Hi, would just like to know if there is a way to test worlds with different levels of snow in EIG, be it a mod, a feature of superCAW, or just a method that differs from the usual 'testingcheatsenabled true' then ctrl+shift click on the ground, as that does not work.
I'm trying to get the shores at the right level so they don't turn translucent grey when covered in snow, like in Aurora Skies http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/650201.page. But constantly having to export, install, test, uninstall, make changes, export, install, etc. is getting really tedious.

Also, what is the forum etiquette in regards to multiple threads? I have another thread open in this section on an issue that was resolved - do I start a new thread for a new topic and close the old one/leave it open, or merge the two and change the title?

Thanks

I haven't read anything about testing in eig, they usually requires live mode. There is a weather mod available though, but I'm not sure how it works and with mastercontroller you can make a sim as you would with populating. It's just a thought, but perhaps.

On threads, you're usually not the only one needing an answer to something and for future use it's probably better to have a thread around one subject. I have the impression that's the way it should be.

Hey, I tried downloading the mod http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=481816 (this one, right?), tested in-game and it worked fine, but has no options when in EIG with a "makesim" sim. I do think this may be a thing that just has to be done the long and convoluted way, unfortunately

They grey snow thing is a huge PITA though, it means all shores have to be pretty high up with a steep slope into water to avoid it, as shown in the pictures you can see how high above sea level that terrain is already (sim at waters edge for relativity), and it's still having the problem! Ick. Are there any other known workarounds for this?

You're not ever gonna get a different outcome as long as you're using the same equipment. I mean when trying to determine if the grey translucency is really due to the world's height map or the GPU's capabilities in dealing with alpha layers.

As for the snow, I don't suppose you're talking about snow terrain-paints, right?
If you're referring to the Snow generated by the game engine by the Seasons EP, it needs to be tested with an InstalledWorld, sorry. Any scenario that needs the game engine running LIVE cannot be replicated in EIG. I turn off all Seasons other than Winter, and I have a mod to reduce the number of Seasonal days to 1. So, I can get the Snow showing up right on Sim week 1 day 1.

As for the threads: in Create, we do prefer a separate thread for a particular topic, even if started by the same Thread Starter.
This won't apply in Game Help, however. As the game is run on one machine by one person, for the majority of the cases.

Hey Ella , I know this isn't to do with hardware specs, it's an acknowledged bug with Seasons and has to do with physical snow that covers the ground (not terrain paints) turning translucent grey when the terrain is too low to sea level, It also creates some terrible graphical effects with lots at low elevation.

If you just quickly skim through the thread I linked to in the first post, you'll see there are people with more than capable hardware reporting the same issues and a guru has even responded saying that it is in fact a problem with Seasons and they are 'looking into it'. But, as I think it unlikely to be fixed in the last patch (as well as the Autumn leaves not disappearing) I'm trying to make a world free of the problem, which requires changes to be made to the height map and tested repeatedly. I was just looking for a faster way of doing the testing is all.
As you confirmed my fears though, CAW and EIG aren't capable of running the engine features live, so It's back to the grindstone for me!

Just in case you're curious about this, it's a problem that occurs at least somewhere in perhaps every world, more so in low lying tropical worlds like Sunlit Tides and Isla Paradiso (but in those it's not bothersome because snow doesn't fit the climate anyway), but most obviously and unfortunately in Aurora Skies.
I'm assuming you have a powerful machine, so if you want to test this out yourself, load up any world and lay a blanket of snow on the ground ("testingcheatsenabled true" > ctrl+shift click on the ground > seasons > set snow level > any level > un-pause game) then have a look around the shorelines for any snow discolouration and you'll probably see what I mean.
It's one of those things you might miss if you're not paying close enough attention, but once you see it it cannot be un-seen

Yes, I know about "Aurora Skies' sea level and snow" issue for that world and any and all worlds released before Seasons. I've been debating with myself on whether I want to go down that rabbithole and try to fix it for my world fixes or leave it well enough alone.

What I'm saying is that, you're already seeing alpha layer issues, even before the height-map level and sea level is ever in the equation. So, how are we to DEFINITELY determine if the issue is due to the sea level, instead of the GPU, if the GPU cannot be ruled out as a potential root cause? Especially assuming you get to the point, when the sea level is at the correct height already and say you're still seeing the gray? How would you know when to stop lowering the sea level? That's my point.