# Why is this translucent material not opaque, if opacity = 1? **URL:** \ **Category:** Rendering\ **Tags:** translucent, opacity, unreal-engine, question\ **Created:** [June 22, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542 "2014-06-22T23:54:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ixiguis](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Ixiguis](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Ixiguis)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/1 "2014-06-22T23:54:08Z")
![8949-untitled.jpg](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/5/c/1/5c17c429b4286e9422ae5fe4477a171598385523.jpeg) I can still see behind it, even though it should be fully opaque (Opacity == 1). Why? I am trying to create a material that is partly opaque and partly translucent (opacity controlled by a texture). But it’s never fully opaque. ---
**Author:** ![Lovecraft\_K](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Lovecraft\_K](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Lovecraft_K)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/2 "2014-06-23T18:24:14Z")
Hi lxiguis - This is because of our new deferred rendering which does have some limitations in regards to translucency. Feel free to check out the documentation [**here**](https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Rendering/LightingAndShadows/LitTranslucency/index.html) for a more concise answer. Thank You Eric Ketchum ---
**Author:** ![Ixiguis](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Ixiguis](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Ixiguis)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/3 "2014-06-23T18:34:18Z")
Thanks for the info. Is it possible then to create metallic, mirror-like reflections on translucent materials? Whenever I set Metallic to 1, the translucent material becomes black and non reflective. If not, I think perhaps using a static cube map would work. But using the scene’s reflection captures would be best. ---
**Author:** ![Ghar](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Ghar](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Ghar)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/4 "2014-07-01T15:09:02Z")
did you manage to solve this? I’m trying to make a wall fade out/fade in changing the opacity of its materials over a period of time, but when the opacity is 1 I can see other translucent materials through the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Ixiguis](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Ixiguis](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Ixiguis)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/5 "2014-07-01T21:53:39Z")
Nope. Eric said it’s currently impossible, I just didn’t check “answered” yet because I’ve that question about metallic reflections in translucent materials. ---
**Author:** ![Ixiguis](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Ixiguis](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Ixiguis)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/6 "2014-09-20T22:38:21Z")
Found a workaround to this problem. Use the masked blend mode and use a DitherTemporalAA node to control opacity. The level AdvancedMaterials (or something like that) in the ContentExamples has an example of this. ---
**Author:** ![abhishek17](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@abhishek17](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/abhishek17)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/7 "2014-09-22T21:30:55Z")
Use the mapped blend option. ![16038-opacitysolution.jpg](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/1/8/8/188bbeddfd9db1537aa23a5462404bd490bf3a4f.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Ixiguis](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Ixiguis](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Ixiguis)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/8 "2014-09-22T21:39:03Z")
That’s for a masked material (parts are opaque, parts are invisible). I wanted a transparent (translucent) material. Anyway, dithered opacity solved my problem. pasting the solution for reference: The level AdvancedMaterials (or something like that) in the ContentExamples has an example of this. ---
**Author:** ![kefces\_studio](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@kefces\_studio](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/kefces_studio)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/why-is-this-translucent-material-not-opaque-if-opacity-1/286542/9 "2022-02-02T16:14:22Z")
Genius thx 🙏