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Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 2nd Jul 2014 at 10:46 PM
Default Weird beach "shadow" when snow
I have a problem with one of my worlds.



The beach looks fine otherwise just not when there is snow on it. Does anyone know why this happens?
As you can see the waterline, it's not that doing it. I have been thinking that it's maybe the slope that doesn't work well with snow but it also happens in other parts where the slope is sharper. But other parts in the world by the water is fine!

I'm not sure if I understand snow correctly but it seems like it goes by terrain paint to know where to put shading/less snow etc. But I have checked the terrain in the specific one above and it's all solid base world texture.

Any help would be much appreciated :)

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 5th Jul 2014 at 11:51 AM
Hi ... I've got the same problem with my world with the "pier". I guess that the lots at sea level won't be covered at all and they will look weird when it snows (even terrain at sea level).
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#3 Old 5th Jul 2014 at 4:02 PM
I tested abit again yesterday and when I put a lot over the parts where it happens, it disappears! So I have no idea how to get rid of it.

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
In the Arena
retired moderator
#4 Old 5th Jul 2014 at 6:33 PM
What graphics card do you have? And you've adjusted the sea-level to be lower / deeper? No changes?

There's a couple of threads on here with this same issue, have read those?
Or, your GFX card is in the sgr files and thus supported, and sea-level is at its lowest but yet, you're still having this issue?
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#5 Old 5th Jul 2014 at 7:50 PM
AMD Radeon HD 7950.

Adjusting the sea level moved the shadow to other parts along the coastline. What do you mean by at it's lowest?
I have adjusted the terrain "up", and the sea level accordingly so that the baseline/corners of the world is underwater. Do you mean when the water is by the base?

Have attached another picture. This is an area where the shadows were not previously, but moved when the sea-level went up. Have also tried changing the terrain (smooth etc) but no change.

Those threads I have found don't have a solution and have tried mostly what they have (and they are old so maybe new info since then).
Screenshots

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
In the Arena
retired moderator
#6 Old 6th Jul 2014 at 2:17 PM
Aurora Skies/Sunlit Tides brought to light that snow needs a deep sea level. So any worlds that have shallow water table has this "black snow". It is the art of finding this balance of the right sea level that is tricky...any black snow spots just means you either need to tweak the terrain higher, or the sea level deeper, or both. On the coastline especially is difficult to find such balance. But then again, I haven't look at Aurora Skies in ages, this is just going by memory, which could be waay off-base and be the opposite; i.e. instead of deeper water it needs to be more shallow water, etc. So, sorry for the confusion.

All I can advise is study EA's worlds in CAW - those that have good snow (isla paradiso?) and bad snow (aurora skies?) - and see how gentle the slopes are on their beaches that has good snow results. Then take a look at those worlds that are not meant to have houseboat ports and beaches, like the WA worlds...and compare again the terrain levels and routing; and their effect on Snow.

Is the GFX card using default settings? For AA, AO and whatever else...but then this would only adjust the way it looks on your system. Anyone else with a different card or settings might still see black snow in the release version.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#7 Old 12th Jul 2014 at 2:34 AM
Yep I will just keep trying all sorts of different things and hopefully fix it somehow. Thanks!

TS3 aliens? Finally! Now give us OFB and proper apartments, damnit! - EA, you are breaking my heart. - I give up.
Field Researcher
#8 Old 29th May 2017 at 8:02 PM Last edited by lloyd118 : 29th May 2017 at 8:23 PM.
Just wondering, does this only happen if you actually click 'change sea-level' or if you lower the ground to change it as well?

Also wondering if changing the sea level is just something that you shouldn't do in caw
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