HL2 Weird Lighting Issue

[Gonkz]

Hi all,

I know I'm probably supposed to introduce myself and all that, but for right now I really just need help with an issue so please forgive me for passing over that step.

I've been trying to record HL2 game footage without the HUD and I've been running into some weird, weird problems related to lighting - I think.

I'm using the commands:

cl_drawhud 0
crosshair 0

to hide the UI elements. "hidehud" doesn't work since it leaves the health meter onscreen. Unfortunately, using this command seems to cause problems with lighting in certain areas of the map or even with certain weapons.

Everything's normal here...

And this is what it looks like with "cl_drawhud 0"

And here's what's really weird. If I switch to the SMG...

Everything's normal again and we're still without the HUD. Most weapons, unfortunately cause the same issue as with the Pulse Rifle.

Here's a more dramatic example of the same issue (it generally occurs indoors).

"cl_drawhud 0" Problems, problems.

"cl_drawhud 0" using the SMG. No graphical problems.

"cl_drawhud 1" using the Pulse Rifle again. Problems gone, but the HUD is not!

This problem happens on many maps, not just this one (I happen to be on "d1_canals_13"). As I said, the problem doesn't seem to occur with certain weapons (notably the SMG) or when you use the flashlight. Something about those corrects the lighting issue.

So, you seem like a competent bunch... does anyone have any idea what's going on here? My guess is that the "drawhud" command is tied to more than just HUD elements, but I don't know what and I can't find much info. Is there another way to disable the HUD that won't cause issues are there other commands I should use to solve this problem? Is this a problem for everyone or just me?

I am running the game on maxed out settings. I've tried changing them all including disabling HDR, filtering, etc. Nothing seems to work.

I really hope it's not a hardware issue, but just in case it is here are the relevant specs:

Intel 2500K Core i5
Nvidia GTX 470

If anyone can lend assistance I would be very grateful! Thanks!

 

[Lobster]

I tried recreating the problem for you just now, but was unable to. Its possible it may be a conflict between the game and your graphics driver, HL2 may have a layering problem with your specific card and driver version, as it seems to be limited to rendering the 2D elements of the HUD and the shader lighting in the world.

 

[Gonkz]

Ah, that makes sense. It's a shader issue. I'm guessing that means, unfortunately, I've got a hardware issue. I'm running the latest drivers and everything. I kinda doubt this being a new line of cards that rolling back my driver would help anything. I think what I'll try next is to fire up that fancy new Sandybridge processor's graphics capability just to see if that has any effect on the issue.


UPDATE
After trying the Core iGPU I can confirm that, yes, it's an issue with my card/driver. Using Sandybridge to complete my work is not a viable option however. I tried going back to the earliest driver I could (April 2010) and that didn't fix the problem. Unsurprisingly, Nvidia is no longer focusing on ironing out problems with Half-Life 2 so I doubt future driver updates will fix anything either. Most unfortunate. Unless there are any other suggestions I guess I'm stuck.

 

[Lobster]

Is there any possibility that Nvidia 3D vision is enabled when you play? Because there is a known issue with the HL2 2D crosshair and the 3D driver, which you can disable using Shift+F12 ingame.

 

[Gonkz]

Nope, that does nothing for me. I'm pretty sure I made a point to not install any Nvidia 3D Vision stuff. Thanks for the suggestion though. Since it seems to be a driver related issue, I'm wondering if messing with my Nvidia control panel settings might fix the problem.