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Post by pluemarie on Mar 22, 2022 18:04:12 GMT -5
This is an issue I've been having for 2+ years, I've been ignoring it but I'm finally fed up and want to fix it. Essentially, all alpha hairs have transparency/shader issues in CAS but not in-game. The hair appears dark and muddy, although on some hairs there is a visible portion that is the correct color.   Other people have reported this exact issue over the years, but none of these threads offer any solutions: Again, this happens only in CAS. In-game the hairs look fine. I am not experienced with modding or modeling objects, but my investigations seem to point to an issue with the Simglass shader, possibly only on Mac. The parts of the hair attached to the scalp show properly because they are SimSkin rather than Simglass; changing all geometry shaders to Simglass results in a overly transparent mess (1), while changing to all SimSkin results in no transparency at all (obviously), but no discoloration either (2). Using Anto's Alessandra as an example:   I have tried running the C&D glass hair batch fix with no results. This effect is on all alpha hairs regardless of how old they are, including hairs released only yesterday and fully untouched by me (thus I have not included a package file since I don't think it matters). I suspect this is a Mac-specific issue going by the other reports linked above as well as my own experience. I experimented with using SimGhostGlass but that didn't help either. Is there anything I can do? It started happening in ~2019/2020 around the time of the C&D patch. My game/install isn't the problem as I've switched computers in that time and the issue followed me. As a Mac user I can't use Reshade or the HD mod so those aren't issues either. I've removed all my mods and repaired my files through Origin to no avail. This isn't a gamebreaking bug obviously, but it is very annoying 8( pls help |
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Post by mauvemorn on Mar 24, 2022 8:50:00 GMT -5
Hi. Edited the reply because i misunderstood one moment. This type of issue is caused either by the blank normal map or by the no occluder mod. Take one untouched file that has the problem from the first image and import the normal map from here in it. If it will not help, try disabling all cc and scripts just to make sure, restart the game, then check how maxis glasses or hats with transparency look like. If the issue will persist, you'll have to reach out to ts4 support team |
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Post by pluemarie on Mar 24, 2022 20:33:52 GMT -5
Hi. Edited the reply because i misunderstood one moment. This type of issue is caused either by the blank normal map or by the no occluder mod. Take one untouched file that has the problem from the first image and import the normal map from here in it. If it will not help, try disabling all cc and scripts just to make sure, restart the game, then check how maxis glasses or hats with transparency look like. If the issue will persist, you'll have to reach out to ts4 support team Hi! Thank you for your help. I replaced the normal map on my untouched test hair with the one your provided and unfortunately it didn't work :( I removed all my mods to test it but no change. EA items seem okay? Glasses look fine, the fireman hat with the goggles seems okay. I noticed 3D eyelashes (eg Kijiko's) are also affected by the shader issue but it's much harder to see. |
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Post by mauvemorn on Mar 25, 2022 4:59:29 GMT -5
Hmmmmmmm, have you ever played the game in a different language? Have you ever moved the the mods folder away from the c drive?
Can you go to \My documents\The sims 4\ and check if you have a duplicate of Mods in a different language or something like this?
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Post by pluemarie on Mar 25, 2022 17:38:38 GMT -5
I've never played in another language than English (en-US). I tried deleting the Mods folder in Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 4 (my mac's filepath) and then placing only the test files but no change. I might try uninstalling and reinstalling the whole game to see if that helps, but considering this issue has been happening since I first installed the game on this computer I'm not sure that will work :[
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Mar 25, 2022 18:53:34 GMT -5
Just tossing this out there. Are you playing in laptop mode?
Edit: Just for shiz and giggles replace the specular and shadow maps with the blank one Mauvemorn shared. Replace one blank map (specular or shadow. Your choice) then test. If the problem is still there replace the other blank map then test. This may not provide any answers. Just something you could try. Your problem does remind me of what I've seen with players using laptop mode, however.
If you're really stumped you can share the file you're testing and see if someone else can replicate the problem. If no one else gets the problem then likely it's something with your computer. The problem with sharing is that not many people use a Mac. I could check the file but I'm on Windows.
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Post by mauvemorn on Mar 25, 2022 18:57:00 GMT -5
With the laptop mode it would look like the issue on the last pic, so that shouldn’t be it, but you could maybe try different graphics settings? Does the issue appear when you set everything to Ultra?
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Mar 25, 2022 19:11:01 GMT -5
Yeah, that last screenshot is what made me think of laptop mode. I just downloaded the Anto Alessandra hair and checked it in CAS. I looks fine, to me. It's got to be something with your computer environment. Possibly is a Mac issue. I'm on Windows so I can't test the hair the way it should be; I can't replicate your computer situation, if that makes sense. If someone else on a Mac tested it that would tell you more. However, you said this same problem showed up on two different computers? That makes me think the problem is a Mac thing. Just some spitball thoughts. It may have something to do with your graphics card. I use an Nvidia card and you can go into the Nvidia settings and alter things for Sims 4 specifically. Like, you'll see a list of games you have installed and you can have different settings for different games. Your video card may let you do this. Or you may need to update your drivers. Sorry, I'm sleep-deprived again. I just reread your post and you said the last two screenshots were when you were changing the shaders. I don't know if this will help. It's a problem that's opposite of yours—the hair is fine in CAS but not in game. Still, it might be worth your while to follow the advice. |
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Post by pluemarie on Mar 25, 2022 19:31:38 GMT -5
Just tossing this out there. Are you playing in laptop mode? Edit: Just for shiz and giggles replace the specular and shadow maps with the blank one Mauvemorn shared. Replace one blank map (specular or shadow. Your choice) then test. If the problem is still there replace the other blank map then test. This may not provide any answers. Just something you could try. Your problem does remind me of what I've seen with players using laptop mode, however. If you're really stumped you can share the file you're testing and see if someone else can replicate the problem. If no one else gets the problem then likely it's something with your computer. The problem with sharing is that not many people use a Mac. I could check the file but I'm on Windows. No I'm definitely not on laptop mode. That last image I posted was an example of what the mesh looks like if I changed all of the geom shaders to SimSkin as an experiment I actually tried replacing all the dds maps from the linked folder! It made my sim vanish completely Re: graphic settings, I did try putting them all on Ultra, no dice. My graphics card is a Radeon Pro 580X 8 GB. I don't know of any settings for it that I can change. |
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Mar 25, 2022 21:35:47 GMT -5
Share the file you've been testing. Pretty sure your sim should not disappear, lol. The problem is I'm on Windows so my setup is different. And I have an Nvidia graphics card. On Windows, you can right-click the desktop and choose Nvidia Control Panel and that brings up a window that will let you tinker with your settings. I would assume your card would have something similar.
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Mar 25, 2022 22:08:32 GMT -5
Found this from here: " Try resetting your Sims 4 folder and see if that helps. To do that, move your Sims 4 folder (that is in Documents -Electronic Arts - then the sims 4 folder is there) to the desktop. Then start the game, and a new Sims 4 folder will be generated. Exit the game and then add back the "options.ini" file and the "saves", "screenshots" "tray" "custom music" folders from the desktop Sims 4 folder to the new sims 4 folders, replacing the new generated file/ folders with the old file/folders.
Don't put back the old mods folder. Instead, place your cc/mods from the old desktop mods folder into the newly generated mods folder that is in the Documents -Electronic Arts - Sims 4 folders. Then test to see if that helps." Try changing your settings to match what's here. The Anto hair has a blank bump and specular already but does not seem to have a shadow map so you can try just replacing the shadow map. Or, possibly you could try cloning a hair and importing all of the meshes and textures into a new clone and see if that fixes it. If so, then it's just a matter of updating the files. Seems like running the batch fix should work though... There might be something here. Anyway, that's all I can find/think of for now. |
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Post by pluemarie on Mar 25, 2022 22:26:50 GMT -5
Share the file you've been testing. Pretty sure your sim should not disappear, lol. It's an older S-Club hair that did that, S-Club GIGI. My dumb brain can't find the "attach" button in my reply screen button so here is a gdrive link to the modified file. I tested a couple other hairs (I'm using Anto Angelina and S-Club Scarlet along with Anto Alessandra) and they didn't make my sim vanish so idk lol??? The problem is I'm on Windows so my setup is different. And I have an Nvidia graphics card. On Windows, you can right-click the desktop and choose Nvidia Control Panel and that brings up a window that will let you tinker with your settings. I would assume your card would have something similar. As far as I can tell from my computer and google they don't let you do that on mac 🤡 computer environment for babies only I guess! edit: tried replacing my whole TS4 folder but :( I also reinstalled my game and tried disabling all of my packs but again :(. Thank you so much for all your help I really appreciate it |
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Mar 26, 2022 1:11:47 GMT -5
Your link just links back to this thread so you'll need to supply a new link. What do your game settings look like? And have you tried exporting the meshes and textures, cloning a new hair, then importing the meshes and textures? I am stumped. >:( First thing, change your sims to very high. When you're on a lower setting the game displays the medium LOD instead of the high LOD. The medium LOD sometimes looks like the stuff that comes out of one end of a cow.  What are you seeing in your game? I'm not sure I'm clear on what problems you're seeing. I looked at the S-Club hair and I'm seeing transparency and I have the sims setting at very high. I ran a batch fix and it made no difference. It might just be a CAS lighting thing and if so I don't know if that can be fixed. Which hair is the pigtails one? I want to see how it looks in my game. Never mind, you already said which one it is. I'm looking at it now. The transparency seen below is likely an issue with that hair only.  |
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Mar 26, 2022 2:15:51 GMT -5
I just checked the S-Club Gigi hair. It looks fine on my end. I'm out of ideas but I'll keep looking. If someone else on a Mac could test this that would help! To recap: *The S-Club Scarlet hair has transparency at the top, which is likely a layer sorting problem and nothing to do with the game or my computer. *The S-Club Gigi hair looks fine. I'm not seeing what your screenshot is showing. *My settings are set to Ultra with sims set to very high. *I have no mods installed at all. Entirely vanilla game. *I batch fixed all the hairs and saw no difference. *The Anto Alessandra hair looks like this in CAS:  |
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