This issue has been discussed under “Game Bugs” (https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/My-character-is-a-light-source-help/first#post82092), but I feel it’s more appropriate to post this here, under Tech Support, because it seems it’s not so much an issue with the game itself as it is an issue with specific graphics cards.
The problem is regarding shadows. First of all, there are no dynamic shadows anywhere. During the BWE’s, I remember seeing the moving shadows of pretty much everything from leaves to windmills. Since release though, I have seen none of these. All the shadows I see are still and bland, even when set to Ultra.
There’s also a sort of light radius that my character emits when I set the shadows option to Medium (or higher). It overrides ALL shadows nearby. When I’m walking, I see shadows disappearing as I get closer to them. Although this light radius doesn’t appear when shadows are set to low, I’ve noticed that the higher I set the shadows option, the bigger the light radius. Here are some screenshots.
Low: [IMG]http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r575/Symbo18/4c05396a.jpg[/IMG]
Med: [IMG]http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r575/Symbo18/a414dd35.jpg[/IMG]
High: [IMG]http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r575/Symbo18/30b0c782.jpg[/IMG]
Ultra: [IMG]http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r575/Symbo18/6a45c7ef.jpg[/IMG]
Notice that on Ultra, the light radius the character emits is so big, you barely see any shadows anymore.
In the previous thread, the only people who reported to have this same problem are those who have laptops with Mobility Radeon HD cards. Maybe that’ll help narrow down the issue somehow, I don’t know. Mine is a Mobility Radeon HD 5730.
I have tried updating my drivers, and even rolling back and re-installing them to no avail. I hope Arenanet or AMD or anyone finds a way to fix this. Fingers crossed.
