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Question about screenshots

I hope this is the correct area to ask this question. If not, can someone redirect me?

Suddenly yesterday, all of my screenshots of my game are black. If I take a screenshot of something else, they come out fine.

I'm on Windows 10 and the black images are coming out as .png. Two days ago, my screen shots were coming out fine. Any help is appreciated.

I called Microsoft but they punted me because the other screenshots I am taking are clear, so they say it's an issue with the game. I may have jacked up a setting or something.

Thanks, CT

Comments

  • DwayneDwayne Member Posts: 102
    I use windows 7 and I just checked screenshots I made last night. They were all fine. Are you using the "print screen" key to take screenshots? That is what I use.
    CharlestonianTemplar
  • Dwayne said:

    I use windows 7 and I just checked screenshots I made last night. They were all fine. Are you using the "print screen" key to take screenshots? That is what I use.

    Thanks. Yes, I've used it forever. Just yesterday they started coming out black. If I take it off of 'Full screen" I can take the screenshot - just figured that out. But I have to stop, change my graphics, etc.


    Like I said, two days ago it was working fine, darnit.
  • CalgacusCalgacus Member Posts: 273
    edited January 2019
    I did a little experimenting on windows 10 with the latest dev build and got a strange result. I opened my saved game (module Tale of a Mage) and took a screenshot. Then I cmd-tabbed out and pasted the shot into Paint - but what got pasted in was the Beamdog logo screen. Then I went back into the game and moved my character and took a second screenshot - cmd-tabbed out again and pasted into Paint. This time what got pasted in was the first screenshot I took. Rinse, repeat and the second screenshot got pasted in etc - so, in order to get Screenshot X into Paint I needed to take screenshot X+1.
    Could the game be taking it's own screenshot at some random time during the loading screens and only pushing to the windows clipboard upon the taking of a new screenshot?
    CharlestonianTemplarJuliusBorisovlolien
  • CalgacusCalgacus Member Posts: 273
    edited January 2019
    Closed my game, then reopened and reran the experiment and got the exact same result. This time I did not even load a saved game, I just did the experiment from the games menu screens.
    CharlestonianTemplar
  • Calgacus said:

    Closed my game, then reopened and reran the experiment and got the exact same result. This time I did not even load a saved game, I just did the experiment from the games menu screens.

    Thanks for checking into it. I'm done playing for the night but I did find a work around, sort of.

    I have to go to Graphics and deselect, Full Screen. Then I am able to take a shot of the smaller screen - which, luckily doesn't bring in all the other desktop stuff outside of the Baldur's Gate pic I'm trying to capture... so you get a clear screen capture.

    It's annoying, but it works.


    Still, I don't know what happened, two days ago it was doing fine on full screen mode.


    Thanks again for checking into it. CT
    JuliusBorisovlolien
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    @Sherincall the OP didn't specify, but was actually playing on BGEE. I thought that used DirectX, so it might be something else that is going on.
  • SherincallSherincall Member Posts: 387
    BGEE should also be using OGL, so the same thing applies. I'm not entirely sure that it doesn't have an option between OGL and DX that you can toggle (in which case, try toggling it!), but it certainly does have an OGL backend (for Linux and macOS support)
    lolienCharlestonianTemplarGrond0JuliusBorisov
  • Let me try to explain what is happening...

    ...Hope this explains it. There are ways NWN can work around this limitation, but they might not be simple. Feel free to request it as a feature and upvote on trello to signal that it is something you'd want to be worked on.


    Wow. Thank you for taking the time to lay that out. I'd try to do, 'B' but I'm not sure I understand. It sounds sorta like the workaround I discovered, which is to deselect Fullscreen under graphics. If I take printscreen in that mode it delivers the capture without the surrounding desktop so it's a clear shot. Not sure with regard to your suggestion what you mean by 'alt-tab'. I use that to minimize the game and go to other programs all the time but not sure how that would help (I'm a knucklehead). :s

    Let me take a crack at resizing the window - I actually DO think that has something to do with it - the window almost seems too big for Windows 'to get it's arms around' if that makes sense.

    I am using the game from Beamdog's client (not Steam), and I have a high-speed, wicked fast, gaming computer that I recently purchased - not sure I'm licensed to drive this thing. :o

    Thanks again friend - and @Grond0 for clarifying. CT

    lolienGrond0JuliusBorisov
  • CalgacusCalgacus Member Posts: 273
    Try this in full screen mode - when u want a screenshot first use alt-tab (or cmd-tab if your keyboard has a windows command key) to minimize the game, then go back into your game by clicking on the games taskbar icon, then take your screen shot.  Alt-tab out again and then paste your screenshot  into Paint.
    TorgrimmerCharlestonianTemplarJuliusBorisov
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