Peeling Grounds and Sanded Wayfarer

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This article explains several terms/things. The primary term is peeling grounds, the others being:

Sand places
Sand appearance
Liquid Sand

The 3 terms mentionned above can all appear in Peeling Grounds. On PC they are affected by the dune settings you have in-game.

Peeling Grounds[]

Alternative Names: Clipping Terrain (or terrain clipping)

Definition: Places in OOB where the sand or snow surface becomes non-solid and permits one to slip "under the sand" (as if the ground itself was peeling off and allowed you to slip under it). Once the camera is inside peeling grounds, the sand or snow surface around you becomes invisible and you can see what is under.

Structures and environment can be seen under the surface of Peeling Grounds, which are obviously not visible when standing over solid sand and staring at your feet. Sometimes hidden things, possibly forgotten by the developpers, can be found as well (such as War Machine parts or buildings). They are also the place to visit to be sanded (or even sometimes disco on PC). This is shown in the galleries below.

Peeling Grounds come in all sizes. These places can be identified as follow:

Huge plains, also known as unsolid grounds, that exists on both the West and North side of every levels (Reminder: the mountain indicates the North). They are usually located under "hills without texture" / fake sand or snow. They are the main Peeling ground zones.
- Oftentimes the Northern peeling grounds are hidden beyond blackness, so you can't see them, except when a level is rather long on the South-North axis (PD, SC, UG, Paradise). Because of the invisible ground on top of them in many cases however, only the UG ones can be observed from inside, when visiting the 2 big plateaux far North that stick out of the invisible ground.
- The topography plays a mojor role in exploring these plains on the West side, as they don't really exist in OOBs with a flat sand surface, such as the Tower level (you can't walk under the sand when far West there).

BB West Peeling Grounds seen from above (facing South-East)
Falling into BB West Peeling Grounds
Getting close to the West Peeling Ground entrance in Snow level (with liquid sandfalls appearing)
Inside BB Peeling Grounds (with 2 sanded wayfarers)
Stuck over the Northern peeling grounds because of the invisible floor on top of them, in Sunken City (North is left)

An edge of solid sand / end of terrain: Sharp line between sand and simply no-sand, when far OOB in any direction (mostly East or South because there are no peeling grounds there). You can slip under the sand more or less on such edges, depending on your location and on the level. Beyond them stretches invisible ground indefinitely. These edges often corresponds to super boost spots as well, depending on how well you can slip under.

South-East edge of solid sand in CS OOB, with a portal hidden under
Snow level: East edge of solid snow (Super Boost point)
South-East corner of UG end of terrain: sanded over the disco War Machines
SC, near the East edge of solid sand from the Sunset Plateau

It could be invisible holes inside a plain or a hill, where at one place you suddenly drop below the surface and can see what's under. They usually take you by surprise for a split second only (or you can stay there if the hole is big enough).These holes can take place under solid sand in OOB areas.

There are a few holes in Tower OOB but it seems hard to stay under the sand
There are many holes close to the North side of the wall surrounding the shrine in UG OOB (when climbing the East or West plateau)

When against very steep cliffs, by turning the camera around you can see a little what lies underneath the surface. Oftentimes the wayfarer will be half sanded against such cliffs.

Hidden stuff inside a plateau in UG, on the East side

It is rather easy to stumble into Peeling Grounds when exploring the OOBs and you probably will, even without searching for them, by exploring a little.

