Differences

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--- troubleshooting [2026/07/21 22:06] – Michael Böhme
+++ troubleshooting [2026/07/22 20:09] (current) – Michael Böhme
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==== Severe performance drop or slowdown in full-screen mode ====
-{{ :aa.png?nolink&209|}}
   * **Symptom:** shapeXT becomes noticeably sluggish when entering full-screen mode or running at high display resolutions.
   * **Cause:** Running at full-screen (especially on high-resolution displays like 1440p or 4K) significantly increases GPU memory (VRAM) consumption. Because shapeXT uses multiple render buffers alongside multi-sample anti-aliasing, the default setting (**4xMSAA + FXAA**) can exceed your graphics card's available VRAM. When VRAM fills up, the driver swaps memory to system RAM, causing a steep performance drop.
-  * **Solution (Recommended):** Reduce the anti-aliasing load to free up VRAM:
+  * **Solution:** Try the following steps to reduce VRAM usage:
-    - Go to the menu bar and select **Options -> Anti-Aliasing**.
+    * **Option 1: Reduce Anti-Aliasing (Recommended)**
-    - Change the setting to **FXAA** (or **Off**). FXAA is a post-processing filter that provides clean edge smoothing without requiring additional VRAM.
+      - Go to the menu bar and select **Options -> Anti-Aliasing**.
-    - If your GPU has moderate VRAM headroom, you can also test intermediate options like **2xMSAA + FXAA** to balance visual quality and performance.
+      - Change the setting to **FXAA** (or **Off**). FXAA is a post-processing filter that provides clean edge smoothing without requiring additional VRAM.
+      - If your GPU has moderate VRAM headroom, you can also test intermediate options like **2xMSAA + FXAA** to balance visual quality and performance.
+        {{ :aa.png?nolink&209 }}
+    * **Option 2: Reduce the Transparency Alpha Buffer Size (Not Recommended)**
+      - By default, shapeXT reserves **1024 MiB (1 GB)** of VRAM for Order-Independent Transparency (OIT) to correctly render complex overlapping molecular/crystal structures.
+      - Open the configuration file located at ''Config/Vulkan.toml'' in the shapeXT main folder with a text editor.
+      - Locate the ''AlphaBufferSize'' parameter and lower its value (e.g., to ''512'' MiB):
+      - **Note:** Lowering this buffer frees up significant VRAM, but if the buffer becomes too small, transparency effects may exhibit rendering artifacts.
 ===== Windows =====
@@ Line 36: / Line 43: @@
 ==== Application fails to launch ====
   * **Symptom:** shapeXT cannot be opened, crashes immediately, or macOS displays an architecture/compatibility warning.
-  * **Cause:** shapeXT has been highly optimized for modern Mac hardware and **only supports Apple Silicon chips** (M-series).
+  * **Cause:** shapeXT has been optimized for modern Mac hardware and **only supports Apple Silicon chips** (M-series).
   * **Solution:** Older **Intel-based Macs are not supported**. To run shapeXT, you need a Mac with an Apple Silicon processor. You can verify your processor by clicking the Apple Logo in the top-left menu bar and selecting **About This Mac**.