Lighting

Kalopsia · August 2003

Just wanna find out if im doing it correctly, but first what is the best way to light a ns map if there is a best way. At the moment i currently use the lights.rad file but i see that it dosent light the whole area, do i just add a light entity into the middle to light it up more or is there something else i can do ?

Vyvn · August 2003

You should be using almost all texture lighting, and should avoid lighting rooms with entity lights. Just sticking an entity light in there is tacky, provides no source of light from a realistic standpoint, and just doesn't look as good.

There should be no reason why texture lights aren't fully lighting up the area. If this is the case, there could be a few problems...
- Make sure the textures that you're using to cast light are in fact in the lights.rad file. If they aren't, add them. If you don't know how, it's just <i>texturename R G B lightamount</i> on a new line.
- Make sure the light amount value (the last of the four numbers, following the texture name and the RGB value) is high enough. Anything over a few hundred should be more than enough light.
- Add more light sources in the room. Don't expect just one light fixture to do everything--add in several. Just make sure not to overdo it and place light textures in every corner, since that kills the shadow effect.
- Make sure there aren't any compile settings that would make RAD tone down the lighting.

Hope that helps..

Kalopsia · August 2003

ok kool, knew most of those but now i will try and not use entity lighting.
thanks

btw is 10000 max for the light amount

Nay · August 2003

10000 eek that must look bright

light_spots are pretty good to use, you can achieve some good effects with them

Erias · August 2003

I find lighting to be a bit of a sticky wicket myself, especially in NS where you need dramatic shadows, apt variations, proper placement and enough touches and tricks to keep it interesting. And especially in a HL mod, where lighting is compiled and rendered in a map akin to how a very young child with an oversized paintbrush might add light to a watercolor picture. A very young retarded child. With three only fingers on each hand.

I think I've made my point. No, wait. I've deviated from it.

Back on track... One problem I find with texture lighting is how the texture emitting the light gets so washed out. It looks really bad, expecially if the face is supposed to be part of a wall with a similar texture on it (you get a big white square, essentially.) Entity lights, on the other hand, do tend to make lighting look a little more realistic in some regards, but they're a more "messy" way of doing things and having only a single point to work with tends to limit the versatility of the lighting.

One way to overcome the texture lights being washed out is to make the emissive texture additive and placed overtop of the fixture or surface or what have you. However, this is also kind of "messy" and also increases the amount of brush-based entities in your map, and adds an extra wpoly to boot. This method does look pretty good though.

Another method that tends to work out is spotlights... they create good highlights and shadows if used properly (but sparingly, most of the time! Don't overuse them!) [edit] I see someone noted their usefulness. I also want to add that spotlights are very versatile because you can change the cone angles and the sharpness of the light! Toy with the settings! [/edit]

env_gamma and your compile settings also alter the outcome of your map's lighting.

Anyways, the reason I say it's a "sticky wicket" is because although I see the various factors involved, I'm yet to find a good formula... one mapping skill I am yet to hone to a level that satisfies me. I'd be very pleased if people shared their methods. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

Woo. Long post.

statusq · August 2003

Actually I use something like 5000-15000 light amount for my lighting. And in some places I use spotlights as already noted they are good when not overused.

Lighting

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