Since 2.2 Ray Tracing Resets

[Torque]

I submitted a ticket, but thought I'd post here too.

Every time I enter the game now, I have to re-enable ray tracing settings...the game turns off RT whenever the game exits...it's like it's not writing or retaining the graphics settings changes. I am using mods, but never had this issue with 2.0 or 2.1.

Anybody else see this?

 

[Torque]

This problem persists and is very weird. Here's the response I just sent to CDPR regarding this in response to their suggestions:


This problem persists. I have done the following:

* Disabled any anti-virus programs.

* Confirmed that the "controlled folder access" setting is OFF

* Uninstalled the game and confirmed the game folders were deleted.

* Reinstalled the game with zero mods installed.

* Set both steam.exe and the Cyberpunk executable to run as administrator

* Checked the game folders permissions and confirmed that I as a user and administrators have full control permissions

Whenever the game runs it resets the graphics settings to defaults, but other settings seem to be retained normally. It's clear the game is either not making changes to the config files when graphics changes are made, OR is reverting to the game default settings on game exit. I have no idea why this is happening and it's new behavior with version 2.2.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Whenever the game runs it resets the graphics settings to defaults, but other settings seem to be retained normally. It's clear the game is either not making changes to the config files when graphics changes are made, OR is reverting to the game default settings on game exit. I have no idea why this is happening and it's new behavior with version 2.2.

Not familiar with windows, but can you check when was a file last modified?
In theory, if you don't touch any setting, the settings file shouldn't be modified after playing. So you should be able to know if it reverted back to default or not.
Just a guess again, but could it be somehow related to GeForce Experience if you have an Nvidia GPU?

 

[jeancastex]

maybe check if you don't have launch arguments, like "-qualityLevel=Cinematic_RTX" that could change some settings ?

 

[Torque]

Good idea on file timestamps, I’ll look into that. It’s just damed peculiar.

I can check command line arguments, but nothing in that regard has changed for me.

Thanks folks, any other ideas are appreciated.

 

[Bartinga2077]

Thanks folks, any other ideas are appreciated.

I think you need to remove these. They are "Hidden" by Windows default.
REDEngine and CD Projekt Red folders from here %userprofile%\AppData\Local\

 

[Torque]

I think you need to remove these. They are "Hidden" by Windows default.
REDEngine and CD Projekt Red folders from here %userprofile%\AppData\Local\

I confirmed that the file %userprofile%\AppData\Local\CD Projekt Red\Cyberpunk 2077\UserSettings.json was either not getting written or getting reset to defaults each time the game is run. I deleted the directory and re-ran the game. The directory and file were re-created, but still revert to defaults (or never get modified) each time the game is run.

EDIT: After some testing using a text editor that constantly tracks the state of a loaded file, I determined:

1) The UserSettings.json file is never read. Even when file reads:


"group_name": "/graphics/raytracing",
"options": [
{
"name": "RayTracing",
"type": "bool",
"value": true,
"default_value": true
},

When entering the game ray tracing is disabled. Then upon exiting the game, the above stanza is immediately changed in the file to read:


"group_name": "/graphics/raytracing",
"options": [
{
"name": "RayTracing",
"type": "bool",
"value": false,
"default_value": false
},


So the settings file isn't read to update the game settings, AND it's reset to defaults when the game exits. It seems there is a flag set somewhere that says something like "the game is being run for the very first time, so load the user default and write them to UserSettings.json.

Unless this is done somewhere in the registry, I can't see this behavior as anything other than a CDPR bug -- once again this is on a completely fresh install of version 2.2 where I verified the game file directory structure was deleted before installation. No mods, just virgin vanilla CP2077 2.2.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

To be honest, I doubt it's an issue with the game itself, because if it was, everyone or almost would face the same problem (which is not the case).
Again, what is your gpu? Because if Nvidia, I know Geforce Experience can modify graphics settings to offer the "best experience", settings which generally aren't great.

Also, I'm not familiar with Windows, but you can try a little workaround, not the best but at least, it should solve your issue. Launch the game, set all settings as you want them to be and before exiting the game, set the settings file to "Read-only".
In theory, nothing should be able to modify the file and so the settings, but yourself.
Right clic on the file > Properties > Attributes > check the box "Read-only".

 

[jeancastex]

What is your GPU ?
Maybe check in Nvidia App if the settings are different from the optimized ones.
You can also try "Ultra plus" mod, as a workaround, it supposed to apply settings everytime you start the game (but don't try PTNext, not worth it, and can create bugs, you need to reinstall the whole mod sometimes).

 

[Torque]

GPU is RTX 4090, CPU is 7800X3D, RAM is 64GB.

If I optimize in the Nvidia app, and then run the game from that app, then the settings applied in the optimizer are applied in-game. If I run the game outside the app, the settings revert back to defaults.

In case there is interference between the Nvidia app and the game as each tried to apply settings, I reverted to the previous Nvidia driver version (566.14, was previously 566.36). I also uninstalled the Nvidia app so I'm just running the raw driver. Nothing changed, the game settings still revert on game exit.

All of this points to a bug in the way the game handles the UserSettings.json file. Again, the file is not being applied on startup, and is being overwritten back to a default version when the game exits. The idea that this would be happening to everybody or even a majority if it were a bug is simply untrue. I've done a lot of coding, and in a software system as complex as this game, bugs can manifest in very unique and specific ways. I have been playing this game since release date in 2020 and have never had any kind of issue like this -- this only started after version 2.2.

I went through the Windows registry looking for a key that implicates something like a "first time run" for the game that might create (and thus overwrite) the UserSettings.json file on game load or exit, and there is no such key I can find.

There is no evidence that this is a Windows or Nvidia issue. everything points to an actual bug, and believe me that is not what I expected to find. I have dug into this about as deeply as I know how to over two full days of testing.

 

[jeancastex]

Yes, it seems like the game is recreating a UserSettings.json everytime you start it, like the game is able to write it but not to find or read it.
Is it possible that the bug is related to the language of your OS?

With 4090, i would use Ultra plus anyway, maybe try it (but wait for dlss 4 before trying PTnext, choose pt20 or 21 instead).

 

[Bartinga2077]

I have been playing this game since release date in 2020 and have never had any kind of issue like this -- this only started after version 2.2.

This is very odd.

Hmm... And what if you delete 2.2 and its REDEngine and CD Projekt Red folders that it created, roll back, install 2.13, let it create the REDEngine and CD Projekt Red folders, set them on "Read only", and then update to 2.2 again?

But before that, if you're on Steam, try this Launch option. --launcher-skip

 

[Torque]

Okay, the problem resolved. I'm not sure what changed, but it's no working like it always has. I've made enough changes that it's hard to know what the magic is that fixed it. I tested it after each change, so I'm guessing whatever changed took some time to propagate and resolve the issue.

Oh well...the game works normally now, I'm happy. I'll post here if the problem happens again.