[OPEN] Shadows don't generate in map view [ Edited ]

[LunarBritney]

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? 1.88.228.1020
What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All - the latest being Little Campers/Moonlight Chic.
Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Entering build mode to refresh the generated thumbnail in the map view.
What happens when the bug occurs? Shadows do not generate on anything in the thumbnail if the Lighting setting is set to High or Very High. However, shadows do appear on surfaces only if the Lighting setting is set to Medium
What do you expect to see? Shadows to fully generate in the map view build thumbnails, like in the base game default builds.
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. Not sure if it was after this update, but I've been trying to research when this issue started occurring, and it seems it started after/during the update when indoor sun/moon shadows were introduced - PC Version 1.19.28.1010 / Mac Version 1.19.28.1210

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It might not be very clear at first. However, when you start a new save, only Willow Creek, Oasis Springs, Granite Falls, Magnolia Promenade, and Windenburg come with fully rendered build thumbnails that feature shadows on all surfaces and have shadows go beyond the build (the Goth manor/Library shown having a shadow backdrop in the "Before Update" images).

However, this is no longer possible after the Get Together expansion pack era (still unsure when it broke, but Windenburg was the last world when the shadows worked). So now, when you edit builds, if your Lighting setting is set to High/Very High, you will have a shadowless build in the map view, as shown in the attached images. You do get shadows only on surfaces (they don't go beyond the surfaces, so there won't be a backdrop behind, etc..) IF the Lighting setting is set to Medium. Not sure why it differentiates like that.

I hope the images are clear enough. The issue has been bothering me for years now, and I hope it gets looked into since, after years of asking for lot thumbnails to be centered, those finally got fixed during Cottage Living.

Edit By Crinrict: Added Tag to Title

[ratbirch]

I'm having this problem too.

[LunarBritney]

Months later, I discovered the feature was not bugged but disabled for no reason. It could be because the shadows did not generate well but I did regenerate every single lot thumbnail and only 5 lots out of the hundreds were messy.

To enable these shadows back, go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 4\Game\Bin\res (the path might vary, this is the install directory of the game). You go to the ThumbnailConfig file and open, search up [WorldMapLot] and in that paragraph, go to EnableShadowPlane and change false to true. And that's how you get back the shadows that make your builds look higher quality.

The file will be reset if the game gets repaired or updated so keep that in mind.