Shadow Question

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Jim Hall
Club Champion
Posts: 191
Joined: August 11th, 2013, 10:41 am

Shadow Question

Post by Jim Hall »

So, any suggestions as to how to get the shadow to start at the orange arrow and not the white arrow. I've moved the little circle all over the place and the only thing that changes is the shadow moves to the right or left, not closer to object which is what I'm looking for? Thanks in advance for any advice!
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KSBC6499
Chronic Slicer
Posts: 37
Joined: May 5th, 2022, 5:18 am

Re: Shadow Question

Post by KSBC6499 »

I dont know if it would help but Ive noticed on the course plot, the "sun" casts shadows differently depending which way you are facing. Some of the the fairway cut lines Ive made are darker and more visible if the fairway is running in certain direction. Ive never paid much attention to tree and bush shadows tho. If you want that shadow bad enough maybe redesign the course in a whole new direction lol. A simpler solution could be to make a shadow next to bush by dropping a darker texture around it? Also Im not sure if adjusting the horizon distance in settings would do anything? Ive never messed with that, just something that popped in my head.
Jim Hall
Club Champion
Posts: 191
Joined: August 11th, 2013, 10:41 am

Re: Shadow Question

Post by Jim Hall »

Thanks! It is definitely dependent upon which way the golfer is facing.
BrianZ111
Legend of Golf
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Joined: November 12th, 2010, 12:59 pm
Location: Wisconsin
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Re: Shadow Question

Post by BrianZ111 »

Have you set the anchor point on both the main image of the bush and on the shadow image of the bush? That should work but one catch here may be that the anchor point is a single point designed for the base of trunks and the bush is wide at the base. The bush on uneven terrain may be above ground in places other than the anchor point and then you'd get shadow separation. The wide base problem could also account for it only looking correct at certain angles because that shadow is only projected in one direction but when you look at the object from different directions it rotates to face you so alignment with the shadow is no longer correct on the ground away from the anchor point.

Other things that can happen with shadows:

If you place an object and then you move the terrain lower under it, sometimes the object doesn't go down with it. To fix that all you have to do is move the object slightly and then it will snap back down to the ground.

If it isn't wide spread with the object throughout the course then there may be some anomaly in the terrain at this particular location. Try moving the terrain around a little in this location, optimizing the shape under it at the lowest setting (don't include children if this is on the main plot texture as you don't want the optimization to affect the whole course), and repairing the course (Tools > Repair Course). Then move the object slightly to make sure it resets into the land and see if that fixes it.
Jim Hall
Club Champion
Posts: 191
Joined: August 11th, 2013, 10:41 am

Re: Shadow Question

Post by Jim Hall »

Turns out the "white area" representing the shadow in the final bitmap was way to bright. Changing it from default to a brightness of -40 made all the difference in the world. Thanks for the help guys!
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