Stumped by shafts of dark "light"

[ghost80808]

So I've had this bug for a while. I used to tolerate it, but it's getting annoying.

 

I have these weird shafts of dark light. Like god rays, only dark and shadowy. They only kick in to effect in overcast or gloomy/rainy days. In a forest, they can make it almost too dark to navigate.

 

See image attached...

 

I've made a few changes to the ini's over the months and years, but can't remember exactly what.

 

I use ELFX shadows and it's various patches and add-ons. - Disabling these didn't remove the effect.

I use Obsidian ENB. - Disabling this doesn't remove the effect.

I have particle patch for ENB - esp disable as guided by loot.

I have obsidian weathers - which as far as I know shouldn't cause this sort of anomaly.

 

Anyone else had this effect in their game? I'd really appreciate some help with this. Thanks.

 

load order attached and edited to remove armors, followers and other irrelevant mods.

Spoiler

Skyrim.esm
Update.esm
Dawnguard.esm
HearthFires.esm
Dragonborn.esm
Unofficial Skyrim Special Edition Patch.esp
High Poly Head.esm
Heels Sound.esm
BSAssets.esm
RealisticWaterTwo - Resources.esm
BSHeartland.esm
BS_DLC_patch.esp
BSHeartland - Meshes.esp
SkyUI_SE.esp
Prometheus_No_snow_Under_the_roof.esp
Obsidian Weathers.esp
SMIM-SE-Merged-All.esp
NSUTR_bugfixes.esp
NSUTR_groundsnow_mesh_fixes.esp
NSUTR_improvements.esp
EnhancedLightsandFX.esp
ELFX Shadows.esp
S3DTrees NextGenerationForests.esp
ELFX - Exteriors.esp
COTN - Falkreath.esp
ELFX Fixes.esp
Particle Patch for ENB SSE.esp
SMM.esp
torchRemover.esp
ELFX Shadows - JK Palace of the Kings.esp
ELFX Shadows - JK Temple of Kynareth patch.esp
ELFX Shadows - USSEP patch.esp
Simplicity of Snow - BSBruma Patch.esp
Simplicity of Snow.esp
COTN Falkreath - ELFX Patch.esp
COTN Falkreath Addons.esp
VolumeticMists.esp
VolumeticMistsSolstheim.esp
ELFXEnhancer.esp
RealisticWaterTwo.esp
ELFX Enhancer - Realistic Water Two patch.esp
ELFX Fixes Ragged Flagon Fix.esp
Morning Fogs SSE.esp
3DTrees - Solstheim FIX.esp
BentPines.esp
WondersofWeather.esp
The Great City of Dragon Bridge.esp
StormLightning.esp
Dirt and Blood - Dynamic Visuals.esp
DVLaSS Skyrim Underside.esp
 

 

[anjenthedog]

Yeah. it's some sort of nighttime shadow effect that sometimes gets out of kilter, far as I can tell. I think it's worse with some "climate" (weather, end preset, etc) packages installed than other. Whatever the weather package I originally installed back in 2019 resulted in a very strong exhibition of that artifact. I now use a very tame combo (Vivid Weather, Realistic Lighting, and all on a springtime motif skyrim) and and I still get it once and a while at night,  

 

Not to say there isn't some distinct reason and a once-and-for-all fix, idk about that to be honest, but it seems to clear up on its own in my game. Some nights, at some locations, it seems more prevalent, but I can't say which or when... or why. 

Edited August 19, 2022 by anjenthedog

[Just Don't]

Do you use this mod? You have the DVLaSS Skyrim Underside plugin so I assume you do (btw you should be generating LODs with underside instead of using this plugin). That's what this mod does, what you're seeing is the shadow from the mountains/buildings as the sun sets.

[ghost80808]

On 8/19/2022 at 8:08 PM, Just Don't said:

Do you use this mod? You have the DVLaSS Skyrim Underside plugin so I assume you do (btw you should be generating LODs with underside instead of using this plugin). That's what this mod does, what you're seeing is the shadow from the mountains/buildings as the sun sets.

Thanks for the reply.

 

I do use EVLAS

 

Only problem is, i only installed the EVLAS stuff a few days ago, to try it out, and i've had this shadow weirdness for 6 months + 

 

It started after I changed my ENB preset and weather, lighting etc. So it's definitely one of them, or .ini changes, but I can't seem to find what!

[ghost80808]

On 8/19/2022 at 7:46 PM, anjenthedog said:

Yeah. it's some sort of nighttime shadow effect that sometimes gets out of kilter, far as I can tell. I think it's worse with some "climate" (weather, end preset, etc) packages installed than other. Whatever the weather package I originally installed back in 2019 resulted in a very strong exhibition of that artifact. I now use a very tame combo (Vivid Weather, Realistic Lighting, and all on a springtime motif skyrim) and and I still get it once and a while at night,  

 

Not to say there isn't some distinct reason and a once-and-for-all fix, idk about that to be honest, but it seems to clear up on its own in my game. Some nights, at some locations, it seems more prevalent, but I can't say which or when... or why. 

Thanks, but seems we might have different issues. this is constant and like clockwork. Every misty day, rainy day, overcast day, the thick black shadows are there.

 

It's driving me nuts. If I find a solution, I'll let you know. Maybe it will help with your issue too.

[ghost80808]

On 8/19/2022 at 8:08 PM, Just Don't said:

Do you use this mod? You have the DVLaSS Skyrim Underside plugin so I assume you do (btw you should be generating LODs with underside instead of using this plugin). That's what this mod does, what you're seeing is the shadow from the mountains/buildings as the sun sets.

Looking at screenshots of underside, it definitely looks the same. Weird though, as I didn't have it with any previous weather, ENB, lighting mods, until I updated ENB to obsidian and ELFX etc.

