"Rendering shader" video card may not support this functionality error

[Steve S]

I am getting this error message when I create any orthographic view. I can't change the video card in my laptop, and I believe I am running the latest driver. Anyone know of a setting that I can check or un-check to avoid this error? This is occurring in X3.

[Steve S]

From the lack of response I take it no one has any helpful insight. The error message is an annoyance but I really haven't noticed any difference in the view that is generated, so I guess I will just have to live with the message until I can upgrade the laptop. If anyone discovers a way to get rid of the message let me know. Thanks.

[Dermot Dempsey]

The fundamental problem is that your video card does not support the technology we are using to create camera views.

The best way to solve this problem is to upgrade your video card, or when that is not possible, upgrade your computer.

If you can't do either, there are some work arounds you can do that I believe will allow you to avoid this message. If you open up your Preferences and go to the Render category, you will find some settings that may help. Turning off various render options can help you to run on cards that don't support them.

If you are getting the message when you are creating a vector view, you could try turning off the "OpenGL Vector View" option. This will force the program to use some older (and slower) technology that is not so dependent on your video card.

If you are getting the message when you are creating any normal render views, you could try turning off the "Use Enhanced Lighting" option. This again will force the program to use some older technology that is less dependent on your video card. You may notice that your render views are much darker and don't look as good as they do with the enhanced lighting turned on. You may get better results if you turn up your ambient lighting to adjust for this.

Please note that there is a strong likelyhood that you will not be able to use some (or most?) of the other rendering techniques with this video card.

[Steve S]

Thanks Dermot, the message is in the vector views. I will try the views with the OpenGL unchecked to see how that works. The laptop belongs to the company so there isn't much chance of an upgrade soon; I would like to be able to use some of the other rendering techniques but have learned to do without (in X2) for now. I was hoping there was a way to "turn off" the error message but I can deal with it if I don't like the vector view without the OpenGL. Thanks again, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.