Shadows from TLK
by Ron Hasson · in Artist Corner · 02/03/2006 (2:10 am) · 2 replies
I'm using TGE 1.4 with TLK.
2 questions:
When I cast shadows from a dts to a dif, the shadows seem very faint and blury, like a very low resolution shadow map.
I experimented using the ../shapes/lightingPack/pipesupport.dts as the object to cast shadow from.
Dif is an interior I created from 3DWStudio and exported using map2dif_plus.exe
The same pipesupport.dts cast a nice and dark shadow on the TLP's dif (../interiors/lightingPack/demo4.dif)
Both using the same TLK light blocks.
What am I missing? How do I get nice dark shadows cast from .dts to dif?
Secondly:
In the TLK modellersGuide.pds, it says:
TLK Entities
TLK adds a new entity type to map2dif called sgLightingScaleEntity, which is a brush entity
(similar to the portal entity, it's applied to a brush) that changes the brush's light mapping
scale (how large or small its light maps are) and can add self-illumination to the brush.
Changing the lighting scale per-brush can place as much or as little lighting detail right where
it's needed. For instance, to place a highly detailed brush right where a shadow falls, or a
very low detail brush where no lighting is visible.
Can someone explain how to setup this sgLightingScaleEntity? Is it an entity I place in 3DWS or any map editor apps?
Thanks
2 questions:
When I cast shadows from a dts to a dif, the shadows seem very faint and blury, like a very low resolution shadow map.
I experimented using the ../shapes/lightingPack/pipesupport.dts as the object to cast shadow from.
Dif is an interior I created from 3DWStudio and exported using map2dif_plus.exe
The same pipesupport.dts cast a nice and dark shadow on the TLP's dif (../interiors/lightingPack/demo4.dif)
Both using the same TLK light blocks.
What am I missing? How do I get nice dark shadows cast from .dts to dif?
Secondly:
In the TLK modellersGuide.pds, it says:
TLK Entities
TLK adds a new entity type to map2dif called sgLightingScaleEntity, which is a brush entity
(similar to the portal entity, it's applied to a brush) that changes the brush's light mapping
scale (how large or small its light maps are) and can add self-illumination to the brush.
Changing the lighting scale per-brush can place as much or as little lighting detail right where
it's needed. For instance, to place a highly detailed brush right where a shadow falls, or a
very low detail brush where no lighting is visible.
Can someone explain how to setup this sgLightingScaleEntity? Is it an entity I place in 3DWS or any map editor apps?
Thanks
#2
Updated Map Exporter
Gives you access to the worldspawn properties in the Compile screen.
Matt
02/03/2006 (7:38 am)
I wrote this exporter for the map stuff in 3dws that includes all the worldspawn stuff if you haven't got it all ready.Updated Map Exporter
Gives you access to the worldspawn properties in the Compile screen.
Matt
Torque Owner John Kabus (BobTheCBuilder)
You need to increase the interior light map size to receive sharper shadows on the interior. This is adjusted in the map file's worldspawn entity by decreasing the value of the light_geometry_scale property (map2dif needs this value to be a power of two). I'm not sure if 3dws supports custom entities or not, but it should have a worldspawn entity or some type of global map settings.
If it does support custom entities then you can create a custom TLK sgLightingScaleEntity entity using the class name and properties found in TLK's Hammer entity file (located in 'tools/map2dif/torque.fgd'). For the specifics on how to create custom entities in 3dws, see the 3dws documentation.
Btw: TLK questions are answered much faster if posted in the TLK Private or Public forums, otherwise I might miss your posts.
-John