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TravyB

How do you tackle lighting in your maps?

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Like it says, how do ya do it? I'm constantly finding myself struggling to find some kind of middle ground between what looks right in the software renderer vs. OpenGL, or being unsure whether something is too dark, or what settings people might use to know if that work even amounts to anything... it's a headache.  So I was curious how some of you guys and gals go about doing it. 

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I only worry about software, mostly. I have some guidelines that I usually follow:

 

- 128 is default

- Anything brighter 128 should be justified by a light source (sky, torch, or light-emitting texture/flat)

- Anything darker than 128 should be far from a light source, around a corner or in a cramped space, maybe a low ceiling or narrow passageway.

- Intensely bright surfaces (192+) should have line of sight to an appropriately bright source

- Areas near light sources but without line of sight can get some diffused light levels between 128 and 192, but sometimes hard contrast is better

- Embrace the false contrast on walls that are mostly orthogonal (typically buildings/constructions), eliminate all false contrast on walls that are mostly non-orthogonal (typically natural/rocky/fleshy stuff). 

 

If everything is looking too bland and flat and 128-y, add some sky or torches or light-emitting textures, brighten things up accordingly, darken areas furthest from light sources. Generally, any given room should have multiple light values. For example, one light source shouldn't brighten a whole room to the same light value even if it makes sense for it to; it should instead light an area around itself intensely and leave stuff further away darker.

 

And of course, break rules when it's better to. For example, sometimes it's a good idea to use FLAT17 on the entire ceiling in a room and make it all fullbright.

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The software renderer is consistent across source ports, so I light for that. GL users will have their own preferences for how bright or dark they want the game, and there are GL shading options that aproximate the software look, so I generally don't worry about it.

 

Initially when I light an area, I'll set all the sectors to a general ambient level, which depends on the size of the area and the mood I want. For tight spaces that can be as low as 112, conversely a large exterior in daylight might work well at 192. Then I'll typically brighten up the lit areas by about 32 extra, and darken recessed shadowy areas by 16 or so. For light emitting surfaces, I generally try to make them really stand out and use a very bright 224 to 256.

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I agree with everything Benjogami says, though I set my default brightness at 144 and play mostly in GL.

 

I use a lot of gradient lighting to make things more moody. If I make a map with 1,000 sectors, probably 600 of them are for gradient lighting. I tend to make the sectors in 8, 16 or 32-unit widths. On rare occasions, I'll do 64-unit gradients. I mostly do gradient underneath light textures, but in cast light, say from a firestick, I'll do gradients along the sides of the main beam, and sometimes even in the main beam if it goes a significant distance.

 

Not every texture responds well to gradient lighting. In general, brown flats, and some of the brown wall textures, tend to look stripey when you apply gradients. By contrast, animated floor textures love gradients, as do such as Flat14 and Ceil5_1. Experiment with it to see what works best.

 

I like to use hard-contrast lighting for "natural" light, as if the sun is directly overhead and coming down through skylights or gaps in the ceiling, but hard-contrast can be good in any situation for that old-school "stark" look. This begs the question of whether it's right to use gradients and hard-contrast underneath lights in the same map. I suppose you really shouldn't do it, but I do it often enough. I guess one should try to avoid mixing them in the same room, and use them where you think it's most appropriate. 

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I generally conceive of 'neutral' lighting as 160, with 144 for shadowy, 128 for gloomy, and anything lower for dark.  96 is about as low as I ever go.  For more better lit areas, I tend to use 192 a lot, though 224 also gets a look-in for really bright light.  176 gets used mostly as a graduation between areas of 160 and 192, where such are appropriate.  That said, I generally go for fewer, more significant lighting variations rather than a lot of graduated lighting.

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Some time ago, boris made a Lighting Mode plugin for the 32 bit version of GZDoom Builder UDMF mapping. I use that, mostly, for sectors which can be a bit complex with multiple light sources.

 

NtrjIeN.png

 

nR3VBp0.png

 

 

Edited by Kappes Buur

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If you're targeting GZDoom family source ports, be aware of the Lightmode option in GL Settings. GZDoom supports a small selection of different light modes that can radically change how your map looks.  In fact different light modes will suit different maps differently: a bright outdoor map might work best with a different light mode than a dingy indoor map will. It's worth experimenting to see which you like the most.

 

If you design your map around a particular light mode, I would then strongly recommend defining that light mode in the Mapinfo. That way your map will look the same for everyone who plays it. 

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3 hours ago, Benjogami said:

For example, one light source shouldn't brighten a whole room to the same light value even if it makes sense for it to

*emphasis added

 

I think this is one of the most important things to keep in mind. If you're always a hard stickler for actual light physics, you're gonna have a bad time.

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10 hours ago, TravyB said:

Like it says, how do ya do it? I'm constantly finding myself struggling to find some kind of middle ground between what looks right in the software renderer vs. OpenGL, or being unsure whether something is too dark, or what settings people might use to know if that work even amounts to anything... it's a headache.  So I was curious how some of you guys and gals go about doing it. 

Dynamic lighting or sector lighting?

 

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14 hours ago, Kappes Buur said:

Some time ago, boris made a Lighting Mode plugin for the 32 bit version of GZDoom Builder UDMF mapping. I use that, mostly, for sectors which can be a bit complex with multiple light sources.

 

NtrjIeN.png

 

That's pretty neat. Does that only work with dynamic lights? I haven't experimented much with dynamic lighting myself since my computer is an absolute slug. 

 

7 hours ago, Bridgeburner56 said:

Dynamic lighting or sector lighting?

 

Whichever. I was just curious how everyone else went about adding lighting. 

 

Everyone's 'default' lighting level is actually a whole lot lower than I would have assumed, having not opened too many maps in DB, which might explain some of the issues I've had with trying to make certain bits look right. 

 

 

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