Intel Rolls Out Significant Driver Patch
Intel has rolled out a significant driver patch to rectify a multitude of issues associated with Bethesda's new role-playing game, Starfield. The game seemed to present the most problems to those using Intel's line of graphics cards, particularly Intel Arc GPUs, which encountered a host of game-breaking bugs.
Weekend Efforts and Fixes
Over the weekend, the tech giant managed to compile a starfield-specific driver meant for Intel users. This hotfix addresses the primary issues that users experienced, including visual bugs within the game and sudden crashes. While this significant step has been taken, there's work yet to be done to ensure flawless gameplay. In a statement from Ryan Shrout, part of Intel's graphics marketing team, he mentioned that there's still more to be done for Starfield on Intel's hardware.
Ryan Shrout's Statement
As outlined by Shrout in a tweet, 'Still work to do for Arc with Starfield, but the SW team worked hard to get the community a driver that addresses a lot of the key functionality concerns. More updates coming this week!!'
Known Issues Rectified by the Driver
The driver, once installed, will have rectified the following known issues in DirectX 12: significant reduction in game load duration, remedied instability and application crashes during gameplay, and fixes for scene flickering and texture corruptions during gameplay.
Persistent Bugs and Issues
However, despite these huge fixes, not all issues could be ironed out. Some persistent bugs include instability in various game areas, corruption when using Dynamic Resolution Scaling which can be worked around by adjusting the Render Resolution Scale slider value, texture flickering around light sources during gameplay, and low texture detail on certain objects in the game.
Issue not Limited to Starfield
Interestingly, the issue is not exclusive to Starfield. Due to the technical underpinning of the Intel Arc GPUs, there have been notable issues with DirectX 9 games previously as well. This includes popular esports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Intel, however, has stated they are actively working on compatibility and functionality, with frequent driver updates being released to rectify these problems in multiple games.