Lighting demonstration

Plaguebearer

<div class="IPBDescription">Light_spot and additives in action</div>First, there's the basic hall, with some textures with lights built into them along the bottom.  I've given that texture a 100 125 255 100 radiosity level, so it emits a pretty blue light.  

<img src="http://pwp.clearsource.net/sloyd/_lights/image2.gif" border="0">

Problem being, the whole texture fullbrights when you have it radiate light.  Oh, bummer.

Looks pretty bland, too, doesn't it?

<img src="http://pwp.clearsource.net/sloyd/_lights/halflife01.gif" border="0">

Same hallway, but with LIGHT_SPOT entities added.  In front of every light, I've added a LIGHT_SPOT with inner cone 20, outer cone 33, pitch -20, and the same light colour and intensity of the light texture.

Angling the light slightly down helps limit the spread of the light, as I'm mostly shooting for the effect of the light spread across the floor, not to actually add more illumination to the hallway.

In retrospect, I probably should have made two spotlights in front of each of the light textures, because the little light bar on there is so wide.  Anyway...

<img src="http://pwp.clearsource.net/sloyd/_lights/halflife02.gif" border="0">

Same hall, only I've switched off the radiosity of the texture on the wall completely, and added a FUNC_ILLUSIONARY right in front of it, 1 unit thick, and on the front of the illusionary I placed a texture which is, basically, the exact same texture as the one with the light bar in it, only it's all black save for the actual light itself, and a little bit of glowiness.

<img src="http://pwp.clearsource.net/sloyd/_lights/image3.gif" border="0">

This FUNC_ILLUSIONARY I then gave the attributes of ADDITIVE render type, and 255 for the effect amount.  Probably should have used less, but for the purposes of a demonstration, it works.

After that, I put this <i>new</i> texture in the .rad file, and gave <i>it</i> the 100 125 255 100 radiosity setting.

So, instead of the wall texture emitting the light, we have the illusionary in front of it doing so; the rendering properties (additive) of the illusionary brush are what actually brightens the light bar and the halo around it on the wall.

<img src="http://pwp.clearsource.net/sloyd/_lights/halflife03.gif" border="0">

Same hall, again, only with white lights in the ceiling, with the same additive-illusionary-brush effect in front of them, and spotlights as well (still 20/33 cones, -90 pitch, but only 50 or so brightness). The contrast of the white light against the blue helps make the lit areas along the hall feel brighter without actually brightening them much.

<img src="http://pwp.clearsource.net/sloyd/_lights/halflife04.gif" border="0">

And finally, switching some of the lights off.  Because the light is being generated by the illusionary additive brushes and the light_spot ents, randomly deleting a brush and it's corrosponding light_spot gives the effect that the light isn't switched on (is broken, whatever), varying the pools of light down the hall.

<img src="http://pwp.clearsource.net/sloyd/_lights/halflife05.gif" border="0">

This is what I mean every time someone asks what their hall needs, and I say 'light_spot'.   With the alternating bands of bright light and much darker shadow, the light/dark/light/dark effect you can get looking at someone (something?  <!--emo&:bob:--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/bob.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':bob:'><!--endemo--> ) barrelling down that hall can be pretty nice.

Redford

It doesn't seem quite right to me.... why would the creators of a spaceship randomly decide to have lights that over-illuminate half the floor, while the other half is in pitchy blackness?  Execellent dramatic lighting, but I doubt any engineer in their right mind would create somthing like that on the grounds that it "looks cool, like a sci-fi movie".

Redford
Common NS newbie mistakes #37
<!--emo&:pudgy:--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/pudgy.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':pudgy:'><!--endemo-->  <!--emo&:siege:--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/siege.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':siege:'><!--endemo-->  "I shall moon the sentry while it is not looking! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!11"

Plaguebearer

I never said this was for realism.  It's for NS.  NS != realism.

Moleculor

The middle left hand light should be a different texture, since its 'switched off', and the halo should be cut from the ILLUSIONARY texture, as it looks not right. Only the actual blue part should be glowing.

Plaguebearer

The middle left is still on, M.  The overhead left is what's off.

BIGman10in

Is the lighting in this hall any good?

<img src="http://www.hangar16.com/Images/potd/WC2-006.jpg" border="0">

realityisdead

<!--QuoteBegin--Redford+July 03 2002,14:33--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td><b>Quote</b> (Redford @ July 03 2002,14:33)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"><!--QuoteEBegin-->It doesn't seem quite right to me.... why would the creators of a spaceship randomly decide to have lights that over-illuminate half the floor, while the other half is in pitchy blackness?  Execellent dramatic lighting, but I doubt any engineer in their right mind would create somthing like that on the grounds that it "looks cool, like a sci-fi movie". <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

You're absolutely right. But you know what? We aren't building spaceships here! We are building LEVELS that are supposed to be very dramatic and atmoshperic. If someone were to sacrifice atmosphere and drama for the sake of keeping things utterly realistic and true-to-life in an NS level, he ought to be shot. Especially concerning the " engineers wouldn't design something that looks cool, like a sci-fi movie" comment. NS is all about a movie like atmoshpere. You know what, not only should a level designer that kills atmoshpere for the sake of 100% realism be shot... the player that would actually WANT a boring, drab, plain, (and usually full bright) ultra true-to-life atmoshpere to play a game in... should have even harsher treatment.

Great demonstration PB. <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo-->



<!--EDIT|ken20banks|July 03 2002,21:30-->

UnCritical

Im not too sure about the light_spot, the light on the texture is pretty long (abpout a foot) but the spot light makes it look as tho rays of light are only coming from the middle on the light.
It should be wider instead of starting froma point...if you know what i mean.

Bah! i suck at explaining things <!--emo&:(--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('><!--endemo-->

Plaguebearer

I do make mention of that in the descriptions - that I should've used two light_spots each, to give the illusion of a wider origin point.

That, combined with precise angle work, could combine for perfection, but was beyond the scope of this demonstration, which was something I knocked out in a couple minutes while hanging out in IRC.

Killtoy

Looks very good PB! I'm sure some of the newer mappers can learn a few things from this tutorial to really help them along in the look of their project.

realityisdead

Yes. I can't stress enough how helpful stuff like this can be to mappers who are unfamiliar with the NS world and environment. Again, gret job... glad you took the time to write it up. A very nice demonstration.