The real final boss in most PC games, Compiling Shaders, has joined the fight in Borderlands 4.
This annoying message that pops up seemingly everywhere in modern PC gaming these days is plaguing some players in the new looter shooter. Here's what we know so far about it and what can be done to mitigate the issue.
Borderlands 4 Compiling Shaders, explained
"Compiling Shaders" is an unfortunate trend in the past few years when it comes to PC gaming. Due to the increasing complexity of gaming visuals, shaders are compiled constantly and take a bit longer than they may have in the past with graphics that are not as intensive for the PC.
Normally, shaders are compiled when a game loads. In the case of Borderlands 4, it happens when you first open the game, but it also sometimes happens when fast-traveling between areas of Kairos.
Traditionally, shader compilation should be a one-time operation, but with BL4, it appears to be happening more often than it should. This may be due to a change in graphics settings.
"Please note that any time you change any of your graphics settings, your shaders will need to recompile," Gearbox said. "Please keep playing for at least 15 minutes to see how your PC's performance has changed."
This and the general overall PC performance of the title could be why the "compiling shaders" happens so often in BL4,, which many are struggling with regardless of the quality of their builds. But because of the constant shader compilation, it appears that having a strong CPU is very important to run BL4.
For reference, here are the game's minimum and recommended specifications:
-
Minimum requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i7-9700 / AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT / Intel Arc A580
- Storage: 100 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system. Requires 8 CPU Cores for processor. Requires 8 GB VRAM for graphics. SSD storage required
-
Recommended requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10 / Windows 11
- Processor: Intel Core i7-12700 / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- Memory: 32 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT / Intel Arc B580
- Storage: 100 GB available space
- Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system. SSD storage required
For the time being, "compiling shaders" may be an issue with your CPU, or the game's optimization itself, but keep in mind changing any settings may make it happen often as well. Stay tuned to Gearbox communications to see if there is an update in the works. Otherwise, grab a snack while your game compiles and composes itself.
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The post What does ‘compiling shaders’ mean in Borderlands 4? appeared first on Destructoid.
