Troubleshooting

If you hit something not listed here, check the Discord. The included DVSExampleMap is a known-good reference; if your level does not behave like it, diff your BP_DynamicVolumetricSky instance settings against that map.

Setup

The sky is blown out, fully black, or weirdly colored

You almost certainly skipped Quick Start step 1. There is still a default Directional Light, Sky Atmosphere, Exponential Height Fog, or BP_Sky_Sphere in the level. Delete them all.

The clock UI shows “0:0:0” forever

The widget could not find BP_DynamicVolumetricSky in the level. Make sure you actually placed the actor (Quick Start step 3) before adding the widget to the viewport.

Time and weather

Time is frozen

One of the following:

• Dynamic Time is off.
• Time Speed is 0.
• System Mode is Sequencer Mode, which intentionally pauses dynamic randomness.

Weather never changes

• Dynamic Weather is off.
• Weather Frequency is very low. Try a higher value to see variety on a shorter game-day.
• System Mode is on Sequencer Mode.

Multiplayer clients see different weather than the host

System Mode should be Multiplayer, not Single Player. Single-player mode runs the simulation locally on each client, so the clients drift apart almost immediately.

Clouds and atmosphere

No clouds visible

• Check Layer Bottom Altitude. Clouds may be sitting below your camera.
• Check Tracing Max Distance. If it is 0 the raymarcher draws nothing.
• Check Cloud Fly Option. The cheap sky-dome path needs the camera to be below cloud altitude to be visible.

No god-rays or light shafts despite high Sun Volumetric Scattering

Enable Volumetric Fog must be on. Every “Volumetric Scattering” parameter does nothing without it. See Fog and atmosphere.

Indoor lighting

Lights inside my building still look like daytime

You do not have a BP_DVSOcclusionComponent on the player. Either turn on Auto Add Occlusion on BP_DynamicVolumetricSky, or add the component manually to whatever pawn you want it on. Then tune Interior Threshold until the transition feels right. See Indoor occlusion.

Custom materials

My custom material does not get snow

• The material must have Use Material Attributes = true in the Details panel.
• The full material attribute bundle has to be routed through MF_Snow or MF_SnowandRain.
• Snow appears only on surfaces with an upward-facing normal. Vertical walls do not accumulate snow (this is correct behavior).

See Reactive materials for the full setup.

Cinematic rendering

Render Sequence button does nothing or errors out

One of the following:

• The Movie Render Queue plugin is not enabled.
• System Mode is not on Sequencer Mode.
• Sequence to Render or Level of Sequence are empty on BP_DVSMovieRenderQueue.

Step through the Cinematic workflow again.

My render does not match the editor preview

The sequencer is starting at a different Current Time or weather state than your editor preview. Pin those values on BP_DynamicVolumetricSky (turn off Dynamic Time and Dynamic Weather) before rendering for consistent output.

Where to get help

1. Re-read the Quick Start. Most issues are setup-related.
2. Inspect BP_DynamicVolumetricSky in your level. Every parameter has a tooltip, and read-only fields show you exactly what state the simulation thinks it is in.
3. Open the included DVSExampleMap and compare its BP_DynamicVolumetricSky instance settings against your own.
4. Drop into the Discord if you are still stuck.