Bug Report Details
Platform
PC (Latest Game Version)
Settings
All Graphic Settings set to Ultra. Laptop Mode is Disabled. Uncompressed Sim Textures is Enabled. Both DX9 and DX11 exhibit the same results.
Modding Status
Pure Vanilla. No Custom Content (CC), No Mods, and no external reshade tools have ever been installed in this save file. Cache files (localthumbcache.package) have been completely cleared.
The Issue
There is a major structural inconsistency in how real-time lighting and shadows are applied to Sims versus environment meshes/objects. While world objects, architecture, and furniture perfectly intercept directional sunlight, cast realistic shadows, and receive light directionality, Sims themselves do not interact with the global directional sunlight vector in the same way.
Notice how the shadow from the nightstand doesn't cast on the Sim
Sims cast shadows onto the ground and surrounding surfaces, but they do not receive directional sunlight shading across their own meshes, nor do they support self-shadowing (e.g., a Sim’s limbs or facial features casting shadows onto their own body).
The Sim appeared dark despite the intense light.
This rendering flaw is most prominent indoors when a Sim stands directly in front of a large window during sunlight hours. While artificial light sources (lamps, overhead lights) affect the Sims' vertex lighting correctly, the sunlight streaming through the window completely bypasses the Sim's model. The environment is intensely bright and directional, but the Sim appears dark, unlit by the sun, and visually uncoupled from the room's atmosphere, looking as if they are floating.
Expected Behavior
Sims' character meshes should actively intercept the global directional sunlight vector. When standing in direct sunlight (either outdoors or indoors near a window), the light should create distinct highlights on the side facing the sun and natural shadows on the opposite side. Sims should also exhibit basic self-shadowing so that their geometry responds naturally to intense directional light sources.
Actual Behavior
Directional sunlight completely ignores the Sim's mesh. The Sim retains a dark, ambient lighting state regardless of the sun's position, angle, or intensity, causing a severe visual disconnect between the character models and the beautifully lit environments.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Launch a completely vanilla game with Graphics Settings set to Ultra.
- Enter Build/Buy mode on any lot and construct a room with large glass windows (e.g., floor to ceiling windows from Base Game). Don't place any light objects (ceiling lights, etc.)
- Place a Sim inside the room, directly in the path where sunlight streams through the window durinig the day (around 9:00 AM in game time).
- Observe the environtment: Notice how the floor and furniture are brightly illuminated with sharp, directional light and shadows.
- Observe the Sim: Notice that the Sim's body and face remain uniformly dark. No directional highlights from the sun appear on their skin or clothes, and their limbs do not cas shadows onto their own body mesh.
