FIXED. I deleted my settings file and let the game generate a fresh one. Problem went away.
I looked at the delta between the two files (old and fresh), and the only difference is the parsing system for disabled hints. Not sure why this would cause a rendering meltdown.
Either way, for anyone who might be having issues with the new patch, I recommend generating a fresh settings file.
I'm having this problem too. Could you explain exactly what 'generating a fresh settings file' entails? Sorry if that sounds obvious to some of you... :blush: