Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

by bsozz
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Original Post

Accepted Solution

[FIXED] Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves

[ Edited ]
★★★ Apprentice

Product: The Sims 4
Platform:PC
Which language are you playing the game in? English
How often does the bug occur? Every time (100%)
What is your current game version number? 1.45.62.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? outdoor retreat, get to work, perfect patio, spa day, get together, romantic garden, dine out, backyard, city living, bowling night, jungle adventure, seasons.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? I have no idea. For me it happens all the time.
What happens when the bug occurs? Trees display shadows without leaves in the summer, even though the trees themselves have leaves.
What do you expect to see? Tree shadows that have leaves, not shadows that look like the tree is dead.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Never used.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Yes
Please describe the patch or change you made. It was either the pre-Seasons patch or the Seasons expansion itself. Edit: I believe it was the pre-Seasons patch because i reinstalled without the Seasons EP and still the problem persisted.

I've had this issue since installing Seasons a few days ago. Basically it's as the topic title says - my trees are all displaying winter tree shadows (without leaves) in the summer, when the trees themselves are in full bloom. I play on Ultra.

I have tried:

 

- Creating a new save.
- Removing my Sims 4 folder and generating a fresh one.
- Repairing the game.

- Reinstalling the game.

None of these have worked.

I'm really stumped here. This wasn't an issue prior to Seasons.

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Accepted Solution

Re: [OPEN] Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves

★★ Pro

I can confirm in my game this problem is fixed! Thank you, thank you so much to the team for getting this taken care of before the pack release. I'm so happy to have my trees looking like they should again!

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Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

[ Edited ]
★★ Novice

I have the same issue! I never bought Seasons but it did start right around when it was released now that you mention it. The only trees that have shadows for me are the Dancing Maples and Lilacs and Lanterns. Never had any mods, didn't mess with any settings; it felt like it happened overnight :/ It affects both old lots and new, and also all the ambient, untouchable trees throughout the worlds. Still don't know how to fix it.

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Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

[ Edited ]
★★★ Apprentice

@setmoon14

 

We're definitely having the same issue and your image illustrates it perfectly. 

 

I'm almost certain it started after the pre-Seasons patch. I confirmed this by reinstalling without Seasons and the problem was still there (which surprised me).

Like you, I didn't change anything. It seems really weird that a clean install wouldn't solve the problem.

Message 3 of 71 (4,429 Views)

Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

★★ Novice

Yeah it's super irritating for me because I don't play The Sims to play the game, I only play it to design houses. So it's really irritating whenever I'm designing a house and I can't tell where the shade will be. Hopefully this bug gets fixed soon.

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Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

[ Edited ]
Hero (Retired)

@setmoon14 @bsozz  Have you both tried the following: 1) remove mods/CC (if any), 2) clear your cache, 3) repair the game via Origin, 4) start a new save, and 5) test in the new save?  If not, please do so.  If that doesn't help, I'd like to know what season you started your save in.  I know you mentioned that this issue occurred in summer, but was that after experiencing other seasons in the save or starting directly with summer?  Which neighborhood and lot were you playing on?

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Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

★★★ Apprentice

@BryonyRae Thanks for replying.

 

I've tried all of the things you suggested. I don't use mods and I completely removed my Sims 4 folder (the one in Documents\Electronic Arts) and let the game generate a new one. This would have reset the cache files, obviously. I've also tried repairing my game.

 

I even went as far as completely reinstalling the game. Twice. And both times I made sure there was no trace of the previous install (folders) left behind.

 

I've loaded old saves and started new ones and the problem persists. I've started a new game in spring and transitioned into summer and still fully bloomed trees display "dead" shadows. I've tried starting in Summer and the same thing happens.

 

It occurs everywhere. No matter the lot. I've tried several lots in Newcrest and several others in Willow Creek - most recently the empty corner lot across from the BFF household. Here's a screenshot:

08-15-18_3-16-14 AM.png

Message 6 of 71 (4,378 Views)

Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

Hero (Retired)

Thanks for the added information @bsozz.  Have you also made sure that your graphics drivers are fully updated?  I was asking about which season you started in because it looks to me like the game is using winter models for the tree shadows, and I thought it might be glitching after going through a winter season.  However, if you start a new save in a different season and are seeing them, I'm not sure what could cause it.  I am not able to reproduce the behavior in my game.  As there are two of you (at least) with the issue, I wonder what you both have in common.  Do you both have the same packs installed?  Speaking of which, I was a little confused about whether you have Seasons or not...  Do you perhaps have the same graphics cards and operating system?  If you could both share your specifications, it might be helpful.

Message 7 of 71 (4,372 Views)
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Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

[ Edited ]
★★★ Apprentice

Drivers are fully up to date. I do have Seasons, but I also tried installing the game without it and the problem still exists.

 

I hadn't played the game for a couple months. The last time I played, which was before the patch that preceded Seasons, my shadows were fine. I went back and checked past screenshots to confirm this.

 

When I logged in to Origin a few days ago, the game patched itself and I bought Seasons. Since then I have this issue. I have never had a problem with the game previously.

 

My specs are:

 

i5 6402 @ 3.0 GHz

8 GB of RAM

RX480

Windows 10

Message 8 of 71 (4,365 Views)

Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

[ Edited ]
★★ Pro

I also clicked Me Too and have an AMD card. I wonder if this is an AMD issue then? I know I saw a report on Twitter about this and they were also an AMD card owner.

 

This just started happening to me with the Seasons patch, I think, it might have been the last one before today in July. I haven't playing a lot, so I'm not terribly sure. It's not a huge issue for me, but a bit annoying nonetheless.

 

AMD R9 370 4GB

i7-5820k 3.3GHz (factory overclocked to 3.6GHz)

8GB RAM
Windows 8.1

ETA: I'm running older drivers, because all of the newer Crimson drivers cause my card to crash.

Message 9 of 71 (4,342 Views)

Re: Trees display "winter" shadows in summer, without leaves.

★★★ Apprentice

@manzana0807 The AMD theory is very interesting. That might explain why this issue has gone mostly unreported, given AMD's smaller market-share. I couldn't find anything on this issue before posting here, but now it sure seems like it isn't a one-off, isolated issue.

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