nicked on 20/4/2020 at 12:57
Yeah, I get what it does, I just can't think of a situation where I wouldn't just use Objcast (but probably because it's 20 years later so I don't need to worry about optimisation times).
Niborius on 21/4/2020 at 09:38
How often do you guys optimize while building geometry? I bought the processor with the fastest single-core performance and while it doesn't take very long, it takes about 10 seconds on objcast on average, but I portalize about every minute really so I always set it to Quick lighting.
Do you portalize only now and then?
Lord Taffer on 21/4/2020 at 10:08
More questions came to my mind about lighting. I was reading this thread and there's interesting stuff about lightmaps:
16-bit vs. 32-bit vs. 32-bit 2X Lightmaps
(
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140099)
Could someone clarify how to use different lightmaps:
- It seems that the default setting is set to 16-bit lightmaps. Can I change the lightmap afterwards in my fan mission?
- Is there a certain recommendation for which lightmaps to use?
- In that above-mentioned thread, there was talk about using 32-bit 2X lightmaps and low ambient lighting together to get a gloomy look and that it could be done in certain areas - if I understood right. Is it possible to do this only in certain areas to make them creepy?
Lord Taffer on 21/4/2020 at 10:21
Quote Posted by Niborius
How often do you guys optimize while building geometry? I bought the processor with the fastest single-core performance and while it doesn't take very long, it takes about 10 seconds on objcast on average, but I portalize about every minute really so I always set it to Quick lighting.
Do you portalize only now and then?
I'm not that experienced DromEd user yet - but I use portalize, optimize very often and save frequently new versions so that when something goes wrong I can easily get back to earlier version. And now I'm using that Objcast lighting all the time.
Yandros on 21/4/2020 at 11:44
If I am building new terrain and rebuilding very often, I use portalize/quick lighting inside a MeOnly'd area brush for speed. In most other cases and once I'm done with terrain in that area I optimize. I usually keep lighting on Quick unless I am specifically working on the lighting in an area, then I use ObjCast.
Quote Posted by Lord Taffer
More questions came to my mind about lighting. I was reading this thread and there's interesting stuff about lightmaps:
16-bit vs. 32-bit vs. 32-bit 2X Lightmaps
(
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140099)
Could someone clarify how to use different lightmaps:
- It seems that the default setting is set to 16-bit lightmaps. Can I change the lightmap afterwards in my fan mission?
- Is there a certain recommendation for which lightmaps to use?
- In that above-mentioned thread, there was talk about using 32-bit 2X lightmaps and low ambient lighting together to get a gloomy look and that it could be done in certain areas - if I understood right. Is it possible to do this only in certain areas to make them creepy?
You can change the lightmap bit depth at any time and relight, but it is global for the entire map, you can't make it different for different areas of your map. You can do that with ambient light and fog settings, though.
I personally only use 32-bit lighting. The only reason to use 16-bit any more is if you are specifically going for the nostalgic OldDark look of banding in lightmaps etc., and I also find that 32-bit 2X has a major issue with overbloom in light sources on walls, and while that can be accounted for somewhat by turning bloom down or off, most players won't think to do that and so they end up with overly bright spots on walls. It's all down to personal preference as an author, though, and what you're going for.
nicked on 21/4/2020 at 12:59
I almost exclusively use optimise while building, since it's not much slower on my machine and gives a more accurate impression of what it should look like. But I build like a weirdo anyway.
Lord Taffer on 21/4/2020 at 14:21
Thanks for very detailed answer! :thumb:
I used 16-bit lightmap with my recent contest mission and with my new mission (since I was blissfully unaware of this). I'm definitely going to change the lightmap to 32-bit with the mission in progress.
