Fix Color Banding or Uneven Lighting Artifacts

Identifying Color Banding

Color banding appears as visible stripes or bands of solid color instead of smooth gradients, especially in skies or large flat surfaces. This can occur when the shader's color grading is too aggressive or when your system's color depth is limited.

Shader-Side Solutions

Open your shader configuration and look for dithering or color smoothing options. Enabling dithering adds subtle noise that breaks up banding. If available, increase color precision or reduce color grading intensity slightly. Some shaders offer separate sky and terrain color controls—adjust these independently to isolate the problem.

Display Settings

Ensure your graphics driver is up to date, as outdated drivers can cause color banding. In your video settings, confirm you're using the highest available color depth (32-bit rather than 16-bit). If your monitor has color settings, ensure it's not in a reduced color mode.

Testing Changes

After adjusting, look at large sky areas and flat terrain surfaces. Banding should appear softer or disappear entirely. If problems persist, try lowering overall shader quality to reduce processing artifacts.