Scatter3D marker flickering/clipping while rotating the plot

[tjnd89]

I'm noticing significant flicking/marker clipping while rotating a Scatter3D plot with the mouse.

The code below is a modified form of the example at https://plotly.com/python/3d-scatter-plots/. Note taht the opacity is set to 1.0. As I move around in the plot I see significant clipping/flickering of the markers, particularly when looking along the z-axis. If I change the opacity to 0.8 (like in the example) the flickering goes away. Any opacity other than 1.0 works fine. If you don't specify an opacity property the flickering is present (which is how I found this). I'm using plotly 5.11.0, viewing it in Chrome 107.0.5304.107.

import plotly.graph_objects as go
import numpy as np
import pandas as pd

# Helix equation
t = np.linspace(0, 20, 100)
x, y, z = np.cos(t), np.sin(t), t

z2 = pd.to_datetime('1 Jan 2022') + pd.to_timedelta(t, 'h')

fig = go.Figure(data=[go.Scatter3d(
    x=x,
    y=y,
    z=z2,
    mode='markers',
    marker=dict(
        size=12,
        color=z,                # set color to an array/list of desired values
        colorscale='Viridis',   # choose a colorscale
        opacity=1.0
    )
)])

# tight layout
fig.update_layout(margin=dict(l=0, r=0, b=0, t=0))
fig.show()

[AaronStiff]

@alexcjohnson I assume this is plotly.js related? Possibly related to #6369 ?

[alexcjohnson]

Definitely a plotly.js issue, and it goes away if you switch to numeric z data z=z rather than date z=z2. We have some other 3D date issues like #3306 but this looks different so I'll move it over.

[gvwilson]

Hi - we are trying to tidy up the stale issues and PRs in Plotly's public repositories so that we can focus on things that are still important to our community. Since this one has been sitting for several years, I'm going to close it; if it is still a concern, please add a comment letting us know what recent version of our software you've checked it with so that I can reopen it and add it to our backlog. Thanks for your help - @gvwilson

[tjnd89]

@gvwilson the problem still exists in plotly 5.19.0. It's quite evident as you move around and look down along the z-axis.

[gvwilson]

Thanks @tjnd89 - I'll reopen this and add it to our backlog, though it may be a while before someone can get to it :-(