Strange lighting for .dts objects
by RC Frederick · in Artist Corner · 01/27/2003 (4:47 am) · 11 replies
Hi all,
I am wondering if anyone else came across the issue of having the lighting change on your .dts objects as you place them in the environment with the editor?
I notice that there are about 3 different "shades" of lighting a .dts object will take on when placing it. I am not sure why it is doing it, or how to control it. It seems when I "wiggle it around" after placing it, I can change how it is lit. When placing things that are supposed to be the same, ie pieces to a larger object, this can become pretty frustrating.
Im just fishing for any insight right now, so if anyone has experienced this or knows why its doing this, or a way around it, please let me know.
I am wondering if anyone else came across the issue of having the lighting change on your .dts objects as you place them in the environment with the editor?
I notice that there are about 3 different "shades" of lighting a .dts object will take on when placing it. I am not sure why it is doing it, or how to control it. It seems when I "wiggle it around" after placing it, I can change how it is lit. When placing things that are supposed to be the same, ie pieces to a larger object, this can become pretty frustrating.
Im just fishing for any insight right now, so if anyone has experienced this or knows why its doing this, or a way around it, please let me know.
About the author
#2
Have you tryed using DIF format instead of DTS. The shape of the road doesn't seem that complicated. The lighting might also work better.
If they are sections loaded individually into the editor and then placed side by side that might cast shadows. They might not be exactly lined up. Also the FX lights might have something to do with it they might cast shadows also.
Are they big light (1.0 in size or bigger). That might be the advantage to using DIF you could make real small FX lights for the Lensflare and use lights in Quark or Worldcraft to give the appearance that the lights are casting light onto the bridge.
01/27/2003 (4:54 pm)
They do look good. Have you tryed using DIF format instead of DTS. The shape of the road doesn't seem that complicated. The lighting might also work better.
If they are sections loaded individually into the editor and then placed side by side that might cast shadows. They might not be exactly lined up. Also the FX lights might have something to do with it they might cast shadows also.
Are they big light (1.0 in size or bigger). That might be the advantage to using DIF you could make real small FX lights for the Lensflare and use lights in Quark or Worldcraft to give the appearance that the lights are casting light onto the bridge.
#3
We are hacking apart the dts and adding shadow recieving, casting, and baking flags, so we will use them exclusively for exteriors.
The fxlights really dont have any impact on the objects you see in the images. If I remove them the lighting is the same. I see the same effect if I place an object that intersects the terrain, if you move it up/down on the z axis it will become darker or lighter. Also, none of the objects you see are actually touching or intersecting.. if I do make them intersect, I can make the one object "inherit" the lighting of the other.. very odd. I do have the ambient light set lower to give the scene the washed-out snow effect. Could that have anything to do with it?
01/27/2003 (7:38 pm)
Yes at first I was using .dif files. We're using .dts for the reason that it can be animated (destroyed), better control over the lod and collision, and most of our outdoor objects are fairly complex. We are reserving quark (dif) strictly for interiors.We are hacking apart the dts and adding shadow recieving, casting, and baking flags, so we will use them exclusively for exteriors.
The fxlights really dont have any impact on the objects you see in the images. If I remove them the lighting is the same. I see the same effect if I place an object that intersects the terrain, if you move it up/down on the z axis it will become darker or lighter. Also, none of the objects you see are actually touching or intersecting.. if I do make them intersect, I can make the one object "inherit" the lighting of the other.. very odd. I do have the ambient light set lower to give the scene the washed-out snow effect. Could that have anything to do with it?
#4
01/27/2003 (7:52 pm)
I know some player models cast shadows. Could they be casting shadows onto eachother?
#5
01/27/2003 (8:05 pm)
Yes the player does and some of the other specialized datablocks, but in this case none are enabled for these objects yet. This is strictly something weird with the behavior of .dts objects interacting with each other and the terrain... and even empty space. If I lined up 6 .dts cubes side by side in the editor and did a screenshot, you'd see the same effect. Does this happen with anyone else, has anyone else tried/noticed this? (at least to make sure my build isnt screwed up or something)
#6
not reall sure how to solve this but im sure you could place a thin .dif object below them, that may work, not sure though.
01/27/2003 (8:34 pm)
The lighting for .dts objects is picked up from the shadow cast by .dif objects or shadows cast by the ground, so if there is a shadow cast below the bridge, im guessing from the ground, thats whats changing the color on your .dts objects.not reall sure how to solve this but im sure you could place a thin .dif object below them, that may work, not sure though.
#7
It looks awesome tho.. : )
lighting or no lighting.. : )
01/27/2003 (9:48 pm)
I had the same problem when mapping for tribes 2 .. I believe it is caused by the two pieces touching/overlapping on the edges.. I believe it reads the lighting off both objects.. I usually would just fine tune it by setting the movement controls down so it can be placed easier.. But I am a newb here so hey.. : )It looks awesome tho.. : )
lighting or no lighting.. : )
#8
That at least leads me to believe its something inherent in the engine itself.. okay. With that knowledge I can perhaps work around it.
I also had the .dif object underneith the .dts objects idea too, which works to a degree. That was our "hacky" way around it. I will probably do that for the time being, until we have the chance to enhance our .dts objects. I'd rather not have the extra geometry where its not needed though :-) The reason its separated into sections is that its eventually going to be "destroyable", and also the fog does not interact well with long objects that recede into the background.
And yes we're going to post a dev screenshot too, maybe in the next few days. We were so busy making content that we sort of put it off ;-)
01/28/2003 (6:29 am)
Thanks for the replies,That at least leads me to believe its something inherent in the engine itself.. okay. With that knowledge I can perhaps work around it.
I also had the .dif object underneith the .dts objects idea too, which works to a degree. That was our "hacky" way around it. I will probably do that for the time being, until we have the chance to enhance our .dts objects. I'd rather not have the extra geometry where its not needed though :-) The reason its separated into sections is that its eventually going to be "destroyable", and also the fog does not interact well with long objects that recede into the background.
And yes we're going to post a dev screenshot too, maybe in the next few days. We were so busy making content that we sort of put it off ;-)
#9
- Melv.
01/28/2003 (10:46 am)
Don't forget that you can turn-off the actual light in the fxlight and just have the flare. Most of the time this should be sufficient. This is the cause of the slowdown on some graphics cards. The flare is obviously just a billboard and is just limited by the fill-rate of your graphics card whereas lighting is much more costly.- Melv.
#10
And man i love that Buggy you got going there....looks like a cross between a hummer and a porsche.
great work
01/28/2003 (11:16 am)
If you find a solution please post it as i am working on a racer and plan on doing most of the track in sections with .dts and would hate to run into this problem also...Im far away from track design but i would still like to know how you solved it.And man i love that Buggy you got going there....looks like a cross between a hummer and a porsche.
great work
#11
How can that be done with the torque engine?
edit: I figured it out after posting this. If using 3dsMax, change the self-illumination setting in the Material.
04/19/2003 (9:22 pm)
I am having this problem too. I want to disable the lighting for some of my dts shapes to make them easily visible in the dark. Pickups and such. Or even make them self-illuminating if possible.How can that be done with the torque engine?
edit: I figured it out after posting this. If using 3dsMax, change the self-illumination setting in the Material.
Torque 3D Owner Frank Bignone
Darkhand Studio