Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

This page covers the most common issues with Global Snow and how to solve them. Check the Global Snow inspector first: a red message at the top tells you when the URP asset, the Render Feature or the deferred path is missing, when Compatibility Mode turns off the Render Graph, or when SSAO is above Global Snow while the Snow Accumulation is on.

No snow visible

Symptom	You added the Global Snow component but no snow appears.
Cause	Missing Render Feature, wrong rendering path, or coverage settings that remove the snow.
Solution	Check that the Global Snow Render Feature is added to your Universal Renderer asset. Check that the Universal Renderer uses the Deferred or Deferred+ rendering path. Forward and Forward+ are not supported. Check that Compatibility Mode (Render Graph Disabled) is off in Project Settings > Graphics. If you have several quality levels, add the Render Feature to the renderer of every URP asset. Check that the Global Snow component is on the camera and that the Snow slider is above 0. Check that Minimum Altitude in the Coverage foldout is below the height of your terrain. Check that the Layer Mask includes the layers of your terrain and objects. If Coverage Mask is on, check that the mask is not black over your scene and that World Size and World Center match it. Check the Cameras Layer Mask of the Render Feature: it must include the layer of your camera.

Render Feature not appearing in the list

Symptom	When clicking Add Renderer Feature, Global Snow Render Feature does not appear in the list.
Cause	Script compilation errors, or an incomplete import.
Solution	Check the Console for compilation errors. Any script error can stop Renderer Features from appearing. Import the Global Snow package again if needed.

Render Graph errors

Symptom	The Console shows Render Graph errors, or the snow does not render.
Cause	An older version of Global Snow, or another Renderer Feature that conflicts with the Global Snow passes.
Solution	Make sure you use the latest version of Global Snow & Rain 3. Disable other Renderer Features one by one to find a conflict. Turn off Compatibility Mode (Render Graph Disabled) in Project Settings > Graphics. Global Snow needs the Render Graph and does not render in that mode. The inspector shows an error with an Open Graphics Settings button.

Snow only shows in the Game View, not in the Scene View

Symptom	Snow appears in the Game View but not in the Scene View.
Cause	Scene View preview is disabled.
Solution	Enable Show In Scene View in the Tools & Debug foldout.

Snow shifts or slides on moving characters

Symptom	Snow on a character or vehicle changes shape as it animates or moves.
Cause	Global Snow applies the snow on the G-buffer, so it does not tell static objects from moving ones.
Solution	Exclude the object from the snow with the Layer Mask or the Global Snow Ignore Coverage component. See Exclude Characters, Props and Effects for snow that stays in place on the object as it moves.

Exclusion borders show artifacts

Symptom	Excluded objects show snow along their borders.
Cause	The exclusion depth bias does not fit the object, or the object has complex geometry.
Solution	Change the Exclusion Depth Bias value slightly (default 0.99). For double sided objects, enable Exclusion Double Sided. For objects with vertex animation, disable Use Fast Mask Shader on the Global Snow Ignore Coverage component.

Objects created at runtime still get snow

Symptom	Objects instantiated in Play mode on a layer outside the Layer Mask get snow, or child objects added at runtime to an object with Global Snow Ignore Coverage get snow.
Cause	Global Snow looks for the objects on excluded layers when it starts and when the Coverage settings change, not every frame. The Global Snow Ignore Coverage component reads the renderers of its object and its children when it is enabled.
Solution	After you instantiate objects on a layer outside the Layer Mask, call GlobalSnow.instance.RefreshExcludedObjects(performFullSceneScan: true). It scans the whole scene, so call it once after creating a group of objects, not every frame. A prefab that has Global Snow Ignore Coverage needs nothing: the component takes the snow off the object and its children when the object is created. After you add child objects to an object that has Global Snow Ignore Coverage, disable and enable the component so it reads its children again. See Exclude Characters, Props and Effects for the full setup.

Snow, rain or puddles appear under roofs

Symptom	Surfaces under a roof get snow, get wet or show puddles.
Cause	The roof is not in the top-down coverage capture, or Snow Wetness makes the snow look wet everywhere.
Solution	Check that Use Zenithal Coverage is on. Without it, nothing blocks the snow or the rain. Check that the layer of the roof is in the Zenithal Mask. If the roof is a single sided mesh, set Cull Mode to Both Faces. If the roof has Global Snow Ignore Coverage, enable Block Snow/Rain on it. Check Snow Wetness in the Rain & Wetness foldout: it applies everywhere, also under cover. Turn on Show Coverage Depth in the Coverage foldout to see what the capture contains. See Remove Snow Under Roofs and Inside Buildings for the full setup, and Remove Snow Under Vehicles and Furniture for a car or a cabin.