I might try underside anyway and see it fixes it.

 

EDIT: the checkbox for terrain underside seems to be missing from my dyndolod. Any idea how to enable it? Thanks

Edited August 23, 2022 by ghost80808

[sila]

I would try just deleting all files related to enb and then reinstalling the one you wanted to use.

 

If you already did that then I wouldn't really know.

 

 

I know it never happens in my game with cathedral weathers, Lux, enblight, and PI-CHO ENB at least.

[ghost80808]

30 minutes ago, sila said:

I would try just deleting all files related to enb and then reinstalling the one you wanted to use.

 

If you already did that then I wouldn't really know.

 

 

I know it never happens in my game with cathedral weathers, Lux, enblight, and PI-CHO ENB at least.

 

ENB is cleanly installed, and disabling it in-game and hard removal doesn't get rid of the shadows. It's definitely something else.

 

I'm going to try dyndolod underside...if I can ever get the checkbox to appear! Thanks though.

 

[sila]

28 minutes ago, ghost80808 said:

 

ENB is cleanly installed, and disabling it in-game and hard removal doesn't get rid of the shadows. It's definitely something else.

 

I'm going to try dyndolod underside...if I can ever get the checkbox to appear! Thanks though.

 

Ooof... I had it pegged on being an enb thing. Good luck tracking down the source. That would bug me enough that I would almost just reinstall skyrim heh.

[traison]

Maybe I'm just stating the obvious here but, are you sure that is not intentional? You say it only occurs in gloomy weather, presumably foggy or otherwise damp. If the sun is shining while it's very foggy out this is basically what you get, negative "godrays" from trees and things because the sun makes the water molecules reflect light.

 

Maybe a weather mod/enb with less realistic and overblown features is needed?

 

My point is: are you sure this is a problem?

[ghost80808]

28 minutes ago, traison said:

Maybe I'm just stating the obvious here but, are you sure that is not intentional? You say it only occurs in gloomy weather, presumably foggy or otherwise damp. If the sun is shining while it's very foggy out this is basically what you get, negative "godrays" from trees and things because the sun makes the water molecules reflect light.

 

Maybe a weather mod/enb with less realistic and overblown features is needed?

 

My point is: are you sure this is a problem?

I've watched plenty of videos of the various mods I have installed. (I always watch videos rather than rely on pictures, before i download visual/lighting mods - been fooled by clever pictures too many times) and this effect is not visible in any of the videos, for any of the mods. All the effects look realistic (and physical, tangible shadow rays don't exist in RL).

 

The primary reason I know this isn't a feature... for example: in or near woods, during rain, at heavy overcast/dawn/dusk/night, the game is totally unplayable. Not difficult...unplayable! The screen is virtually black. I have to skip time or clear skies shout, until the weather clears. This would have come up in the comments of the mods I reckon?

[Just Don't]

2 hours ago, ghost80808 said:

EDIT: the checkbox for terrain underside seems to be missing from my dyndolod. Any idea how to enable it? Thanks

I think that was added to DynDOLOD 3.0, so you'd need to get the latest alpha/beta 3.0 releases. The main DynDOLOD is still 2.something and may not have this function.

 

I don't think this will solve your issue. Maybe you should disable some weather/lighting mods to see how vanilla looks and compare it to your current look. Like I said what appears in the screenshots is the intended effect and look. If you don't like it you should remove the related mods.

edit:

12 minutes ago, ghost80808 said:

in or near woods, during rain, at heavy overcast/dawn/dusk/night, the game is totally unplayable. Not difficult...unplayable! The screen is virtually black. I have to skip time or clear skies shout, until the weather clears. This would have come up in the comments of the mods I reckon?

Excessive darkness could be the result of your particular combination of enb, weather, lighting and other mods + your display calibrations, there is no way to ensure you'll get the exact same result as in a screenshot or video from someone else's setup.

Edited August 23, 2022 by Just Don't

[ghost80808]

22 minutes ago, Just Don't said:

I think that was added to DynDOLOD 3.0, so you'd need to get the latest alpha/beta 3.0 releases. The main DynDOLOD is still 2.something and may not have this function.

 

I don't think this will solve your issue. Maybe you should disable some weather/lighting mods to see how vanilla looks and compare it to your current look. Like I said what appears in the screenshots is the intended effect and look. If you don't like it you should remove the related mods.

edit:

Excessive darkness could be the result of your particular combination of enb, weather, lighting and other mods + your display calibrations, there is no way to ensure you'll get the exact same result as in a screenshot or video from someone else's setup.

Thanks. Just running the 3.0 alpha version now, and it has the underside function.

 

Of course, different systems, different setups etc, but my mods are listed as complimentary, or have patches to work together. (for example obsidian weathers with obsidian ENB)

The picture I posted doesn't do justice to just how awful this effect is. Sadly after skipping time repeatedly, I wasn't able to get the right conditions. I should've just used console to cheat the weather, but didn't have time to hunt down console commands when I posted. It's basically unplayable in certain conditions. Total black screen mess! Something is going wrong somewhere.

 

It's a shame, because in the right conditions/locations, the game looks fantastic with these mods!

 

I think I'll just have to keep disabling mods and see what happens. Tried ELFX, ENB, volumetrics, etc. In fact i think weather might be the only one I haven't done yet.

[ghost80808]

Sadly I never found a fix. I ended up gutting all my ENB, lighting, weather, everything visual and went with a new set of mods (silent horizons+cathedral weather, Lux, particle lights, basically most of the visual mods from Elysium) and that fixed it. No more pitch black rain storms. Interiors look better now anyway, so bonus!

 

I think maybe more than one mod was causing the problem, so when i was troubleshooting one at a time, the problem remained. Ah well, never mind.

 

Thanks anyway, guys. I appreciate the assistance.