	Here are the main peeling ground locations for each level, in case you need some help to find them:
* Chapter Select: They exist everywhere on the West side of the level but at the knee level of the wayfarer mostly. By going more North you can actually find bigger dunes that will allow you to get completely into the peeling grounds (sand just above the head). Putting the camera inside the peeling grounds is easier on the North-West. Broken Bridge: The peeling grounds are huge on the North-West side, with lots of elongated hills on a East-West axis (the South-West part of the level is more flat, so no peeling ground plains there). Pink Desert: The whole West side of PD is a giant peeling ground location. Sunken City: The whole West part of the level is a giant peeling ground zone, when not too far North. Underground: There are some invisible holes or tiny hills under which you can slip on the East or West side of the terrain, but no real plains like in most other levels. To observe two big peeling ground zones you will have to go North of the shrine's tower and walk inside the top of the East and West plateau (See disco wayfarer page for more information). Tower: The Tower is a flat level in OOB and it seems there is no big peeling ground zone here. However you can glitch the place that would correspond to the West peeling ground entrance by using the screensaver button. When getting close to it you should see some liquid sand formations (see Liquid Sand / Liquid Snow below). Hitting the screensaver a few times can help you make these formations big enough to go under easily. Snow: Same as PD. It works better when not too much South though. Paradise: It seems hard to find big peeling ground zones and they can be hard to spot, though they exist on the West side, scattered here and there (maybe elsewhere too, like on the North side of the level).
	Spoilers end here.

It seems the peeling grounds are shorter on the West and North side of levels on PS3 compared to PS4 (the sandbanks extend less). The PS4 peeling grounds length should be compared to PS3/PC. PS3 sandbanks always extend less than on PC however, whatever the dune settings.

There has been observations of the disapearance of peeling grounds, North of the Underground level on PC for unknown reasons (possibly West too): they are replaced by invisible ground and look like the South or East parts of the map, without the possibility to become sanded.

Sand Appearance[]

Alternative Name: Sanded Appearance, Sanded Wayfarer, getting sanded...

Definition: A wayfarer has a sand appearance when they turn the color of the sand, or a color derived from it. Some say this color actually corresponds to the color of the surface particles that can be seen OOB (in starfield areas mostly), simply floating in the air.

In Peeling Grounds you can be "sanded" at many places. These special Peeling Ground areas are called Sand Places: for more information on how to find them, see sand places.

Video by nathanj on PC. Length: 0:25 minutes.

	Each level seem to have a specific color palette:
* CS: white-yellow, light brown BB: almost white, light to dark brown or red-brown, pink PD: lots of colors and variations such as pink, brown, purple, reddish, orange, yellow SC: brown, purple-red, dark-purple UG: dark blue, deep green. Dark on PS4 only (maybe PS3 too?) when very far North, at the end of the peeling grounds from the plateaux. Tower: light green, dark brown, light blue Snow: white, light to dark grey slightly blue Paradise: white to darker grey, (blue as well against the mountain's pillar supporting it)
	Spoilers end here.

Below are galleries showing different sanded colors you can get per level:

Chapter Select
Below Nick's location

Broken Bridge

Pink Desert

Sunken City

Underground
When sanded as far North as you can on PS4, you turn completely black (at the end of the plateau)

Tower

Snow

Paradise
This blue color happens when against the pillar supporting the final mountain. It can also happen more South of the Paradise level while facing this pillar along the North-South axis.

Useful knowledge[]

Using the screensaver in a Sand Place triggers the Sanded Wayfarer, if it doesn't work by itself (it usually works after moving for a while in a sandplace otherwise, if not immediately).

When sanded, the game seems to register you are actually surrounded by sand, and therefore makes the wayfarer have the same head animation as they would after crossing a sandfall. This usually leads to an endless head shaking every second or less, as long as you or your companion are sanded (see video above). It can hint you on whether your companion is sanded! Even if you can see your companion sanded on your screen, if they don't shake their head they are probably not on their side. However, when sit or faceplanted, a wayfarer stops shaking their head. Chirping a lot makes it stop too, for a brief moment.
- On PC this head shaking thing can also tell you if your companion has the same dune settings as you: if you can't get sanded with the screensaver when they shake their head near you, it probably means you can't be sanded in the same sand place as them (unless you change dune settings, more about this below in sand places). If the players have different dune settings, one might already have a sanded appearance and chirp wildly, while the other does not see anything special and chirps wildly, because they don't understand the enthusiasm. You can see both wayfarers sanded on your screen even though the other one doesn't.