A little snow gets into rooms with thin walls

Symptom	Some snow shows on the floor of a room or under a low roof, along very thin walls.
Cause	The snow reaches the foot of walls and goes slightly under them. Behind walls thinner than one coverage texel (0.5 m at Best with Coverage Extension 1), it can reach the floor of the room.
Solution	Raise Coverage Margin under Use Zenithal Coverage. About 0.7 m keeps the snow out of rooms with paper-thin walls under a low roof, but it also leaves a bare strip at the foot of thick walls. Raise Coverage Quality for smaller coverage texels. At Coverage Extension 1, Best and Medium allow up to 2, so use Performance Level Custom for a higher value. See Remove Snow Under Roofs and Inside Buildings for the full setup.

Objects buried in the snow show through it

Symptom	Parts of objects buried in the Snow Accumulation, such as the wheels of a parked car, show as dark shapes on the snow.
Cause	Screen Space Ambient Occlusion runs before Global Snow, so it shades the buried objects as if they were uncovered.
Solution	Move Global Snow above Screen Space Ambient Occlusion in the Renderer Features list of your Universal Renderer. The Global Snow inspector shows an error with a Move Global Snow Above SSAO button that does it for you.

A road or ground object is buried by the terrain snow

Symptom	A road, path or pavement that rests on the terrain is covered by the Snow Accumulation of the terrain, even if it is not in the Receivers.
Cause	The object lies a few centimeters over the terrain, so the snow accumulation of the terrain, as deep as Thickness, covers it.
Solution	To keep it clear, select it in the Object Snower of the Mask Editor and press Clear Snow with Opacity 1. Make sure World Size and World Center of the Coverage Mask cover it. See Remove Snow from Roads and Areas. To give it its own snow, add it to the Receivers. For a small object above the ground, such as a car, see Remove Snow Under Vehicles and Furniture.

Coverage flickering or popping

Symptom	The snow coverage visibly pops or flickers as the camera moves.
Cause	The Coverage Extension is too small for the scene, or the Discrete update captures the coverage again after a large move.
Solution	Increase Coverage Extension to cover a larger area around the camera. Switch Coverage Update to Every Frame to remove the jumps of the Discrete updates. Increase Coverage Quality for smoother transitions.

Footprints do not appear

Symptom	Characters or the first person camera leave no footprints.
Cause	Footprints are off, the character has no Global Snow Interaction component or it is disabled, or the feet are not found.
Solution	Enable Footprints > Enabled in the Footprints & Marks foldout. Add Global Snow Interaction to the root of the character and keep it enabled. On non humanoid rigs, click Detect Feet to find the bones named foot, paw or hoof (IK helper bones are skipped), or assign the foot bones by hand. For a first person camera, set First Person > Mode to Character Controller or Ray Cast and check the ground distance. Check that Coverage Update is not set to Disabled. See Add Footprints and Deep Marks for the full setup.

Deep Marks do not appear

Symptom	Deep Marks are enabled but objects do not dig into the snow.
Cause	There is no snow accumulation, Snow is at 0, the game is not in Play mode, or nothing registers the object as a source.
Solution	Turn on Snow Accumulation in Snow Appearance with a Thickness above 0, and add the ground to its Receivers (Add Terrains for terrains). Without it, the inspector shows a warning under Deep Marks. Use a Performance Level other than Fastest, which turns off the Snow Accumulation. Set Snow above 0. The marks are cleared when Snow or the Thickness reaches 0. Enter Play mode. Deep Marks do not work in Edit mode. For characters, vehicles and physics objects, add Global Snow Interaction. Nothing is needed on the ground. For anything else, call AddContactSource(). Look within about 34 m of the camera. Deep Marks fade out between 30 and 38 m, and farther away objects leave Collision Marks when those are enabled. See Deep Marks in Snow for the full setup.

The Snow Accumulation does not show on an object

Symptom	A terrain, road or roof gets snow on its surface but no Snow Accumulation, so nothing is buried in it and Deep Marks do not dig it.
Cause	The object is not in the Receivers, Performance Level is Fastest, its shader is not drawn in the deferred G-buffer, or its surface is steeper than the slope the accumulation stays on.
Solution	Turn on Snow Accumulation in Snow Appearance with a Thickness above 0, and use a Performance Level other than Fastest. Add the object to the Receivers: press Add Terrains for terrains, or drag it into the list of List Receivers. If its row shows a warning icon, its shader is not drawn in the deferred G-buffer, such as a forward only shader. Use a shader that is, such as URP Lit. For a steep roof, tick Slope on its row in the Receivers list and lower the value, so the accumulation stays on steeper surfaces. Turn on Show Receivers in Snow Accumulation: it tints in green the surfaces that carry the accumulation.

