Outdoor lighting
by Chris Labombard · in · 03/23/2005 (5:08 am) · 9 replies
I have looked at the screenshots to see what effects the pack has on outdoor scenes. The indoor scenes look greatly improved, but the outdoor ones don't look like they were improved at all. I would be much more willing to buy the pack if I knew what kind of effects it would have. Does anyone have a before and after shot? or a list of what it actually does for dts objects and terrain?
About the author
I have been a professional game programmer for over 5 years now. I've worked on virtually every platform, dozens of games and released a few of my own games, including 2 iPhone titles and a title waiting release on Big Fish Games.
#2
03/23/2005 (8:38 am)
Which is, excellent work John :)
#4
03/23/2005 (9:14 am)
By the way, for people who don't know; Xavier is old school - he was one on the first Lighting Pack licensees (way back in the day :), and helped a lot with beta testing (thanks man!).
#5
What about non-static dts objects, like players? Do they get shadowed dynamically (there features I mean, not the shadow they cast)?
Does it only make a difference if you use the new light objects? or does it just plain improve the existing lighting, like terrain lightmaps?
03/23/2005 (10:08 am)
Does it only cast the shadow from the collision box? Wouldn't it be difficult to get the non-trunk portions of a tree to cast a shadow properly, since you generally only include a colision box for the trunk?What about non-static dts objects, like players? Do they get shadowed dynamically (there features I mean, not the shadow they cast)?
Does it only make a difference if you use the new light objects? or does it just plain improve the existing lighting, like terrain lightmaps?
#6
Yes, the lighting calculations use the collision boxes to determine the static DTS object's shadow. Using the collision boxes is significantly faster allowing for very rapid scene relights.
"Wouldn't it be difficult to get the non-trunk portions of a tree to cast a shadow properly, since you generally only include a colision box for the trunk?"
Not at all, the terrain and default interior light maps are often not detailed enough to show every detail of the object, so generally I just create a large convex collision object to contain all the leaves (try to keep the face count low, this keeps the lighting calculations as fast as possible).
"What about non-static dts objects, like players? Do they get shadowed dynamically (there features I mean, not the shadow they cast)?"
Dynamic DTS objects won't self shadow in the Lighting Pack for TGE, but they will have updated dynamic shadows that are more aware of the environment's lighting like this.
"Does it only make a difference if you use the new light objects? or does it just plain improve the existing lighting, like terrain lightmaps?"
The Lighting Pack was designed to compliment all existing content and missions (this includes all lighting, even pre-existing TGE lighting) as well as new content. You may find it necessary to tweak your mission lighting a bit when using the Lighting Pack depending on how dark or light you prefer your missions to be, because the Lighting Pack's lighting models, which are a vast improvement over TGE's, provide a brighter and more intense result.
03/23/2005 (10:51 am)
"Does it only cast the shadow from the collision box?"Yes, the lighting calculations use the collision boxes to determine the static DTS object's shadow. Using the collision boxes is significantly faster allowing for very rapid scene relights.
"Wouldn't it be difficult to get the non-trunk portions of a tree to cast a shadow properly, since you generally only include a colision box for the trunk?"
Not at all, the terrain and default interior light maps are often not detailed enough to show every detail of the object, so generally I just create a large convex collision object to contain all the leaves (try to keep the face count low, this keeps the lighting calculations as fast as possible).
"What about non-static dts objects, like players? Do they get shadowed dynamically (there features I mean, not the shadow they cast)?"
Dynamic DTS objects won't self shadow in the Lighting Pack for TGE, but they will have updated dynamic shadows that are more aware of the environment's lighting like this.
"Does it only make a difference if you use the new light objects? or does it just plain improve the existing lighting, like terrain lightmaps?"
The Lighting Pack was designed to compliment all existing content and missions (this includes all lighting, even pre-existing TGE lighting) as well as new content. You may find it necessary to tweak your mission lighting a bit when using the Lighting Pack depending on how dark or light you prefer your missions to be, because the Lighting Pack's lighting models, which are a vast improvement over TGE's, provide a brighter and more intense result.
#7
As far as I can see, actually the lighting pack (I'm a licensee) does not implement that feature; do you have any ETA on releasing the dynamic shadowing mod ?
A second point, I was wondering if it will be possible to have shadows casted trought textures that use alpha maps for transparencies (i.e. leaves on a tree). Is it actually possible or do you think that this detail will be lost in the terrain lighting map ?
04/09/2005 (5:23 pm)
@John, I've seen the amazing difference using dynamic shadows :)As far as I can see, actually the lighting pack (I'm a licensee) does not implement that feature; do you have any ETA on releasing the dynamic shadowing mod ?
A second point, I was wondering if it will be possible to have shadows casted trought textures that use alpha maps for transparencies (i.e. leaves on a tree). Is it actually possible or do you think that this detail will be lost in the terrain lighting map ?
#8
The next release has a lot of new features, which all need to be tested and tuned, so it will be a while.
Not only would the detail be lost in the terrain light map, but the static shadows are based on the collision mesh, so you can't determine the texture because the actual leaves (the meshes) aren't being used for lighting. If you're referring to the dynamic shadows (which use the actual mesh to 'render' the projection shadow) I think the alpha is taken into consideration when calculating the shadow.
Let me know if this helps!
-John
04/09/2005 (9:48 pm)
Hi Stefano,The next release has a lot of new features, which all need to be tested and tuned, so it will be a while.
Not only would the detail be lost in the terrain light map, but the static shadows are based on the collision mesh, so you can't determine the texture because the actual leaves (the meshes) aren't being used for lighting. If you're referring to the dynamic shadows (which use the actual mesh to 'render' the projection shadow) I think the alpha is taken into consideration when calculating the shadow.
Let me know if this helps!
-John
#9
thanks for the quick reply.
In effect my post was not so clear; I was referring to the actual shadows when I asked the alpha map thing.
Glad to see that you will take it in cosideration: since now your work has been amazing so I can't wait to see the next release of the lighting pack !!
Thanks again John.
04/10/2005 (2:48 am)
Hi John, thanks for the quick reply.
In effect my post was not so clear; I was referring to the actual shadows when I asked the alpha map thing.
Glad to see that you will take it in cosideration: since now your work has been amazing so I can't wait to see the next release of the lighting pack !!
Thanks again John.
Torque Owner John Kabus (BobTheCBuilder)
There are a ton of changes that effect both indoor and outdoor scenes. The biggest changes are static DTS objects casting shadows on the terrain (make sure the DTS objects are large and have collision boxes), and the large number of static DTS object lighting options that allow you to perfectly blend DTS objects into any scene even self-illuminating objects.
The Lighting Pack light objects work in both indoor and outdoor scenes, these allow you to add static lighting to interiors, the terrain, and illuminate DTS objects like this:
-John