Troubleshooting

Most setup problems show up as red rows in the Quick Start window. Check it first.

Setup and rendering#

No fog at all#

KDAVolumetricFogFeature is missing from the URP renderer, URP runs in Compatibility Mode (the fog pass is Render Graph only), or Depth Texture is off on the URP asset. Quick Start reports all three. Also check that Volumetric Fog is enabled on the Cloud Module.

NullReferenceException the moment you press Play#

No camera is tagged MainCamera, so the sky dome follower has nothing to track. Tag your camera, or assign the camera on each FollowPlayer.

The sky is black or shows Unity's default sky#

Lighting > Environment > Skybox Material is not KDA_Skybox.

The scene is lit twice, or from an angle that does not match the sky#

A second directional light is active. Easy Weather owns its sun and moon. The Scene Setup section of Quick Start lists the other light with Disable, Delete and Select buttons.

The fog looks doubled or washed out#

Unity's built-in fog is on in the Lighting window.

Colors look flat and sunsets lose their gradient#

The project is in Gamma color space. The asset is authored for Linear.

No sky dome in the scene#

The Cloud Module builds the dome from its Skydome Prefab reference. Press Auto-Find Materials in Materials & Setup, or run Quick Start's setup.

The sun is the wrong light after setup#

A scene light was picked up instead of the system's own sun. Clear the Directional Light field on the Celestial Module and press Auto-Find References.

Time does not advance#

enableTimeProgression is off on the Time Module, autoUpdate is off on the manager, or daySpeed is very low. The prefab runs at 1 (real time).

Clouds#

Clouds do not appear after generating#

Check that Enable 3D Clouds is on and that the clouds are where you look: in Scene Area mode, Fit To Terrain sizes the area to your terrain. Coverage close to 0 also hides them.

Clouds are plain spheres#

The cloud mesh list is empty. Press Auto-Find Cloud Meshes in the 3D Clouds section, or run Quick Start's setup.

Gaps in the sky#

Coverage never creates clouds: the sky is what you generated. Raise Cloud Count and press Generate.

Switching Enable 3D Clouds off and on leaves no clouds#

Switching it off removes the clouds and switching it on does not rebuild them. Press Generate, or call InitializeVolumetrics() from code.

The 3D clouds vanish when a storm starts#

Hide Below Opacity is above 0. It is an optional performance cut; leave it at 0 for a clean fade.

Weather does not change the 3D clouds#

Weather Uses 2D Layer is off, the preset does not override cloud coverage, or its coverage is below the coverage the clouds were generated at. Weather thins the 3D clouds and covers the sky with the 2D layer; it does not add clouds.

Cloud shadows#

Clouds cast no shadow on the ground#

Enable Cloud Shadows is off, Light Cookies is off on the URP asset, the sun is below Fade Below Sun Angle, or no layer is casting (3D clouds off or thinned out by a storm, 2D layer off). The status line under Cloud Shadows names the reason.

Cloud shadows look blocky or end in a hard line#

The range is too large for the mask resolution, or Softness is 0. Raise Mask Resolution or lower the range. Outside the shadow area the ground is lit evenly.

My own cookie on the sun light is gone#

Cloud shadows own the sun light's cookie while they are on and give yours back when they are switched off. Both cannot be used at once.

My custom shader ignores the cloud shadows#

It reads the main light without the cookie. See Cloud shadows.

Sky, sun and lighting#

The sun burns through an overcast storm#

Dimmed By Clouds is off on the Celestial Module, or the preset's coverage is below Starts At Coverage. With the 2D layer off the dimming is skipped on purpose.

A low sun disappears in the fog at sunrise or sunset#

Raise Horizon Boost on the Celestial Module and Sun Punch-Through in the volumetric fog's Sky and Horizon settings. Cloud cover closes the clearing again, so an overcast dusk stays foggy.

Changing star or aurora values from code does nothing#

The Detail Module only pushes to the skybox while a curve is on. Call UpdateShaders() after writing a field, or use SetStarsIntensity and EnableAurora. Also check that it is night: stars, galaxy and aurora fade out in daylight.

Sky colors set from code snap back#

The zenith and horizon gradients are on and recompute the color every frame. Switch the row to a fixed color, or hand the values over with SetWeatherOverrideActive(true) while you drive them.

Reflections on glossy materials show the sun in the wrong place#

Unity's reflection probe for the sky is captured once and does not follow the moving sun. The demo water reads the sky from the Celestial Module's globals instead. For other materials, refresh the environment lighting from your own code (for example DynamicGI.UpdateEnvironment() on a timer) if it matters.

Weather#

Weather never starts by itself#

Automatic Weather is off, it is still the first day (Skip First Day), Clear Weather Chance is high, or every preset has a probability of 0. Weather also runs in Play Mode only.

Weather darkens the sky but the ground stays lit#

The Celestial override only recolors the sky. Tick the Light override (sun intensity, color, shadow strength) and the Ambient override (Trilight colors) on the preset.

A preset should change one value only#

Keep the group switch on and untick every other value in the group. Unticked values are never written.

A preset's fog distance does nothing over water#

Water writes no depth, so the fog treats it as sky. Put the water on a Water Layer or set Water Level. See Fog.

Rain or snow is left behind when running#

The emitter's FollowPlayer has Velocity Lead at 0 or a very small Max Lead Distance.

Lens flare#

The lens flare never dims behind objects#

LensFlareDepthOcclusionFeature is missing from the renderer, its Shader field is empty, Depth Texture is off, or URP is in Compatibility Mode. The Scene view never shows occlusion; test in the Game view.

The lens flare brightness snaps back every frame#

Something else writes lensFlare.intensity. LensFlareSmoothOcclusion owns that value; drive its MaxIntensity instead.