"black body" texture load effect on NPCs with high end rig

[Sigurd44]

I still get the so called "black body" effect on NPCs after texture loads. Usually it happens if I load a saved game and sometimes after the loading screen while zoning into another cell. It does not occur often and usually I am able to solve that problem with a second load attempt, but I have to quit Skyrim and restart if from the beginning, a simple save game load won't do it. This effect makes me wonder, if the failure is somewhere hidden in my .ini settings, or my settings are just at the limit, even for my rig. So I need some experience, advice and maybe the possibility to compare with other settings/rigs.

 

My rig:

 

i7 2600K

8 GB RAM

Asus Geforce 670 GTX, 4 GB (!) VRAM

Kingston HyperX SSD

 

I upgraded from a GTX 570 1,2 GB VRAM to a GTX 670 4 GB VRAM and especially this makes me wonder about the sometimes occurring "black body" bug. Before I had no problem to explain that...1,2 GB RAM with a hard tweaked .ini and a mod loaded Skyrim is just too less, but now with 4 GB VRAM?

 

My NVIDIA Settings:

 

FXAA on

16 x AF

8 x AA (multisample)

8 x AA transparency (supersample)

Texture Filtering high quality

VSync + Tripple buffering on (mouse lag will kill me otherwise)

Threaded Optimation on

Ambient Occlusion on/quality

 

My .ini settings (important stuff in bold):

 

Skyrim.ini:

 

[General]

sLanguage=ENGLISH

uGridsToLoad=7

uExterior Cell Buffer=64

bUseThreadedTempEffects=1

bUseThreadedParticleSystem=1

bMultiThreadMovement=1

bUseThreadedMorpher=1

 

[Display]

fShadowLODMaxStartFade=2000.0000

fSpecularLODMaxStartFade=1000.0000

fLightLODMaxStartFade=3500.0000

fDecalLifetime=256.0000

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096

bTransparencyMultisampling=1

bAllowScreenshot=1

iPresentInterval=1

fDefaultWorldFOV=85

fDefault1stPersonFOV=85

fSunShadowUpdateTime=0.000

fSunUpdateThreshold=0.100

 

[imagespace]

bDoRadialBlur=1

 

[Audio]

bEnableAudio=1.0

fMusicDuckingSeconds=6.0

fMusicUnDuckingSeconds=8.0

fMenuModeFadeOutTime=3.0

fMenuModeFadeInTime=1.0

 

[Grass]

bAllowCreateGrass=1

bAllowLoadGrass=0

iMinGrassSize=20

 

[GeneralWarnings]

SGeneralMasterMismatchWarning=One or more plugins could not find the correct versions of the master files they depend on. Errors may occur during load or game play. Check the "Warnings.txt" file for more information.

 

[Archive]

sResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa

sResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa

 

[Combat]

fMagnetismStrafeHeadingMult=0.0

fMagnetismLookingMult=0.0

 

[Papyrus]

fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=500.0

bEnableLogging=0

bEnableTrace=0

bLoadDebugInformation=0

 

[Water]

bReflectLODObjects=1

bReflectLODLand=1

bReflectSky=1

bReflectLODTrees=1

 

[backgroundLoad]

bBackgroundLoadLipFiles=1

bLoadBackgroundFaceGen=1

bUseMultiThreadedFaceGen=1

bBackgroundCellLoads=1

bLoadHelmetsInBackground=1

bUseMultiThreadedTrees=1

bUseBackgroundFileLoader=1

 

[Animation]

bMultiThreadBoneUpdate=1

 

[HAVOK]

iNumThreads=5

 

[Decals]

bDecalMultithreaded=1

 

[interface]

fSafeZoneX=15

fSafeZoneY=15

fSafeZoneXWide=15

fSafeZoneYWide=15

fBookOpenTime=200.0000

 

SkyrimPrefs.ini:

 

[General]

fBrightLightColorB=1.0000

fBrightLightColorG=1.0000

fBrightLightColorR=1.0000

iStoryManagerLoggingEvent=-1

bEnableStoryManagerLogging=0

fDefaultFOV=85

bUseThreadedParticleSystem=1

bUseThreadedBlood=1

bUseThreadedMorpher=1

bUseThreadedTempEffects=1

bUseThreadedTextures=1

bUseThreadedLOD=1

bUseThreadedAI=1

bUseThreadedMorpher=1

 

