disapearing grass

[mhaze]

This is wierd - Since the last update 4.5.56 All the grasses in my scene are disapearing! I've used both .obj and .tgo models. They all seem to load ok and when populated show up in the preview. The first 3 or so renders are fine - then, they just refuse to show up. I've tried in a clean scene and cannot reproduce the behavior. No other models exhibit this behavior. I've reloaded the models reloaded the program and tried every thing I can think of no joy!

[mhaze]

Seems to be something to do with compute terrain.  I can only get a pop to show when I use compute terrain and not the last disp shader in the chain. Even more strange is that adding an extra CT does not work!

[Dune]

I don't always use a compute terrain, and then the pops find no planet to sit on. So it's best to keep the compute, but just let it hang, or hang at the end of the chain, just for the pops.
Check anchor!

[mhaze]

Tried that but then the basic terrain disapears. I think the population is underground but getting it to appear is proving problematic.

[mhaze]

Yep! raising it a little seem to work. This only affects the grass and started with the last update.

[Matt]

Please send a TGD to support at planetside.co.uk (or here) and we'll take a look.

[WAS]

Use a compute normal at the end of the chain with a bit larger parch size. I never actually have good results with computer normal anymore, with sunken pops that dont even align with a terrain that isnt modulated beyond roughing like fs. But a compute normal with default scale will be slow.

[Dune]

Not if you let it dangle and just use for pops to sit on. It just slows down the populating, not the rendering.
I sometimes hang a loose compute normal under one of the surface shaders earlier in chain, e.g. to have grass sit on ground before fake stones pop up, so they don't grow over it. Then mask out any instances from a derived stone mask, and you eliminate much grass through/on stones.

[mhaze]

Will do Matt but it will be later to day! I'll have to package it.  Do uou want the grass object? I have solved the issue by making the grass taller and raising it.

[mhaze]

I've just cut the file down to package it for Matt and lo and behold the grass has reappeared! Not sure why, I'm going to rebuild the file and see what was causing the issue.

[mhaze]

Well it was the snow image map which has a grey background!  So when I added displacement to the snow, the grass disapeared in the non snow areas! As the snow comes last in the chain.....

[masonspappy]

[WAS]

Hahaha lol

[Dune]