Genshin Impact Update 4.6 Seems to Have Made a Change Not Mentioned in the Patch Notes

gamerant.com:

Genshin Impact Version 4.6 appears to have made a change to the game's rendering system without being mentioned in the official patch notes. Following the update's release, Genshin Impact fans began to examine the differences in rendering between Version 4.6 and an update from exactly one year prior, Version 3.6.

Phase 1 of Genshin Impact Version 4.6 began on April 24 with new limited-time events and an event wish featuring Fatui Harbinger and five-star Pyro character Arlecchino. Players are also able to battle Arlecchino in a new weekly boss challenge, and her signature five-star polearm, Crimson Moon's Semblance, may be attained from the reprised Epitome Invocation event wish. Like all other updates, HoYoverse also fixed technical issues and other bugs that were affecting the game in Version 4.5. However, it appears that HoYoverse also quietly implemented a change to rendering that was not disclosed in the patch notes.

Reddit user Tawxif_iq noticed that many distant model renders were removed from the game with the release of Genshin Impact Version 4.6, and any mention of the change was omitted from the update's patch notes. After installing the update, players are now unable to see renders of significant landmarks or points of interest from other regions, as it appears that HoYoverse is attempting to emphasize the distance between regions. Tawxif_iq demonstrated the change in distant model rendering by showing before and after screenshots from Genshin Impact's Version 3.6 and Version 4.6 updates. In Version 3.6, players were able to see Inazuma's islands and Liyue's major landmarks from Sumeru. This is not possible anymore in Version 4.6, as Inazuma and Liyue aren't directly visible from the same viewpoints in Sumeru.

Many fans welcome the change, since it debunks one of the Genshin Impact community's theories about Teyvat and adds more realism to the game's world. The community appears to agree that the change will make Teyvat feel like a large world and