Deep Marks look coarse up close

Symptom	Seen from close, the Deep Marks show facets or steps instead of smooth walls.
Cause	The accumulation mesh on the terrain is not fine enough, or a terrain has a low Heightmap Resolution.
Solution	Raise Mesh Detail under Snow Accumulation in Snow Appearance. 0 keeps the terrain mesh, 0.5 gives triangles of about 20 pixels near the camera and 1 about 4 pixels. Higher values cost more GPU time. Performance Level limits it to 0.5 at Best and 0.25 at Medium and Fastest, so use Custom for higher values. Turn on Show Mesh under Mesh Detail to see the triangle edges. When a terrain is too coarse, a ? button next to Show Mesh explains why. Raise its Heightmap Resolution in the Terrain settings, and a lower Pixel Error keeps the finest detail near the camera. See Deep Marks in Snow for the Deep Marks setup.

No snow bursts when objects hit the snow

Symptom	Impact FX is on but no snow particles appear.
Cause	Impact FX only shows in Play mode, in view of the camera and within the Impact FX Distance (30 m by default), when Snow is above 0.5, and when the object hits snow, not standing water. Wet snow throws little powder. Only objects with Global Snow Interaction burst snow when they hit it, and a component with Impact FX off mutes it.
Solution	Raise the Snow slider above 0.5. The particles reach full strength at Snow 1. Lower Snow Wetness or Rain to get more powder. Check that Impact FX is on in the Common options of the Footprints & Marks foldout, and in the Global Snow Interaction component of the object. Objects without the component throw no snow when they hit it. From a script, call EmitImpactFX(). Check the Intensity of Impact FX and the Dig Depth of Collision Marks. With a Dig Depth below 0.03 m there are no snow bursts. For impacts far from the camera, raise the Distance under Impact FX. See Add Footprints and Deep Marks to set up Global Snow Interaction.

Snow Dust is not visible

Symptom	The Snow Dust slider is above 0 but no dust shows.
Cause	Snow Dust needs the camera depth texture, wind and snow.
Solution	Enable Depth Texture in your URP asset. The inspector shows an error with a button that selects the asset. Give it wind: set Speed above 0 in Snowfall, Dust & Wind, or assign a Wind Zone with Source set to Wind Zone. The dust shows fully from 1.5 m/s. Set Snow above 0. The inspector shows a note when the wind or the snow is missing. With Snow Accumulation on, the dust only rises from the snow on its Receivers. Add the ground where you want dust to the Receivers.

Empty Global Snow objects remain in the scene

Symptom	The scene contains empty objects named like GlobalSnowZenithCam, GlobalSnowfallVolume or GlobalRainVolume.
Cause	Global Snow creates helper objects while it runs. An error or an interrupted session can leave an empty one behind.
Solution	Disable and enable the Global Snow component, or open the scene again. Global Snow removes its leftover helpers each time it is enabled, disabled or destroyed, and the helpers are never saved with the scene.

Snow shows through lakes and the sea

Symptom	The shallow ground under the water looks snowy through the water surface, as a bright band along the shore.
Cause	Global Snow covers every opaque surface above Minimum Altitude, also the ground under a transparent water surface.
Solution	Set Minimum Altitude just above the water surface and Altitude Range between 1 and 2 m. The snow then starts in patches over the shore, with a strip of bare ground at the water's edge, as on real shores. See Set the Snow Altitude and Water Level.

Grain on the snow far from the world origin

Symptom	Seen from close, the snow shows a grain of small dark dots that is not there near the center of the scene.
Cause	A very large world. About 20 km or more from the world origin, positions lose precision and the glitter crystals of the snow, a few millimeters wide, turn into grain. Up to 5 km from the origin the snow looks the same as at the center.
Solution	Use a floating origin: move the world back toward the origin as the camera travels, as large worlds also need for physics and animation.

Performance is lower than expected

Symptom	The frame rate drops when Global Snow is active.
Cause	High coverage quality, every frame updates, running drops at full resolution, or effects that are on but not needed.
Solution	See the Performance Tips page for an optimization checklist.

Next Steps

• Performance Tips - optimization strategies.
• FAQ - common questions answered.