Surface layer test colour

[james adamson]

Hi all. Another question from me!
I have not been able to work this one out and it has bothered me for months.
Sometimes the surface layer will not show the test colour in the preview. I have textures on and a mask and in fact my applied colour will be there when i render.
But again I can only check what effect my mask or fractal breakup are having by actually rendering a frame.

[sboerner]

Per Dune's response in the other thread, the surface color won't be visible in the 2D preview if the area near the scene origin is masked. Does the color appear when you temporarily disconnect the mask?

I use the previews to check PF scales and to see if data is getting through as expected, but use low-res or tightly cropped test renders to check surfaces.