System
I have a decent (somewhat old) laptop (not a gaming laptop).
Relevant system information: Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3500U with Radeon Vega Mobile Gfx, 2100 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
The issue, a short story
I first tried running Grounded using the default drivers of my laptop, but it crashed every time after the intro. The obvious choice was to update my display driver. I tried adrenaline version 22.10.1, which provided me with the display driver "AMD Radeon(TM) Vega 8 Graphics" version 31.0.12019.16007, and it worked! I was able to play the game smoothly.
However, I started noticing random distortion/stuttering/cracking in the audio. I found a temporary fix (disabling and re-enabling my speakers' device), but the problem reappears within 5 minutes. I was very confused, but after trying different speakers and after trying Ubuntu (booted with a USB stick), it was obvious that the problem was software related. I was not suspecting the display driver at all (even though the problem appeared after installing it...) because I don't understand how the display driver could affect the audio... After trying different things (i.e., updating/rolling back the audio drivers), it was the only remaining option. Rolling back the display driver to the old version, there was no problem with the sound but Grounded crashed again. I'm not accusing anybody. It might be the driver, Microsoft, or Grounded which is at fault (probably a combination of everybody?).
Attempts the solve the problem
I tried the oldest adrenaline version (v22.2.1) that I found on this site (which gives a display driver version of 30.0.14023.3004), and it has the same effect as the most recent version. I tried the most recent driver I found for my laptop on my laptop brand's website (Acer), which was v20.10.28 (which gives a display driver version of 27.20.1028.1). The sound problem is resolved but Grounded crashes.
Hopes
I don't expect a patch for the problem. I'm not even sure you are at fault. I would like to have links to versions of adrenaline between v20.10.28 and v22.2.1 so I can try a dichotomic search and hopefully find a version where both the audio and Grounded run smoothly. I found some of those versions on third-parties websites, but I don't fully trust those (so I didn't try them).
Thank you, Mathieu.
