shade_direction_override values "north"/"south" and "east"/"west" duplicate each other

26.3 removed the ability to specify “shade”: false in model files, and instead adds shade_direction_override, which causes the entire element to be shaded as though it were a single face pointing in that direction. However, at least two of these are redundant, “north” and “south” produce the exact same visual result, as do “east” and “west”. Despite there being six valid options, there are only four distinct visual outcomes.

To reproduce, download and apply the attached resource pack - it changes the models of red, green, blue, cyan, magenta and yellow wool blocks to use a cube with each of the six direction overrides. You will see that while green and magenta are starkly distinct from each other, blue and yellow match, as do red and green.

To fix: it may be worth doing away with this “direction override” system entirely, and instead simply specify shade as a value from 0.0 (black) to 1.0 (white), as was done in 1.8 up to 14w25a (see also MC-277771). If unspecified, default values would be selected. Alternatively, for even more customization, each face/element could have an RGB colour specified, so you’re not just restricted to greys, but this seems less likely.