Asherons Call: State of the Code Updated!

Ibn has let us know that the State of the Code has been updated with information on the recent changes to ACD3DSetup.EXE.

What's going on with this ACD3DSetup thing?!

ACD3DSetup.exe is a utility that runs when you start up Asheron's Call, before the AC client does. It helps you to configure your 3D settings for AC. During development for the June update, we found a bug with this utility that was causing it to crash on certain modern processors. We corrected the issue, and the June update included a new version of ACD3DSetup.exe with this bug fixed.

However, as soon as the June update went live, we found an issue with the new version. In certain circumstances, the utility reset the ZBuffer toggle. (ZBuffering is one method by which 3D software or hardware can handle sorting--that is, what draws in front and what draws behind.) Unfortunately, ZBuffering in AC can interact badly with certain video cards, so resetting the ZBuffer toggle to 'on' causes graphics issues for many players. The most widespread issue involves the screen turning mostly black. The quick solution for this problem is to run the ACD3DSetup.exe again and turn ZBuffering off.

Of course, changing the utility so that players do not need to fix the problem themselves is a much better solution, and so that is what we have done. The newest version of the ACD3DSetup.exe utility will be downloaded automatically in the July update. This version includes the fix for the original crashing bug, but it also resets the ZBuffer toggle to 'off' for *everyone*. This means that if you actually want ZBuffering on, you'll need to turn it on explicitly after you download the July update. But it also means that you should no longer need to fiddle with your video settings just to be able to log in and play.

So now you know *grin*.