[imagespace]

bDoDepthOfField=1

iRadialBlurLevel=2

 

[Display]

iBlurDeferredShadowMask=7

iShadowMaskQuarter=4

iShadowMapResolution=4096

iShadowMapResolutionPrimary=4096

iShadowMapResolutionSecondary=2048

iShadowSplitCount=2

iShadowFilter=4

iShadowMode=3

fShadowBiasScale=0.1500

fInteriorShadowDistance=3000.0000

fShadowDistance=8000.0000

fSpecularLODStartFade=2000.0000

fShadowLODStartFade=1000.0000

fLightLODStartFade=3500.0000

fLeafAnimDampenDistEnd=4600.0000

fLeafAnimDampenDistStart=3600.0000

fTreesMidLODSwitchDist=10000000.0000

fDecalLOD2=1500.0000

fDecalLOD1=1000.0000

fGamma=1.0000

iTexMipMapMinimum=0

iTexMipMapSkip=0

iMaxAnisotropy=16

iMultiSample=8

iWaterMultiSamples=4

bDrawShadows=1

bTreesReceiveShadows=1

bDrawLandShadows=1

bFull Screen=1

iSize H=1080

iSize W=1920

fMeshLODFadePercentDefault=1.2000

fMeshLODFadeBoundDefault=256.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeTreeDistance=2048.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeTreeDistance=2844.0000

fMeshLODLevel2FadeDist=10000000.0000

fMeshLODLevel1FadeDist=10000000.0000

iScreenShotIndex=2

bMainZPrepass=0

iMaxSkinDecalsPerFrame=12

iMaxDecalsPerFrame=4

bFloatPointRenderTarget=1

sD3DDevice="NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670"

bFXAAEnabled=1

iAdapter=0

bShadowsOnGrass=1

bTransparencyMultisampling=1

bDeferredShadows=1

bShadowMaskZPrepass=0

 

[Grass]

b30GrassVS=0

fGrassStartFadeDistance=14000.0000

fGrassMaxStartFadeDistance=14000.0000

fGrassMinStartFadeDistance=400.0000

 

[MAIN]

bGamepadEnable=1

bCrosshairEnabled=1

fHUDOpacity=1.0000

bSaveOnPause=1

bSaveOnTravel=1

bSaveOnWait=1

bSaveOnRest=1

fSkyCellRefFadeDistance=150000.0000

 

[GamePlay]

bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1

bShowQuestMarkers=1

iDifficulty=4

 

[interface]

bDialogueSubtitles=1

bGeneralSubtitles=1

bShowCompass=1

fMouseCursorSpeed=1.0000

 

[Controls]

fGamepadHeadingSensitivity=1.0000

fMouseHeadingSensitivity=0.0250

bAlwaysRunByDefault=1

bInvertYValues=0

bGamePadRumble=1

bMouseAcceleration=0

bUseKinect=0

 

[Particles]

iMaxDesired=950

 

[saveGame]

fAutosaveEveryXMins=5.0000

 

[AudioMenu]

fAudioMasterVolume=1.0000

fVal7=1.0000

uID7=0

fVal6=1.0000

uID6=0

fVal5=1.0000

uID5=0

fVal4=1.0000

uID4=0

fVal3=1.0000

uID3=0

fVal2=1.0000

uID2=466532

fVal1=1.0000

uID1=554685

fVal0=1.0000

uID0=1007612

 

[Clouds]

fCloudLevel2Distance=262144.0000

fCloudLevel1Distance=32768.0000

fCloudLevel0Distance=16384.0000

fCloudNearFadeDistance=9000.0000

 

[TerrainManager]

fTreeLoadDistance=100000.0000

fBlockMaximumDistance=250000.0000

fBlockLevel1Distance=70000.0000

fBlockLevel0Distance=35000.0000

fSplitDistanceMult=1.5000

bShowLODInEditor=0

 

[NavMesh]

fObstacleAlpha=0.5000

fCoverSideHighAlpha=0.8000

fCoverSideLowAlpha=0.6500

fEdgeFullAlpha=1.0000

fEdgeHighAlpha=0.7500

fEdgeLowAlpha=0.5000

fTriangleFullAlpha=0.7000

fTriangleHighAlpha=0.3500

fTriangleLowAlpha=0.2000

fLedgeBoxHalfHeight=25.0000

fEdgeDistFromVert=10.0000

fEdgeThickness=10.0000

fPointSize=2.5000

bUseThreadedMeshes=1

 

