Sea of Thieves Textures Not Loading on PC/Xbox Consoles: Released in 2018, Sea of Thieves is an action-adventure open-world multiplayer video game developed by Rare Ltd and published by Microsoft Xbox Game Studios.
The game is exclusively available for Windows and Xbox consoles and has garnered numerous positive reviews due to its impressive graphics and immersive gameplay.
However, like many games, it is not without its challenges. One notable issue that players have reported is the problem of textures failing to load on both PC and Xbox platforms.
Numerous players have shared their experiences online regarding this texture loading issue. It appears unexpectedly, leaving many affected users puzzled about its cause.
Some reports suggest that when Sea of Thieves is installed on a hard drive, it may take longer to fully load all in-game textures in certain circumstances. Let’s delve deeper into this matter.
Fix: Sea of Thieves Textures Not Loading on PC/Xbox Consoles
Since its release in 2018, players have expressed concerns regarding the game’s texture loading issues. Initially, these problems were minor, causing only a slight delay in loading times.
However, over time, the situation has deteriorated, with texture loading times increasing significantly.
This issue affects a wide range of in-game assets, including ship cosmetics, clothing, weapons, and various world objects. As a result, players often experience either missing textures or prolonged loading times, which has become a source of frustration within the gaming community.
1. Try Changing HDMI Cable
To begin troubleshooting the texture loading problem, it’s advisable to replace the HDMI cable connecting your PC or console to the monitor or TV.
A faulty or damaged HDMI cable can often lead to connectivity issues, which may result in textures not loading properly. In many cases, simply switching to a different HDMI cable can resolve various display problems, including in-game lag and texture rendering issues.
2. Disable CPU/GPU Overclocking
To prevent potential performance issues, it’s advisable to turn off any CPU or GPU overclocking settings on your computer.
Overclocking can lead to incompatibility conflicts that may cause crashes, lags, and slow texture loading. For optimal performance, it’s best to operate both your processor and graphics card at their default factory clock speeds.
This approach helps ensure stability and enhances the overall functionality of your system.
3. Pause Background Downloads
To ensure optimal gaming performance, it’s advisable to halt or temporarily suspend any background downloads on your gaming device, be it a PC or Xbox console.
If your internet connection has a restricted data speed, simultaneous background downloads can lead to sluggish gameplay, resulting in slow-loading levels or textures.
To enhance your gaming experience, refrain from conducting downloads or installations while actively playing.
4. Check the Internet Connection
Since this is a multiplayer online video game, it’s likely that your internet connection may be experiencing issues during peak loading times for in-game resources.
This often occurs when the game is trying to load high-resolution graphics or textures, and an unstable or slow internet connection can hinder performance. If you suspect this is the case, it’s advisable to reach out to your internet service provider to discuss options for increasing your connection speed or upgrading your plan.
If you’re currently using a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection, consider switching to a wired (Ethernet) connection, or vice versa, to see if that resolves the texture loading problem.
For those primarily connected via Wi-Fi, performing a power cycle on your router may help. To do this, turn off the router, unplug it from the power source, wait for a minute, then plug it back in and turn it on again. This simple reset can sometimes resolve connectivity issues.
5. Update Graphics Driver
To ensure your Windows PC is running smoothly with graphics-intensive applications, it’s important to check for and install the latest graphics driver updates. An outdated or missing graphics driver can lead to performance issues. Here’s how to update your graphics driver:
1. **Access the Quick Access Menu: Right-click on the Start Menu.
2. **Open Device Manager: From the menu that appears, select Device Manager.
3. **Expand Display Adapters: Locate and double-click on the Display adapters section to see your graphics hardware.
4. **Update Your Driver: Right-click on the name of your graphics card to open the context menu, then select “Update driver.” Choose the option for “Search automatically for drivers.”
5. **Automatic Update Check: Your system will search for available updates. If it finds any, it will download and install them automatically.
6. **Restart Your PC: After the installation is complete, restart your computer to ensure that the changes take effect.
If the automatic search does not yield any updates, you can manually check for the latest drivers by visiting the official website of your graphics card manufacturer.
If a new version is available, download it and follow the installation instructions provided. For specific links to manufacturer sites, please refer to the resources below.
6. Disable NVIDIA ShadowPlay
To resolve potential issues with game texture loading, it’s advisable to disable the Nvidia ShadowPlay feature in the Nvidia GeForce Experience application.
ShadowPlay enables users to capture high-quality gameplay footage, take screenshots, and stream live content, functioning similarly to an overlay application. Therefore, turning it off on your Windows PC might be beneficial.
Here’s how to do it:
- 1. Launch the Nvidia GeForce Experience application.
- 2. Navigate to the Settings menu and select the General tab.
- 3. Find the Share option and turn it off.
- 4. Don’t forget to save your changes and restart your PC.
7. Delete Game Cache Data
Corrupted or outdated game cache files can sometimes interfere with the proper loading of in-game textures. To resolve this issue, you can clear the game cache by following the instructions below.
**For PC Users:
- 1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog.
- 2. Type in `%ProgramData%` and hit Enter to access the ProgramData folder on your Windows drive.
- 3. Locate and delete the Steam folder from the available options.
- 4. Once you’ve deleted the folder, restart your computer to apply the changes.
**For Xbox Console Users:
- 1. Ensure that you exit the Sea of Thieves game completely.
- 2. Navigate to “My games & apps” and then select “See all.”
- 3. Locate and highlight the Sea of Thieves game in your library.
