Lighting goes through columns

Lord Taffer on 19/4/2020 at 10:06

Lighting goes through solid brushes (like columns). Sometimes there is a very small shadow area in lower part of the column but there's no realistic looking shadows where the player could hide.

Does anyone have thoughts about how to make solid columns to block lighting so that they create realistic shadows?

nicked on 19/4/2020 at 10:13

If it's solid geometry and not an object, it does block lighting.

A few things to check - are you using Objcast lighting? Have you rebuilt lighting since placing the lights? Otherwise, just check the positioning of your lights. Can you share a screenshot of what you're seeing?

john9818a on 19/4/2020 at 10:40

I'm thinking maybe you have more than one light source and at least one is shining on the floor where you expect a shadow to appear. Even distant lights with large or infinite radii can make shadows disappear.

Lord Taffer on 19/4/2020 at 13:03

I hadn't used Objcast lighting, but now I did and it seems that it worked. Those columns are solid geometry (quite small 1,5 x 1,5 x 12). I have 3 light sources in this small room. Light sources in the room: Two SpotLightPoints to light the cylinder window and one torch.

Link to screenshots:
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/ft82z02vizq66n6/dump025.png?dl=0)
(https://www.dropbox.com/s/0wn0knpx3gyxc6q/dump026%20-%20Light%20sources.jpg?dl=0)

In the second screenshot I numbered lights: 1. and 2. are SpotLightPoints and 3. is a torch. Now it seems that there is a realistic shadow behind the column.

Lord Taffer on 19/4/2020 at 13:19

Actually I changed the position of the torch. Earlier the torch was closer to SpotLighPoints and their radius, so the issue might have been just that SpotLights shined to that area where I expected the shadow to appear. Also, I changed the two SpotLightPoints to one OmniLightPoint which lights the window.

Lord Taffer on 20/4/2020 at 06:44

Thanks for the tips!
Is this Objcast lighting something that should always be used when creating a fan mission?

I found an old thread and there is this post:
"Quick Lighting: Gives a quick overview.
Raycast: much better, calculates exact shadowmaps based on rays send from the light sources, but ignores objects.
ObjectCast: Like raycast, but <U>some</U> objects will cast shadows, too."

Are these explanations correct?

nicked on 20/4/2020 at 07:01

yep pretty much. Quick lighting can be used when you're building to speed up processing, but it will look like ass.
I don't really understand why Raycast exists.
And Objcast should be used when you want to actually see what the mission will look like, and for release of course.

Lord Taffer on 20/4/2020 at 07:17

Okay, thanks! Now it's starting to seem much clearer! :thumb:

john9818a on 20/4/2020 at 12:09

With the speed of today's PCs I keep mine on objcast all the time. On my pc it takes about 30-45 seconds to process ~500 light sources.

PinkDot on 20/4/2020 at 12:25

Quote:

I don't really understand why Raycast exists.

This mode casts shadows from terrain (brushes) but not from objects, so it's a compromise between speed and the final look.