When sanded on those platforms, your scarf goes wild. This means it fast oscillates around you (rather in a vertical circle than horizontal, see video above recorded on PC), though it won't hint you on your current companion's status (sanded or not). Note that it often makes you loose your scarf for the current level, after spending a while sanded (It will just be invisible, you can still fly after).

Additionnal information[]

When sanded, the wayfarer is a single color at a time, though this color is not static: lighting and shadows still apply to it, thus slightly changing the tone of the color. These colors depend on the surrounding fog tints and vary between levels, as well as within each level depending on the wayfarer's position along the Z axis mostly (South-North). Moving vertically (jumping, flying) doesn't make you change color at all.

The camera almost always needs to be inside the concerned sand place as well as the wayfarer to be sanded.

By turning the camera around or moving a little you can make a grainy texture appear and disappear on your robe sometimes (Is it random? ).

Sand Places[]

Peeling grounds under "solid sand" in UG, with a sanded appearance

Alternative Name: Texture Pits

Definition: Locations in peeling grounds where a wayfarer can be sanded (see sand appearance above).

Whenever you momentarily stumble into peeling grounds under solid sand, you should be able to turn sanded (see the last 3 galleries under the peeling ground headline above for examples). This also includes the peeling grounds slope entrance. Solid sand is basically the regular sand or snow on top of which you walk a little everywhere, both in-bounds and out of bounds.

However this is not always the case when inside the huge peeling ground plains of the West and North that take place over unsolid ground, where sand places are dispached following a similar pattern for every levels.

To find the sand places inside these plains you can simply walk into them until you "randomly" stumble over a sand place and turn sanded (maybe use the screensaver button regularly to check). But here is an explanation for those interrested otherwise:

The sand places extend infinitely from South to North inside the Western peeling ground plains (East-West for the northern peeling grounds, that take place in UG level). You will cross them all by walking to the West, starting from the peeling grounds entrance (very easy in BB or Snow level for example, where you can quickly locate the entrance with "liquid sand or snow", see below).

The sand place succession pattern is almost the same for the West and North peeling ground plains, and you can have a look at them in the gallery below that compares them (sand places drawn to scale on the cross sections). The two cross section segment pictures were taken in BB and UG for reference, with ultra dune settings.

3 cross section segment examples in West of BB, through peeling grounds
2 cross section segment examples in North of UG, through peeling grounds
Western and northern peeling grounds cross section comparison

There are small horizontal lines over the Western peeling grounds fake sand, that can help you spot the start and ending of some sand places.

The spoilers below explain what is drawn on the cross sections above

Sand place succession PC only (while going West or North)

* Peeling grounds entrance. 5 units wide only, against a slope. Often liquid sand there (West side only). Being sanded here works with any dune settings, because it is an edge of solid sand.

First gap space. 25 units wide, for West peeling grounds only. You can't be sanded there.
First Low/Ultra sand place. 27 units wide, for West peeling grounds only. When North of UG, this is where the peeling grounds entrance slope ends, and it corresponds to a gap zone.
Second gap space. 29 units wide. When North of UG, this is the continuity of the first gap zone mentionned just above (first gap zone North of UG = 56 units wide).
First Med/High sand place. 50 units wide.
Second Low/Ultra sand place. 80 units wide.
Third gap space. 84 units wide.
Second Med/High sand place. 156 units wide. In UG, the blackness arrives after 80 units only.

Low/ultra or med/high sand places refers to the dune settings for which you can be sanded in them. The size of each sand place was measured thanks to Paleologos, based on the game's coordinate system (the precision is approximate though: about + or - 2 units probably)

Spoilers end here.

