Better lightning Created 17 years ago2006-07-06 14:46:40 UTC by Kantham

Hi, it's been a while I haven't posted here...

I am currently working on 2 small CS:S maps. My current problem is the understanding of the light entities. I can make my map look bright enough, but the objects & character are really dark.

I was wondering if you guys could give me some tips, or link me to a good tutorial for that.

Thanks.

Can you post a screenshot of your level showing the problem? It may help us giving some specific tips.

Well, it's not a problem in general, I mean, I don't have any leak or black walls.

When I look at maps like CS_Dust it have awesome lightning. I guess I should add fog too.

By the way, I read that tutorial about ligthning on the end of a tunnel, can you use that technique for lights? Like a small glow of light under a neon would be nice.

You can add a flash of light at the end of a tunnel using the env_lightglow entity. They one is pretty easy to use.

Getting nice lighting for outdoor maps requires a lot of tweaking, unless you're a light expert.

Just add a light_environment entity, and set brightness similar to the color of the sun and ambient similar to the color of the sky. The fourth number in the brightness input box is the actual brightness level. Depending on what time of day your map is, it can range from 250 to 800, or even more.

or even more.

Or even less too!

As The hunter told me, for a light enviroment;
If it's day the fourth number should be around 300 (I think)
Night should be around 70, or less (70 would be evening)

And of course this works on the other lightentities aswell

Hmm, I personally think that 500+ looks a lot better, but then again, thats another time of day.

I haven't done many nighttime lighting tests.

Have you played with the ambient light setting on the environment light?

It sets how much the entire level is lit.