# Soft transparent shadows not working for materials without textures

**URL:** <https://forum.babylonjs.com/t/soft-transparent-shadows-not-working-for-materials-without-textures/15681>\
**Category:** Bugs\
**Created:** [November 13, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://forum.babylonjs.com/t/soft-transparent-shadows-not-working-for-materials-without-textures/15681 "2020-11-13T19:03:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kesshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@Kesshi](https://forum.babylonjs.com/u/Kesshi)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://forum.babylonjs.com/t/soft-transparent-shadows-not-working-for-materials-without-textures/15681/1 "2020-11-13T19:03:06Z")

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See this PG: [Babylon.js Playground](https://playground.babylonjs.com/#UDSA5W)  
The material of the cube does not have a texture. I just used the `alpha` property of the material.  
I would expect to get a light grey shadow (with dithering). Is this a known limitation? Is a diffuse/opacity texture required?

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**Author:** ![Deltakosh](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex024/user_avatar/forum.babylonjs.com/deltakosh/32/26635_2.png) [@Deltakosh](https://forum.babylonjs.com/u/Deltakosh)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://forum.babylonjs.com/t/soft-transparent-shadows-not-working-for-materials-without-textures/15681/2 "2020-11-13T19:10:19Z")

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pinging @Evgeni_Popov

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**Author:** ![Evgeni\_Popov](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex024/user_avatar/forum.babylonjs.com/evgeni_popov/32/4432_2.png) [@Evgeni\_Popov](https://forum.babylonjs.com/u/Evgeni_Popov)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://forum.babylonjs.com/t/soft-transparent-shadows-not-working-for-materials-without-textures/15681/3 "2020-11-13T19:37:11Z")

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In fact the global alpha value is taken from `mesh.visibility`:

[https://playground.babylonjs.com/#UDSA5W#1](https://playground.babylonjs.com/#UDSA5W#1)

I think the global alpha should really be `mesh.visibility` \* `material.alpha`, going to make a PR.

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**Author:** ![Evgeni\_Popov](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex024/user_avatar/forum.babylonjs.com/evgeni_popov/32/4432_2.png) [@Evgeni\_Popov](https://forum.babylonjs.com/u/Evgeni_Popov)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://forum.babylonjs.com/t/soft-transparent-shadows-not-working-for-materials-without-textures/15681/4 "2020-11-13T19:58:49Z")

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PR:

> <https://github.com/BabylonJS/Babylon.js/pull/9405>