How can I change audio overlay colors and fade in/out feat.?

In Cubase 8 I’m having an extremely difficult time seeing audio layered on top of each other. In Cubase 4, there would be a solid dark gray layer underneath the top audio clip. Now in ver. 8 there are these very light colored diagonal slashes that run on top of the overlaying audio paths (WHICH IS EXTREMELY HARD TO SEE!!)

Also, ver. 8 has a hover feature now where if you use the fade in/out tabs at the end of each audio clip, it will disappear when the mouse isn’t hovering over that clip…maybe even happens too with crossfades. HOW DO I TURN OFF THAT FEATURE? It’s MUCH more easier to see what I’ve already edited and faded if it just stays locked on the clip

I tried looking in preferences to change all these features, but have possibly missed or didn’t see them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated