F1RS new patch - Still black sky

It would seem that the infuriating black sky problem is still there with the new patch. Does anyone know of any other way to solve this? It puzzles me that hardly anyone mentions this as I see this as a really big problem. I know its with variable weather turned on but expert mode doesn't allow you to turn it off. Any help appreciated. Dean

>It would seem that the infuriating black sky problem is still there with the >new patch. Does anyone know of any other way to solve this? >It puzzles me that hardly anyone mentions this as I see this as a really big >problem. I know its with variable weather turned on but expert mode doesn't >allow you to turn it off. I have seen the black sky once when I loaded a saved game. That was around 1.5 months ago. Haven't seen it since. Do you have a 3dfx card? -- Header intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes.

Ubi assured me several weeks ago that the 'black sky' problem would be fixed next time round, so I am VERY disappointed that you say it isn't. It is a serious problem as in my full GP season, I was playing 'in the dark' at about 6 of the circuits! >It would seem that the infuriating black sky problem is still there with the >new patch. Does anyone know of any other way to solve this? >It puzzles me that hardly anyone mentions this as I see this as a really big >problem. I know its with variable weather turned on but expert mode doesn't >allow you to turn it off. >Any help appreciated. >Dean

Apologies for leaving out the spec. 200MMX, 32meg ram, Orchid 3DFX. I get the black sky quite often. I am racing a custom championship and had it in Melbourne, Argentina and now through every session at Canada. In fact its so annoying that I haven't progressed the championship since the beginning of January. Dean

Are you using the 3dfx reference drivers (I am)? Or the Orchid ones? -- Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes. >>I have seen the black sky once when I loaded a saved game. That was >>around 1.5 months ago. Haven't seen it since. Do you have a 3dfx card? >>-- >Apologies for leaving out the spec. 200MMX, 32meg ram, Orchid 3DFX. >I get the black sky quite often. I am racing a custom championship and had >it in Melbourne, Argentina and now through every session at Canada. In fact >its so annoying that I haven't progressed the championship since the >beginning of January. >Dean

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> It would seem that the infuriating black sky problem is still there with the > new patch. Does anyone know of any other way to solve this? > It puzzles me that hardly anyone mentions this as I see this as a really big > problem. I know its with variable weather turned on but expert mode doesn't > allow you to turn it off. > Any help appreciated. > Dean

Hey Dean, I saw this thread and passed it on by, I assumed you were not running on a 3dfx card. I too have the Orchid and have never seen the evil black sky. I can only figure that it must be a driver problem. You have the option of running the newest Orchid drivers, slightly older Orchid drivers, or like me, just run whatever is the newest set of reference drivers from 3dfx. Those seem to work great for me and will run any game/sim just fine, AFAIK. Heck, all the 3dfx cards are so similer, if those don't work try the Diamond drivers for their Monster 3d. One set will work for you on your system. Good luck, all the best, Mike -- Michael S. Davis Creative Media-Works Computer/Audio/Video Convergence "from Creative minds spring Creative solutions." http://www.creativemedia-works.com

You're not right Mike, it's people (like me) who have 3Dfx and use all the latest drivers that also have the 'black sky' problem. It is absolutely infuriating. I and many others have exactly the problem described above by Dean above.

> You're not right Mike, it's people (like me) who have 3Dfx and use all the > latest drivers that also have the 'black sky' problem. It is absolutely > infuriating. I and many others have exactly the problem described above by > Dean above. Sounds like you should complain to Orchid instead of blaming the game. This is pretty typical of card manufacturers. The manufacturers drivers usually suck compared to the drivers made by the chipset manufacturer. I *only* use the 3Dfx and have NEVER had a problem with any game. BTW, this is not only true for the 3Dfx cards, but also S3, etc. Always use the chipset drivers and you will be assured of compatibility. -- Rob

Rob, I don't know what where this conversation is leading, but I'll continue for a while longer. It is the 3Dfx reference drivers that I and others use - nothing to do with Orchid. Don't you think that Ubi would have suggested a change of driver if that was the problem? I'm very happy that you have never had a problem with your setup, but please understand that not everyone is the same. The 'black sky' problem in F1RS is one of the most irritating I have ever come across, and is definitely a problem with Ubisoft. It only happens occasionally, and under certain weather conditions. Have you tried a full season with variable weather? Out of dozens of games I have used on my 3Dfx card, F1RS has been the only one that has caused real trouble from the day it was released back in December. The only reason that I (and many others) stuck with it is because it is so damn good. Throughout the 3-4 patches, Ubi have gradually fixed most people's problems and had promised faithfully to fix the 'black sky' problem this time round. I hope this clarifies the situation a bit more for you. Iain >> You're not right Mike, it's people (like me) who have 3Dfx and use all the >> latest drivers that also have the 'black sky' problem. It is absolutely >> infuriating. I and many others have exactly the problem described above by

