# Solution for translucent depth

**URL:** <https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/solution-for-translucent-depth/316782>\
**Category:** Asset Creation\
**Tags:** rendering-system, unreal-engine, question\
**Created:** [April 29, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/solution-for-translucent-depth/316782 "2015-04-29T00:48:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![KillerPenguin](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/killerpenguin/32/1005607_2.png) [@KillerPenguin](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/KillerPenguin)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/solution-for-translucent-depth/316782/1 "2015-04-29T00:48:14Z")

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As many of users would have known, Unreal4 has a serious issue when dealing with sorting order of any translucent materials. I understand how deferred rendering prevent Unreal from being able to render them correctly. However, there’s a solution to back culling and many people have been using it. So I was wondering why shouldn’t this be built into the Engine?

The current alternate solution is to create a shadow object that is render for its custom depth outside the main pass. Then using that custom depth, we can compare it to the pixel depth of the translucent material and do whatever we need to do.

Unreal can save users all this problem, only if you add another “render translucent depth” into the object (like custom depth.) and render it on its own pass and save us all the trouble of making another shadow object and all those jazz.

It’s a partial but a good solution to all this translucent business, so I hope Unreal really consider doing this in the next version.

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**Author:** ![Jason\_Chou](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Jason\_Chou](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Jason_Chou)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 7:08am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/solution-for-translucent-depth/316782/2 "2017-05-10T07:08:31Z")

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hi, I have a question for how to create a shadow object for custom depth?

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**Author:** ![GeoDraws](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/geodraws/32/979867_2.png) [@GeoDraws](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/GeoDraws)\
**Post date:** [March 7, 2022, 8:34am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/solution-for-translucent-depth/316782/3 "2022-03-07T08:34:15Z")

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I think OP means to duplicate the mesh and attach it back to the original mesh. Set the transform to 0 so it completely overlaps with the original transparent mesh. For the shadow mesh, deselect “Render in main pass” and check “Render custom depth pass”.