How to Fix Cities Skylines 2 Hardware Not Supported for Volumetric Materials Error

If you're an avid Cities Skylines 2 player and have encountered the frustrating "Hardware Not Supported for Volumetric Materials" error, fear not! This guide is here to provide you with step-by-step solutions to help fix this issue. By following these methods, you can potentially resolve the problem and get back to enjoying the immersive world-building experience that Cities Skylines 2 offers. So, let's dive right into the solutions!

One of the first steps you can take to address the "Hardware Not Supported for Volumetric Materials" error is to disable ray tracing. To do this, open the game settings and navigate to the graphics or advanced options menu. Look for the option to disable ray tracing and toggle it off. Disabling ray tracing can alleviate compatibility issues, especially if your hardware does not support this feature.

Outdated or incompatible graphics drivers can often be the cause of various errors, including the "Hardware Not Supported for Volumetric Materials" error. To resolve this, visit the website of your graphics card manufacturer (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) and download the latest drivers for your specific model. Once downloaded, install the updated drivers and restart your computer to ensure the changes take effect.

If disabling ray tracing and updating your graphics drivers doesn't resolve the issue, you can try lowering the overall graphics settings in the game. Navigate to the graphics settings menu within Cities Skylines 2 and make adjustments such as reducing texture quality, shadow quality, anti-aliasing, and other resource-intensive options. Lowering these settings can help lessen the strain on your hardware and potentially address the error.

DirectX and OpenGL are essential components for gaming, and outdated versions may contribute to compatibility issues. To check if your system has the latest version of DirectX, visit Microsoft's website and download the version compatible with your operating system. For OpenGL, check your graphics card manufacturer's website for updates related to OpenGL support. Installing the latest versions of these frameworks can resolve compatibility problems and potentially fix the error.

If none of the previous solutions have worked so far, it might be time to consider upgrading your hardware components. Upgrading your graphics card, CPU, or adding more RAM can significantly improve your system's performance and compatibility with Cities Skylines 2. Consult with a professional or conduct thorough online research to determine compatible upgrades that will provide better performance for your gaming experience.

In some cases, the hardware incompatibility causing the "Hardware Not Supported for Volumetric Materials" error may be specific to certain settings within the game. To investigate this, locate the Settings.coc file in the installation directory of Cities Skylines 2. Open the file using a text editor like Notepad and search for the relevant text mentioned in this article. Copy and paste the suggested text into the file, save the changes, and relaunch the game. This action will disable volumetric rendering and automatically set other graphics settings to a lower level, potentially resolving the error.