How to Fix “Hardware not supported for Volumetric Materials” in Cities Skylines 2

Cities: Skylines II is a city-building simulation game where players create and manage a metropolis.

The game offers deep simulation and a dynamic economy to build and develop your city.

You have complete control over infrastructure, road networks, and city systems.

Your decisions impact the city’s growth, economy, and the well-being of its citizens.

With high-resolution graphics, the game offers a realistic and detailed city-building experience.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to fix the “Hardware not supported for Volumetric Materials” error in Cities Skylines 2.

How to Fix “Hardware not supported for Volumetric Materials” in Cities Skylines 2

Fix 1: Update your graphics card

• For Nvidia: Visit nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/geforce-experience/download/ > Download Now > open the app > sign up or log in > Drivers > Download.
• For AMD: Visit amd.com/en/support > Download > open the app > follow the on-screen instructions to update your graphics card.

Fix 2: Optimize the game with GeForce Experience

1. Download GeForce Experience (if you have a Nvidia graphics card): nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/geforce-experience/download/.
2. Open the GeForce app, log in, and go to the homepage.
3. Select “Cities Skylines 2” and click on “Optimize”.
4. Try launching and playing the game after optimization.

Fix 3: Make changes in the Setting.coc file

1. Open the Cities Skylines 2 file location (e.g. File Explorer > This PC > C: Drive > Users > Username > App Data > LocalLow > Colossal Order > Cities Skyline II).
2. Right-click “Settings.coc” and open with Notepad.
3. Delete everything in the settings.
4. Copy the settings below, paste it inside the file, save it, and try launching the game:

{
    "qualitySettings": [
        {
            "enabled": true,
            "upscaleFilter": "EdgeAdaptiveScaling",
            "minScale": 0.5,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.DynamicResolutionScaleSettings"
        },
        {
            "antiAliasingMethod": "None",
            "smaaQuality": "Low",
            "outlinesMSAA": "None",
            "@type": "Game.Settings.AntiAliasingQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "volumetricCloudsEnabled": false,
            "distanceCloudsEnabled": false,
            "volumetricCloudsShadows": false,
            "distanceCloudsShadows": false,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.CloudsQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.FogQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "budget": 0.166,
            "resolutionDepthRatio": 0.666,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.VolumetricsQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.SSAOQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "raySteps": 16,
            "denoiserRadius": 0.75,
            "halfResolutionPass": true,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.SSGIQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "maxRaySteps": 32,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.SSRQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "nearSampleCount": 3,
            "nearMaxRadius": 2,
            "farSampleCount": 4,
            "farMaxRadius": 5,
            "highQualityFiltering": false,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.DepthOfFieldQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.MotionBlurQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "enabled": false,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.ShadowsQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "finalTessellation": 3,
            "targetPatchSize": 24,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.TerrainQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "waterflow": false,
            "maxTessellationFactor": 2,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.WaterQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "levelOfDetail": 0.25,
            "lodCrossFade": false,
            "maxLightCount": 1024,
            "meshMemoryBudget": 256,
            "strictMeshMemory": true,
            "@type": "Game.Settings.LevelOfDetailQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "maxBoneInfuence": "TwoBones",
            "@type": "Game.Settings.AnimationQualitySettings"
        },
        {
            "mipbias": 3,
            "filterMode": "Bilinear",
            "@type": "Game.Settings.TextureQualitySettings"
        }
    ],
    "resolution": {
        "width": 1440,
        "height": 900
    },
    "cursorMode": "Free",
    "depthOfFieldMode": "Disabled"
}

Further reading

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