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>> Dean above. >Sounds like you should complain to Orchid instead of blaming the game. >This is pretty typical of card manufacturers. The manufacturers drivers >usually suck compared to the drivers made by the chipset manufacturer. I >*only* use the 3Dfx and have NEVER had a problem with any game. >BTW, this is not only true for the 3Dfx cards, but also S3, etc. Always >use the chipset drivers and you will be assured of compatibility. >-- >Rob

I've got the black sky as well, and I suspect that, like me, so do many more but just haven't posted about it. Neither have I, until now. I suspect that the problem is related to full realism, variable weather, saved games, and possibly (or probably) 3dfx. The main reason I haven't yet found the black sky to be much of a problem is that I've spent most of my time with the sim since getting it in "time attack" mode, learning the tracks and tweaking setups. Save a game and load it up, and I suspect that you'll have black sky, too, before long. Jerry Morelock >Strange. >I've never experienced this "black sky" effect and I've had the game since it >was released here. >Bog-standard P166, 48mb RAM, Cardex 3DFX card, running W95 in 800x600, 16-bit >high colour. >Note! >You can only heap total blame on the software if an effect is experienced by >everyone, irrespective of the system used. When a random fault such as this >"black sky" is obviously not being experienced by all and sundry then there has >to be some tie-in with hardware.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across so negatively. I was just trying to suggest a possible solution to your problem. -- Rob

Strange. I've never experienced this "black sky" effect and I've had the game since it was released here. Bog-standard P166, 48mb RAM, Cardex 3DFX card, running W95 in 800x600, 16-bit high colour. Note! You can only heap total blame on the software if an effect is experienced by everyone, irrespective of the system used. When a random fault such as this "black sky" is obviously not being experienced by all and sundry then there has to be some tie-in with hardware.

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> > You're not right Mike, it's people (like me) who have 3Dfx and use all the > > latest drivers that also have the 'black sky' problem. It is absolutely > > infuriating. I and many others have exactly the problem described above by > > Dean above. > Sounds like you should complain to Orchid instead of blaming the game. > This is pretty typical of card manufacturers. The manufacturers drivers > usually suck compared to the drivers made by the chipset manufacturer. I > *only* use the 3Dfx and have NEVER had a problem with any game. > BTW, this is not only true for the 3Dfx cards, but also S3, etc. Always > use the chipset drivers and you will be assured of compatibility. > -- > Rob

-- Bruce. (At home)

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>>I have seen the black sky once when I loaded a saved game. That was >>around 1.5 months ago. Haven't seen it since. Do you have a 3dfx card? >>-- >Apologies for leaving out the spec. 200MMX, 32meg ram, Orchid 3DFX. >I get the black sky quite often. I am racing a custom championship and had >it in Melbourne, Argentina and now through every session at Canada. In fact >its so annoying that I haven't progressed the championship since the >beginning of January. >Dean

The one time that I got a black sky was with a championship saved game also. Might be a connection there. I saw someone's post in f1racingsim.com that said a work-around was to load the saved game, resume, hit escape, then replay, cancel and then resume racing. I haven't verified this because I haven't gotten any black sky since then (also haven't been playing the championship mode since then either).. BTW, to the other posts that are suggesting that this happens only with a particular driver (Orchid or whatever), I got the black sky with a Monster 3dfx card. DS.

I wasn't worried about it for the first month either Jerry as, like you, I spent all my time in Time Attack mode. However, when you do a full season, and are reloading save games many many times, the 'black sky' problem is a REAL PAIN. I'm sure you are right, it is related to full realism, variable weather, and save games. Delinitely save games, as when a track is first visited, the sky is OK, it is only after reloading a game, that the problem arises. Although I haven't worked out the pattern yet, as it only happens at some tracks, it must be to do with certain weather conditions. Iain

The 'black sky' problem occurs with all drivers 3Dfx, Orchid or Diamond.