[Trees]

bRenderSkinnedTrees=1

uiMaxSkinnedTreesToRender=40

bUseMultiThreadedTrees=1

bShadowMaskZPrePass=1

 

[Water]

bUseWaterRefractions=1

bUseWaterReflections=1

bUseWaterReflectionBlur=1

bUseWaterDisplacements=1

bUseWaterDepth=1

iWaterReflectHeight=1024

iWaterReflectWidth=1024

bReflectExplosions=1

iWaterBlurAmount=4

bAutoWaterSilhouetteReflections=0

bForceHighDetailReflections=1

 

[Decals]

bDecals=1

bSkinnedDecals=1

bDecalsOnSkinnedGeometry=1

bDecalMultithreaded=1

bDecalOcclusionQuery=1

 

[LOD]

fLODFadeOutMultObjects=20.0000

fLODFadeOutMultItems=20.0000

fLODFadeOutMultActors=20.0000

fLODFadeOutMultSkyCell=1.0000

 

[Launcher]

bEnableFileSelection=1

bShowAllResolutions=1

uLastAspectRatio=3

 

[blurShaderHDR]

bDoHighDynamicRange=1

 

[blurShader]

bUseBlurShader=0

 

[backgroundLoad]

bBackgroundLoadLipFiles=1

bLoadBackgroundFaceGen=1

bUseMultiThreadedFaceGen=1

bBackgroundCellLoads=1

bLoadHelmetsInBackground=1

bUseMultiThreadedTrees=1

 

Loaded mods:

 

To keep it short, I guess there is no inch of Skyrim anymore without at least 2k high resolution textures (Skyrim 2K HD - all 4 options, partially overwritten by the following -, Serious Skyrim HD Retexture, Flora Overhaul, Lush trees, Water, Enhanced Night Skyrim, Enhanced Blood Textures, CBBE v. 3.2 with 4k resolution body textures, JaySus Swords, Remodeled Armor, Apachii + Apachii NPC Overhaul and a lot of mods for scripts and animations as Fores New Idles, EFF, Convenient Horses etc. I guess I use around 60 mods, while 1/3 of those are texture mods.

 

I use no ENB, but RCRNv36 as FXAA injector mod. It sucks some performance, but the sharpness and the reflections are pretty awesome.

 

My System tools (Task Manager, GPU-Z) show me a RAM usage of around 5,5 GB on average (rarely up to 5,8 GB RAM in extreme cases). My VRAM usage is maxed at around 2,1 to 2,2 GB. The real strange value is a CPU usage of around 5% (ok, I have to window Skyrim to have a look on the task manager and usually I pause the game, so the CPU usage may drop). In spite of tweaking my .ini files for multicore support, only Core 0 and 2 actually do the work (but I remember some posts, that this might be the usual and not really modifiable). My fps according fraps ranges between 15 fps and 35 fps, it depends on location. Dense forests with lots of grass and plants are able to drop my fps to 15-20 fps, but usually I get 25 to 35 fps, so the game is not only good for screenshots, it's still playable and to play in such a Skyrim is just awesome.

 

I just wonder about the black body texture bug although my ressource monitors show me no warning at all. Only the CPU usage seems odd for me and I detected a setting option in the NVidia panel (PhysX settings) to force PhysX over the CPU instead the GPU, but I doubt this reallocation of procedures would make sense.

Edited December 28, 2012 by Sigurd44

[Dmz96]

I'm 99% sure this is mod related and not the ini's (I stole some of your settings by the way, mostly multithreaded ones xD )

 

While this isn't for the whole body, it may apply:

I don't know if you use a custom race, I don't anymore, but I used to use the "Temptress Race" and that had this exact problem but with black heads (not bodies). There was a patch released (The "Afternoon lighting neck seam fix"). You could try looking in that thread and see if anyone has a fix there even if you don't use a custom race. After a quick read it seems the black body issues are caused by lighting issues (the bodies aren't getting lighted)

 

Are you using any custom body textures for yourself or NPC's? Examples: better females, coverwomen, covereyes...

Are you using any light changing mods? Ex: Claralux, Enhanced lighting and FX, etc...

 

I would look there first. If you become desperate, backup you skyrim folder (in the steamapps folder), your skyrim ini's and then reinstall skyrim. BUT be warned, this may make nexus mod manager very upset and force you to reinstall all your mods, so tread carefully and resort to this last.