Light... or lack of it :P Created 16 years ago2008-06-21 22:19:35 UTC by BlueDragon

Hi... I'm creating a map... bla bla bla... and I wanted help on one thing: light!

I know how to create light... I have a light_enviroment... it's all OK except that... the shadow areas (areas not hit by the light) are really dark... too dark for what I want to.

Here's the thing: is there any way of setting a minimal light level for all the non-lighted areas of the map? I didn't want to have to use the Darkulator to lighten the whole map up... I'd like to have the map itself with the correct light (as the darkulator also lightens the bright areas, which makes my map look bad!).

That's the thing that is making my map not easily playable right now... because I don't want to have to use a nightvision kit if I have daylight on the rest of the map

On the bright parts, it looks perfect, just like the real place in the real world ... the problem is the shadows and there's no artificial light in that place, in the real world, so I don't want to put it on the map.

Please, somebody, help!
Thanks in advance!

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BlueDragon - the one and only

This is in the wrong forum :<

Also, what game are you mapping for?

Sorry for the forum mistake... please move it to the right place.

I'm mapping for CS 1.6 (eh eh... gldsrc rules... or not! :P)

Moved.

Try setting the ambient level of your light_environment up.

add -bounce # (minimum of 0, integers only. Default is 1) in the rad command line or turn it on and adjust it in your batch compiler if you use one. That sets how many times you want light to bounce off geometry. it can fill in the shadowed areas naturally.

also, -sky # (minimum of 0.0, decmial, default is 0.5) can be used to control how much light from the sky spills into the shadows in outdoor areas. Great for indoor/outdoor maps where lighting changes.

Still not getting what I want.

Strider: there's no "ambient level" propriety in the light_environment. I understand you probably meant the "shade" part but that doesn't work for what I want (I tried that before).

Rimrook: the -bounce option does absolutely nothing to my MAP, whatever the value I put after it. The -sky only changes the intensity of the bright areas... it doesn't change anything on the rest.

Thanks for the tips, anyway. But unfortunately, I still can't make my map brigher on the dark areas.

Keep sharing some ideas!

-gamma # (decimal) That will do the trick I think. You can also try:
-ambient # # # (RGB, default 0 0 0, black.) This will tint and also brighten your shadows. Just for a little lighten up, use a dark gray, although you might want to play with some colors to find out what can look good.

Oh right, i'm thinking of HL2. Go for what ye olde Rimrook suggests.

Thanks, thanks, thanks!!!

It still isn't perfect... but it's close to that... Now it's all about adjusting the values and adding a few new lights in the right places and it will look great!

Thanks for the help Rimrook!

Bounce works if there's something for it to bounce off of. I guess you're mapping a sort of open area, eh?