- 4. Go to “Manage game and add-ons,” then scroll down to the “Saved data” section.
- 5. Click on the “Delete all” button and confirm your choice.
- 6. Allow the process to finish before relaunching the game to see if the issue has been resolved.
By following these steps, you can eliminate potential cache-related problems affecting your gameplay experience.
8. Reboot Shader Cache on PC
Numerous players of Sea of Thieves have found that resetting the shader cache on their PCs can alleviate lag and slow-loading textures to a certain degree. Here’s how to do it:
- 1. Open the Steam client and navigate to your Library.
- 2. Select Sea of Thieves from your list of installed games.
- 3. Access the in-game Settings menu.
- 4. Go to the Graphics tab, then scroll to the bottom and select “Restart Shaders Compilation.”
- 5. This action will initiate a reinstallation of the shader cache for the game.
- 6. Finally, restart your computer to ensure all changes take effect.
9. Turn Off Nvidia DLSS Mode
Graphical issues in your game may stem from NVIDIA’s DLSS feature. To minimize these glitches and visibility problems, it is advisable to disable DLSS in the Display settings of the in-game menu. If you do not see the DLSS option available, you can manually adjust the game’s configuration file by following these instructions:
Before proceeding, it’s wise to create a backup of the game’s .ini file in a different location, as modifications can sometimes lead to unexpected issues.
- 1. Open Windows File Explorer and paste the following path into the address bar:
%localappdata%\Sea of Thieves\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor
- 2. Locate and open the file named GameUserSettings.ini.
- 3. Use the Ctrl+S shortcut to initiate a search within the file and find the line that reads DLSSMode. Change the setting from DLSSMode=On to DLSSMode=Off to disable the feature.
By following these steps, you should be able to resolve any related graphical problems.
10. Tweak Field of View
Adjusting the Field of View (FOV) can significantly boost your frames per second (FPS), which in turn helps alleviate graphical problems. To modify the FOV, navigate to the settings menu in Sea of Thieves.
You can adjust the FOV slider based on your hardware capabilities to find the optimal setting for your gameplay experience. Additionally, consider lowering other graphical settings to medium or low, as this can further minimize graphical glitches and texture loading issues.
11. Use DX11
For an optimal gaming experience in Sea of Thieves on your Windows PC, it’s advisable to use the DirectX 11 (DX11) version rather than DirectX 12.
The developers of Sea of Thieves have indicated that the game is specifically optimized for DX11. If your system is currently set to run on DirectX 12, you can test the performance by launching the game through the Steam client.
If you are unsure how to switch to DX11, follow these steps:
- 1. Open your Steam client and navigate to your LIBRARY.
- 2. Find Sea of Thieves in your game list, then right-click on it.
- 3. Select Properties from the context menu.
- 4. In the Properties window, click on the GENERAL tab on the left.
- 5. In the Launch Options field, enter -dx11.
After you’ve made these changes, return to the main interface and launch the game. If prompted, make sure to select the radio button next to the Play option for Sea of Thieves. This should help enhance your gaming experience.
12. Adjust Texture Settings
To enhance the texture quality in Sea of Thieves, you can modify the in-game settings through the following procedure:
- 1. Launch the Steam client and navigate to your Library.
- 2. Select Sea of Thieves from the list on the left.
- 3. Click on the Play button to start the game, and once you’re in, access the Settings menu.
- 4. Navigate to the Display section.
- 5. Adjust the Textures option to Epic and set the Texture Streaming Poolsize to 7000.
- 6. If the Texture Streaming Poolsize is already at 7000, lower it to 2000 and then change it back to 7000 to ensure the settings take effect.
By completing these steps, you should notice a significant improvement in the textures and overall graphical quality of Sea of Thieves.
13. Increase Virtual Memory
To address the issue you’re experiencing, consider increasing the virtual memory on your computer. Insufficient free memory can lead to various problems, and adjusting the virtual memory settings might help resolve them. Here’s how you can do it:
- 1. Open the Start menu and select Control Panel.
- 2. Navigate to Performance and Maintenance, then click on System.
- 3. In the System window, go to the Advanced tab and select Settings under the Performance section.
- 4. In the Performance Options window, switch to the Advanced tab and click Change under Virtual Memory.
- 5. Identify the drive that contains the paging file you wish to modify, and select it under Drive [Volume Label].
- 6. To let the system manage the paging file size automatically, choose System Managed Size and click Set.
- 7. If you haven’t enabled this option before, you will need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
- 8. If the paging file size was previously set to System Managed, you can opt for a Custom size instead. Enter your desired values for both Initial size (MB) and Maximum size (MB).
- 9. After entering the new values, click Set and then restart your computer to apply the changes.
By following these steps, you may be able to resolve the memory-related issues on your PC.
14. Verify and Repair Game Files
If the previous solutions haven’t resolved your issue, it’s advisable to check and repair the game files for Sea of Thieves using the Steam client. Corrupt or missing files can often lead to various problems, including in-game crashes, lag, stuttering, and slow loading of textures. Here’s how to verify your game files:
- 1. Open your Steam client and navigate to your Library.
- 2. Locate Sea of Thieves in your list of installed games and right-click on it.
- 3. Select Properties from the dropdown menu.
- 4. Go to the Local Files tab.
- 5. Click on the option that says “Verify Integrity of Game Files.”
- 6. Allow the verification process to complete; this may take some time.
- 7. Once finished, restart your computer.
That’s all there is to it! We hope you found this guide beneficial. If you have any further questions or need assistance, feel free to leave a comment below.