Owner playtest #4 (2026-07-11): walking behind the pillar works (W6.1 occluders) and was called out as 'pretty neat', with the follow-up ask: make the obstruction partially transparent, as CRPGs do.
Painted plates cannot literally fade (the pillar is pixels inside one backdrop image). The canonical equivalent for pre-rendered backgrounds is the ACTOR SILHOUETTE: render a second pass of the actor with a flat tint (classic BG1/2 green outline; PoE2 uses similar), drawn only where the actor is occluded.
Proposed implementation (orchestrator design note):
- Occluder proxies (W6.1 RebuildOccluders) already write depth/stencil where painted props occlude.
- Add a per-actor silhouette pass: same mesh, flat-color unlit shader, ZTest Greater (or stencil-ref vs the occluder mask), rendered after the backdrop+occluders. Tint by faction (party parchment/blue, foe red), ~40-60% alpha.
- Toggleable (default ON in play); zero effect on beauty captures with no actor occluded.
- Acceptance: actor fully behind the crypt pillar shows a readable silhouette; no silhouette bleed when not occluded; combat rings unaffected.
Complements, not replaces, the occluder illusion. Queue after the PLAYER-ALIGNMENT P0 lane merges (same file region: CombatSurfaceClient/actor spawn path).
Owner playtest #4 (2026-07-11): walking behind the pillar works (W6.1 occluders) and was called out as 'pretty neat', with the follow-up ask: make the obstruction partially transparent, as CRPGs do.
Painted plates cannot literally fade (the pillar is pixels inside one backdrop image). The canonical equivalent for pre-rendered backgrounds is the ACTOR SILHOUETTE: render a second pass of the actor with a flat tint (classic BG1/2 green outline; PoE2 uses similar), drawn only where the actor is occluded.
Proposed implementation (orchestrator design note):
Complements, not replaces, the occluder illusion. Queue after the PLAYER-ALIGNMENT P0 lane merges (same file region: CombatSurfaceClient/actor spawn path).