openmw.org

Hello everybody. It's my first time on the forum.
I play on openmw for a long time and I very often noticed some shadows with weird behavior. I suspect that the problem is already known but it is so obvious so I decided to make a few screenshots.

When the sun sets, the shadows of the characters are projected against the walls.

This screenshot was taken in old ebonheart (in tamriel rebuilt) with openmw 0.48 RC4, but it's the same in seyda nihyn in openmw 0.47.


The sun is down, but I still have a shadow.


On this screenshot, it's good but not too realistic.


I run openwm on archlinux.

The mods I use are:
tamriel rebuilt
patch for purists
morrowind optimization patch
expansion delay
the ones to make the characters prettier (better body, better head, better clothes)
I don't use any to modify the world

polo wrote: ↑02 Jan 2023, 21:20 This screenshot was taken in old ebonheart (in tamriel rebuilt) with openmw 0.48 RC4, but it's the same in seyda nihyn in openmw 0.47.

The first screenshot seems to be OK. Such situation happen when object/terrain shadows are disabled - NPCs themselves cast shadows, but a platform/hill on which they stand - does not.

polo wrote: ↑02 Jan 2023, 21:20 The sun is down, but I still have a shadow.

IIRC, it is by design.

polo wrote: ↑02 Jan 2023, 21:20 The sun is down, but I still have a shadow.

Moonlight can cast shadows too, and the game has colors for them at night, so they're used. There is the issue that the nighttime shadows don't follow the moon's position (which is difficult when you have two moons moving independently, one larger and dimmer, the other smaller and brighter; which one should be followed?), but that's relatively minor and would require some work to fix.

The first screenshot is surprising unless those NPCs are at least as high as that building. The shadow-casting light source never actually dips below the horizon, so shadows should never end up above their casters.

akortunov wrote: ↑03 Jan 2023, 12:09

polo wrote: ↑02 Jan 2023, 21:20 This screenshot was taken in old ebonheart (in tamriel rebuilt) with openmw 0.48 RC4, but it's the same in seyda nihyn in openmw 0.47.

The first screenshot seems to be OK. Such situation happen when object/terrain shadows are disabled - NPCs themselves cast shadows, but a platform/hill on which they stand - does not.

polo wrote: ↑02 Jan 2023, 21:20 The sun is down, but I still have a shadow.

IIRC, it is by design.

Indeed, I ran the game with object shadows (despite the bubble saying it's bad for performance) then no more shadows.
The rendering is so darker now but realistic.
What is weird is that NPC's shadows go through the houses because the houses don't cast shadows.

Without and with object shadows

AnyOldName3 wrote: ↑03 Jan 2023, 22:29 The first screenshot is surprising unless those NPCs are at least as high as that building. The shadow-casting light source never actually dips below the horizon, so shadows should never end up above their casters.

I think you're true, Old Ebonheart is precisely on a slope.