Sand place succession PS3 or PS4 version (while going West or North)

* Peeling grounds entrance, first sand place 5 units wide only, against a slope. Often liquid sand there (West side only).

First gap space: 81 units for West peeling grounds, 56 units wide for North of UG. You can't be sanded there.
Second sand place. 50 units wide.
Second gap space. 164 units wide.
Third sand place. 156 units wide.

PS3 peeling grounds ends in the middle of the second sand place, so don't expect to visit the third sand place there! PS4 peeling grounds ends where exactly? Probably before the end of the second sand place? The size of each sand place was measured thanks to Paleologos, based on the game's coordinate system (the precision is approximate though: about + or - 2 units probably)

Spoilers end here.

As explained in Peeling grounds, the sandbanks can extend more or less on the West and North side of every levels depending on the platform you play on. This can lead to more, or larger sand places to explore on the most outer parts of each level OOB, for PS4(?) and PC.

Different kinds of sand places exist but only one type corresponds to the sand places from PS3 and PS4 (the ones active when using medium or high dune settings). PC players can have access to the second type too, by using low or ultra dune settings (remember you can change them anytime you want in-game). The sanded wayfarer will be the same in either sand place type.

Sanded feet in levels[]

When walking anywhere over solid sand or snow you can sometimes see your feet getting partially sanded (even in-bounds). This is more clear in some locations such as the entrance of the Underground level, because of the dark blue sanded color there, that is different from the color of the sand. The amount of Sanded Appearance differs, just a little at the toes or the edge of your robe when sitting usually.

For PC it doesn't seem to be dependant on the dune setting in-use, just like when entering a big peeling ground plain West or North, against the slope, because it corresponds to a "solid sand" limit. (unless you sit over unsolid ground in the West of tower level OOB for example, over the peeling grounds).

It seems whenever you manage to clip under solid sand, you can be sanded (sometimes simply dropshooting on the ground is enough to get partially sanded, and trigger a "wild scarf" for a brief moment).

Sanded feet in tower level OOB
Half-sanded while dropshooting in Tower OOB
Dark feet and scarf in UG entrance
Two wayfarers with sandy feet near Gary and Larry

Special Sand Places[]

On PC, when far enough North in a few levels you can be disco instead of sanded (rainbow colors). This happens mostly in the North side of UG OOB, where you can observe the disco wayfarer glitch, though it can be observed as well in PD OOB (North edge of the Western peeling grounds plain), and disco feet in SC (very hard to find a place for it). The color of the disco sanded appearance will change a lot while walking: bright green, yellow, pink etc.

In Sunken City, you can be sanded during the history lesson.

Liquid Sand / Liquid Snow[]

Main article: Liquid Sand

Alternative names: Liquid Sandfalls (probably depending on size of the effect).

Places in Western Peeling Ground plains entrance, where sand structures appear: Liquid Sand looks different, depending on the platform, but the places where it appears are the same.

It looks a bit like sandfalls in-bounds, but they are dynamic, see the main article. It usually looks like alternating holes and hills along the North-South axis (on PC at least).

They take place over a short slope (the West edge of solid sand), on top of which you can be sanded regardless of screensaver use, and dune settings on PC.

Although they can look intimidating (snow level mostly), they are absolutely harmless and you can go in safely.

You can play with the screensaver button to try and make them bigger (PC verified. other platforms?). This is useful in Tower level to manage to be sanded (because you can't really walk into the West peeling grounds otherwise). Even with this technique it can still be tricky to manage to put both the camera and wayfarer inside the liquid sands there.

Trivia[]

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Quotes[]

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References[]

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Journey Wiki

Peeling Grounds and Sanded Wayfarer

Contents

Peeling Grounds[]

Sand Appearance[]

Useful knowledge[]

Additionnal information[]

Sand Places[]

Sanded feet in levels[]

Special Sand Places[]

Liquid Sand / Liquid Snow[]

Trivia[]

Quotes[]

See also[]

References[]

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