is it possible to create light effects like the sunrise and sunset like in the game GTA: San Adreas, if so can some one give me a tuturial or tell me how i could do this.
i have a problem with shadows they are relay blockish and they are realy bad can anyone give me any tips or a tutrial on how to improve the quality of the shadow.
i have atached a screenshot of the shadow casted by a an object on the ceiling with a light source coming through around the green triangle point.
and last of all is there a way to get i reflective shine on a see through tile to make it look like a window.
lights and shadows
you could simulate the sunrise with the skydome entity it has a time of day function that allows the time on the skybox to change.
the only thing though is that the lighting is not dynamic, infact the lighting of the skydome does not affect the level in anyway,
however....there is a work-around but it's iffy,
Your best best if you want sharper shadows on that hexagonal panel (two ways) the first, decrease the patch size in you level(er.... or is it increase either way you need to alter the patch size) this is found under compile options i beleive the smaller the patch the better the shadows but at a cost of compile time) the other is create that object as an actor, for the window you could have a 32bit TGA and apply sphere mapping for the reflection on the window,(glass) use the alpha colour and white to give a reflective quality. (also remember spheremapping only works on actors!)
use stencil shadows in conjunction with a dynamic light, attach the dynamic light to a model, or actor, this way the shadows will be sharp. also animate the model or attached actor to match the posistion of the sun in the skydome, this way you can fake a sunrise ect with sharp dynamic shadowing.
if this is the only area that you are going to have the light shine through it maybe ok i.e a passage in a hallway or single non exitable room to the outside.
however if you have lots of windows and a lot of shadows, being casted or a complex outdoor scene this would not be a good solution as stencils and dynamic light will both detract from framerates. so basically its a call whether it's compile time or framerate....
personally i'd choose the stencil option as they cast much better shadows.
Thing to read up on is:
Dynamic lights
Models
skydome
stencil shadows.
by understanding these you should be on your way..
the only thing though is that the lighting is not dynamic, infact the lighting of the skydome does not affect the level in anyway,
however....there is a work-around but it's iffy,
Your best best if you want sharper shadows on that hexagonal panel (two ways) the first, decrease the patch size in you level(er.... or is it increase either way you need to alter the patch size) this is found under compile options i beleive the smaller the patch the better the shadows but at a cost of compile time) the other is create that object as an actor, for the window you could have a 32bit TGA and apply sphere mapping for the reflection on the window,(glass) use the alpha colour and white to give a reflective quality. (also remember spheremapping only works on actors!)
use stencil shadows in conjunction with a dynamic light, attach the dynamic light to a model, or actor, this way the shadows will be sharp. also animate the model or attached actor to match the posistion of the sun in the skydome, this way you can fake a sunrise ect with sharp dynamic shadowing.
if this is the only area that you are going to have the light shine through it maybe ok i.e a passage in a hallway or single non exitable room to the outside.
however if you have lots of windows and a lot of shadows, being casted or a complex outdoor scene this would not be a good solution as stencils and dynamic light will both detract from framerates. so basically its a call whether it's compile time or framerate....
personally i'd choose the stencil option as they cast much better shadows.
Thing to read up on is:
Dynamic lights
Models
skydome
stencil shadows.
by understanding these you should be on your way..
Last edited by Spyrewolf on Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
reduce lightmap size
actually what you want to do is select the faces in question (in this case the floor of your level where the shadow is being cast) and go into 'face' mode & reduce the lightmap scale for that face in particular.
In this way, you can both increase the detail of the shadows - AND maintain good framerates at the same time.
You normally do NOT want to do 'global' (for the entire level) changes for things like lighting detail unless necessary - this is the quickest way to kill your framerate.
By using selective reduction of the lightmap scale for specific faces, you can create very nice smooth shadows AND keep the level running uber-fast
In this way, you can both increase the detail of the shadows - AND maintain good framerates at the same time.
You normally do NOT want to do 'global' (for the entire level) changes for things like lighting detail unless necessary - this is the quickest way to kill your framerate.
By using selective reduction of the lightmap scale for specific faces, you can create very nice smooth shadows AND keep the level running uber-fast
-
Jay