Shadows That Follow the Sun

The old shadows

In the original Metin2, shadows are simple dark blobs under characters. They don't change direction, they don't respond to the sun, and most of the world doesn't cast them at all. Trees, buildings, terrain features — they just sit there, shadowless, no matter how dramatic the lighting pretends to be.

It breaks the illusion. A sunset with golden light means nothing if the shadows still point straight down.

Shadows that belong to the world

Every shadow in the scene is now cast from the actual sun direction. Shadows stretch, shorten, and shift depending on where the light is. They're no longer a fake blob pasted under your feet — they're a real consequence of the geometry and the light.

This isn't limited to your character. Trees cast shadows through their canopy. Buildings block light on the streets behind them. The entire landscape participates.

It ties everything together

Shadows alone don't sell a scene. But they're the foundation. Once the world has proper shadows that respond to light direction, everything we build on top — weather, fog, time of day — will have something solid to land on.

What's next

Now that the world casts real shadows, we want the world to reflect itself. Rivers, lakes, puddles — water that actually mirrors what's around it. That's what we're working on next.