix it permanently, though, not just "well, now it happens LESS", and I'm not averse to trying something that would be more technical or in-depth than just changing a few settings.

Also, aside from solutions, if someone can shed some light on WHY it's happening, that'd be a big help, too. I'd like to avoid such problems in the future.

I'm not entirely sure these thumbnails will show. If not, I'll make new ones quickly. These are, however, a fair, albeit static, approximation of what is going on.











Oh, and one additional thing: Sometimes, I can fix the problem by switching my textures from "very high" to "low" and back. Sometimes that doesn't work. And, before anyone asks, I've verified my game files. Like a dozen times.



EDIT: Okay, so it seems I can't post inline images, either.

I wish I could make a first post under better circumstances, but I've got a pretty counfounding problem that I need a solution to. I'll just get right to it, then:

My computer rocks an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 with four gigabytes of RAM and, until recently, a Sapphire Radeon 4850 graphics card. When I installed the card, I found a capacitor in the packaging after it was already installed, and so I was wary that it was going to run poorly, but all I ever saw was minor geometry glitches, so I was willing to put up with it. But, then I was encouraged by a friend to start playing City of Heroes again, so I picked up a fresh copy and gave it a shot. Now, I'm really enjoying the game, but I keep having this severe graphics glitch. Randomly, textures begun to switch around, sometimes flickering during load screens, and sometimes happening in the middle of me just standing around, for no good reason. But they get pretty bad, and they happen on both 2D and 3D areas, including the UI, character models, and world objects. I thought it was related, so I got a new card from a different manufacturer. Same basic setup, both are ATI Radeon 4850-based cards with 512MB of RAM, just different brands because Sapphire's RMA policy is atrocious. I install it, everything works great for a day, and then tonight, it starts happening again. What the heck?

So, here's what I know:
* Textures load improperly, but not always. And not always the same textures, either.
* Can be anything, 2D or 3D, even the UI.
* Sometimes they switch around, seemingly at random, to totally different textures.
* Sometimes, my UI gets really dark, when this happens, and other times, it will become so transparent it just about vanishes.
* It wasn't my busted capacitor on the old card.

I'm going to see if I can put some images up with examples of what I'm experiencing, and see if anyone else knows how to solve it. Also, I did a CoH Helper dump, so I'm going to put that here too:

---System information gathered by CoH Helper version 0.1.1.7---

DxDiag gathered at June 10, 2009 20:39 (-04:00)
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Ultimate (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.090302-1506)
System Manufacturer: ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC
System Model: P5W DH Deluxe
BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/15/07 13:59:46 Ver: 08.00.12
Central Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz
Memory: 4094MB
.Net Memory Report: 1107MB out of 4094MB available
Page File: 4773MB (3618MB currently in use)
C Drive: (Maxtor 6Y080M0 ATA Device) 24213MB out of 78152MB (30%) free
D Drive: (ST3200826AS ATA Device) 63121MB out of 190771MB (33%) free
E Drive: (ST3200826AS ATA Device) 107170MB out of 190779MB (56%) free
F Drive: (WDC WD1600JB-00REA0 ATA Device) 52004MB out of 152625MB (34%) free
H Drive: (ST310003 33AS USB Device) 784495MB out of 953867MB (82%) free
G Drive: (TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223Q ATA Device) zero-size drive
Windows directory location: C:\Windows
DirectX: DirectX 10
DirectX Diag version: 6.00.6001.18000 (64-bit version)

Display Notes: No problems found.

No problems found.
Sound Notes: No problems found.

No problems found.

No problems found.

No problems found.
Input Notes: No problems found.

Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Manufacturer / Chip: ATI Technologies Inc. / ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x9442)
Video Memory: 2297 MB
Driver Version: 8.14.0010.0662
Driver Date: 4/28/2009 9:52:02 PM
Driver Language: English

Monitor: Dell 1907FP(Digital)
Monitor's Max Resolution: (blank)
Video Device Name: ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series
Manufacturer / Chip: ATI Technologies Inc. / ATI Radeon Graphics Processor (0x9442)
Video Memory: 2297 MB
Driver Version: 8.14.0010.0662
Driver Date: 4/28/2009 9:52:02 PM
Driver Language: English

Sound Device Description: Speakers (Creative SB X-Fi)
Driver File: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.1346
Driver Date: 2/19/2009 6:59:50 PM

Sound Device Description: Digital Output Device (SPDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.5840.16387
Driver Date: 11/2/2006 1:28:10 AM

Sound Device Description: Headphones (High Definition Audio Device)
Driver File: HdAudio.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.5840.16387
Driver Date: 11/2/2006 1:28:10 AM

Sound Device Description: SPDIF Out (Creative SB X-Fi)
Driver File: ctaud2k.sys
Driver Version: 6.00.0001.1346
Driver Date: 2/19/2009 6:59:50 PM


WMI Information
Motherboard Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Motherboard Model: (empty)
Motherboard Product: P5W DH Deluxe
Motherboard Version: Rev 1.xx
BIOS Manufacturer: American Megatrends Inc.
BIOS Name: BIOS Date: 08/15/07 13:59:46 Ver: 08.00.12
BIOS Version: A_M_I_ - 8000715
BIOS Release: 20070815000000.000000+000

Registry Information for Current User
Resolution: 1680x1014
3D Resolution: 1680x1008 (Not using renderscale)
Full Screen: No
Maximized: Yes
Screen Position: 0, 0
Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Vertical Sync Enabled: Yes

Physics Quality: High
Maximum Particles: 50000
Max Particle Fill? 10.000
Physics Card Enabled: No

Anti-aliasing: None
Anisotropic Filtering: 16x
Texture LOD Bias: Smooth
Water Effects: None
Bloom: 2.000 (turned off)
Depth of Field Enabled: Yes
Desaturation Effects (Sepia) Enabled: Yes
Shader Detail: High

World Texture Level: Very High
Character Texture Level: Very High
World Detail Level (Vis_Scale): 2.000
Entity Detail Level: 2.000
Shadows Enabled: Yes
Gamma Correction: 1.000
Geometry Buffers (VBOs) Enabled: Yes
Suppression of Extra Player FX Enabled: No
Suppression of FX When Camera Close Enabled: No
Close Suppression Range: 3.000
Show Advertisements: Yes

Audio Mode: Compatiblity
3D Audio: No
FX Sound Volume: 0.500
Music Sound Volume: 0.500

Show Advanced Graphics Options: Yes
Overall Graphics Quality: 1.000
Reverse Mouse Buttons: No
Save Login Username: Yes
Transfer Rate: Unknown bytes/second
Current Game Version: 18.20090422.5T
Installation Directory: d:\program files\steam\steamapps\common\city of heroes

Mod files in the Data directory
No modifications found


Images will follow in another post. One second, I should have them up.