[NEEDS INPUT] Rooms and floors cause outdoor lighting issues [ Edited ]

[NyxiaMoon_]

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? 1.52.100.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? Cats and Dogs
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Build a room; then place outdoor lights in Build Mode at Night. For added effect, place floor tiles next to the outside wall in the path of the light.
What happens when the bug occurs? Odd shadows caused by rooms and floor tiles; outdoor lights do not light up these areas and cause weird angles of light on the ground.
What do you expect to see? Smooth lighting right up to the edge of the outdoor wall.
Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now. I've removed them.
Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? Neutral/Not Sure 

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Really throwing a wrench in my ability to enjoy building and the game in general at nighttime.

[crinrict]

As this would normally go on the Buy/Build list, I forwarded this but not added to any list.

[SheriGR]

@NyxiaMoon_ I am attaching have a couple of screenshots from my game. I did find that some of the shadows were sharp and not quite as expected, but with a similar layout of objects I am not finding the same shadows. This could be for a number of reasons, including the lot location and time of night (and weather) if in your pics you have a sim on the lot vs in my test it was a non-played lot in build mode.

It may be possible that the Mods &/or CC that you had in your game previously left some remnant code. If you would like to try the following it should help us know for sure if this is the case. 

• Exit your game then exit Origin. Copy the Mods folder from your 'The Sims 4' folder onto your desktop (for future reference) then delete the mods folder and the localthumbnailcache.package file in your 'The Sims 4' folder and restart the game and so that the game will re-create the folder.
• Then run a game repair [ Open Origin, click 'Game Library' then right-click Sims 4 > Repair Game ]. Make sure to let it run until it has completed all repairs (it will do the basegame first, then run through each of your expansions/packs). After that, please see if the issue has stopped.

You can also play around with the graphics settings in your game. I have found other players with visual graphic issues that they found to be unpleasant that were due to low graphics settings. 

It also seems odd to me that the flooring on no foundation, and which is on a completely flat lot in the test I did, is even casting a shadow at all, let alone as much of a shadow as it is. And this seems to be even more so on yours. Is yours also a flat lot?

In the case of your example, something that may help a bit as a workaround so the issue is not bothering you so much is to try different lights. The wall light you have on your home is the cheapest one (I use it a lot in starters) and I know it does, by design, cast a light that is more harsh - probably to reflect its cost. Please see if a more expensive light helps a bit, or if it helps some to play with light placement a bit.

Below are my screenshots of my test in my game: 

[NyxiaMoon_]

Thank you for testing the issue! It looks like the biggest shadow was reproduced; that the area close to the building is nearly pitch dark instead of being illuminated by the outdoor lights. My test was also done in build mode without any sims present, and yes, the lot was completely flat. I set the time to Night manually in build mode. I will try the mod folder and repair again though I have already run a repair since I originally posted, and the issue is still present. I have tried every outdoor light, cheap or expensive, and they all do the same.

[Kwarcdymny1]

@NyxiaMoon_ In my game I have this problem too.

[NyxiaMoon_]

I'd like to note that I started a new save on a separate computer (a laptop) and did not have this issue! It seems it was a problem with the latest patch not installing correctly. I completely wiped my files on this desktop computer and started from scratch, reinstalling. The issue seems mostly resolved. But I've seen hints that the shadows are still an issue.

[Graywhispers]

Having this issue on ps4 . Large section of greenhouse at the back, where it connects to a floral arrangements shack, is being swallowed by the abyss... First noticed when I was adding some terrain painting to the greenhouse interior area and couldn't see to continue painting, so I tried adding some more lights, multiple of different types, including a large ceiling lamp pointing straight down as well as multiple floor lamps, nothing would dent the all consuming shadow. I gave up convinced the back of my greenhouse has a black hole inside it. 

I don't know if it's related, but I have also noticed some odd interior shadow flickers happening regularly, as if the object\furniture's shadow is blinking on and off rapidly. It was large areas of various sections of house and on multiple floors. Fairly certain I never saw it happening prior to recent patches.

[SheriGR]

@Graywhispers Do you have Mods or CC? (Or did you have them in the past?) Can you add a screenshot of your blackhole in the greenhouse? Is it only when you view from certain angles? Did you try retracing the room with the wall tool to have it rebuild the ceiling and floor when completed? https://youtu.be/rx__MGVGMnc

I the last two builds that I did (since the patch right before IL) I have noticed some funky shadow stuff, but not after completing the build in both cases... it was as if some part of the build process addressed the weird shadows or areas that seemed to be leaking in light that did not normally (while building or not). The exception to this is the rounded room/porches - Those still cast an odd light, and have a matching rounded corner section/'deck' above to create their ceiling so they are 'sealed' in the only way you can with the rounded corners.

Occasionally the way a room was built causes it to not have 'sealed' all the way and the game is not seeing it as a room. In this type of case the re-tracing of the room is sometimes helpful. I also do notice some areas that flicker (tops of stair railings, sometimes seams of certain rooms, etc.). Plus there are odd gaps at the seams of some rooms from certain angles.

[Graywhispers]

In on ps4..... Sooo no, no mods or cc. No idea how I could get a screenshot from there on here, unless you have a ps4 profile and msg me then I could send you screenshots or even share play and show in game. 😉

The greenhouse with the event horizon in the back isn't a complex structure, just a rectangle with windows. I can test retracing the walls but I don't see why that would make any difference but this is S4 , so why not.

As for the shadows flickering, it's happening throughout the entire 3 floors of the house but not in the full basement ( about to double check that as soon as game loads). So it seems to be some issue with natural lighting, maybe this is all connected to the odd behavior of windows in build mode since recent patch, I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed when moving windows around in build mode the "panes of glass" parts of the window will linger around a spot after moving the window, seems fine once placed so compared to the plethora of other glitches going on I haven't thought much of it. But with this natural light issue it seems worth mentioning.

After loading in and confirming, flickering is not occurring or at least not visible in basement. It's anytime camera rotation occurs throughout the 3 main floors of the house, shadows of furniture and such strobe flicker.

The black hole persists in a 3x6 section at the rear of the greenhouse, tested placing 12 different light sources of all types within that section, at the same time, and the wall sections\windows get a noticeable shift in illumination, but the ground of that 3x6 area remains literally as pitch black as the void.

[SheriGR]

@Graywhispers Is this just on this one lot or other lots (the flickering issues)? Also, This is the only place you have a black hole, correct?

Weird question... Did you by chance use the new glass flooring or anything to indicate that your issue is like on this thread? https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/OPEN-IL-Floors-for-disappearing-on-water-lots-with-glass-floor... Part of the issue there was a gaping hole in the world at certain angles. I also found this issue once when I tried with the  'showhiddenobjects on' cheat to add a foundation that is a hidden, placeholder one.

Anyway, I would like to know what happens, if it seals the room, if you re-trace the room to build/seal the floor and ceiling, if you are willing to test that and re-post?: https://youtu.be/rx__MGVGMnc