SIMS 4 - MINI TUTORIAL - FIX LIGHT LINES ON CUSTOM TERRAINS, FLOORS, AND WALLS

Howdy folks.

I've been searching and searching for information on the problem of light lines on custom terrains, floors, and walls. I literally could not find anything except a bunch of conjecture and a mod that essentially removes all the normals/speculars (I believe), and while that does get rid of the lines, there's no way to change the specular, or shininess, of the items that use the mod.

Well, the fix came to me in a light bulb moment and is much easier than I expected, a shake-my-head solution 🤣 Honestly, why is information so hard to find on these things???

Apparently, since one of the updates in the last couple of years, the game wants a normal map for terrains, floors, and walls. Even if you clone one of these items from the game that doesn't have a normal map, it still requires you to add one if you don't want to see those lines. Don't get me wrong, your custom terrains, floors, and walls will still work and show in game, but you'll have those lines if you don't fix them.

The easiest way I've found to do this is to clone one of the items from the game that already has a normal map and specular map, and make your own to replace those that come with the package. And yes, there are existing base game terrains that have both a normal map and specular map! I use the river rock terrain for my cloning now.

Should you choose to clone an item without a normal and specular map, you will have to manually add them in and link them in the MATERIAL DEFINITION line in warehouse mode. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can search for more info or just clone something different.

On the plus side, I already have a tutorial for floor normals HERE if you need to know how to make them. It's basic, has pictures, and can also be used for terrains and walls.

Syboulette has a complete specular map tutorial HERE on YT.