Ground Cover + Shadow Issue
by Richard Hebblewhite · in Torque 3D Professional · 08/19/2011 (3:58 pm) · 6 replies
Is anybody else having problems with the rendering of shadows cast by ground cover objects ? Specifically shape files as opposed to materials.
Example - I'm using the GroundCover to populate an area with trees. Shadow casting works fine at a medium to long distance but as soon as I move the camera anywhere near them they are culled. The problem is definitely linked only with the GroundCover shape files as static shapes are fine.
Example pics:
1)
dl.dropbox.com/u/1725658/1.jpg
All is well!
2)
dl.dropbox.com/u/1725658/2.jpg
Shadow Fubar!
Is this a known issue ? I don't want to revert back to the old legacy foliage/shape replicators - and painting large areas using the forest tool is just plain silly! :-P
Example - I'm using the GroundCover to populate an area with trees. Shadow casting works fine at a medium to long distance but as soon as I move the camera anywhere near them they are culled. The problem is definitely linked only with the GroundCover shape files as static shapes are fine.
Example pics:
1)
dl.dropbox.com/u/1725658/1.jpg
All is well!
2)
dl.dropbox.com/u/1725658/2.jpg
Shadow Fubar!
Is this a known issue ? I don't want to revert back to the old legacy foliage/shape replicators - and painting large areas using the forest tool is just plain silly! :-P
About the author
Senior Lecturer at Glyndwr University, Wrexham. Director of RareBit Interactive & Programme Director for Computer Game, Immersive Technology and Creative Computing Programmes.
#2
08/19/2011 (6:13 pm)
Sounds like overly aggressive culling in groundcover dts ... also yeah, why not use forest? Groundcover doesn't use collision does it?
#3
Oh well! :-P
08/20/2011 (5:25 am)
Well I was hoping to avoid having to manually paint areas with trees - its for aesthetic purposes anyway. GroundCover is just convenient because of the texture layering etc.Oh well! :-P
#4
08/20/2011 (5:31 am)
That looks like a similar bug to the terrain rendering bug posted somewhere, I couldn't trigger that bug either, what engine version is this?
#5
08/20/2011 (6:15 am)
It's T3D 1.1 Final 
#6
08/24/2011 (12:06 pm)
I have seen that issue, you need to fiddle around with the advanced lighting PSSM settings (can't remember if it is with the 'sun' object or the 'level' object). If you drop the number of splits to 1 the shadows will most likely appear then. That would prove that it is a settings issue. I copied the settings from the Pacific demo and tweaked the distances to get good results outdoors. 
Torque 3D Owner Andy Wright
BrokeAss Games
Anyway, i havent come across anything like that directly related to tree's, however it may be related to the way that large decals tend to dissapear when the majority of it is out of the camera view.