87 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
87 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
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<title>Q3Radiant Editor Manual: Page 9.1</title>
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<h1 class = "MsoTitle">Q3Radiant Editor Manual</h1>
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<hr>
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<h1><a name = "tools6">Tools 6: Lights & Lighting</a></h1>
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Lighting a map is both an art and a science. For <i>Quake III
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Arena,</i> the id designers worked to create instances of dramatic
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lighting, while attempting to maintain a relatively consistent
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intensity of light throughout the maps. Other designers worked to
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create dark realms, full of shadows in which lurking assassins
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could hide.
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<p>Whatever style of lighting you strive for, remember one key
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rule: The bots don't use light information. In a pitch-black room,
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they would still see an opponent. Keep that in mind when designing
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your maps.
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<p><div class = "subheading">Entity Lights</div>
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There are several ways to create light emitting objects.
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The simplest is to place a light entity into your map. If you
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do nothing, it has a default value of 300 and emits white light. If
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you think of the light value as the wattage for an incandescent
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light bulb, you are not far off target. The section on the Light
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entity in the Entities Description Appendix contains specific
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information on using light entities.
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<p><div class = "subheading">Texture Lights</div>
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Textures can be made to emit light. The amount of light that
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they give off is determined by two factors: the size of the texture
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and the value given for its q3map_surfacelight parameter.
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<p>If you only plan on using id textures in your maps, simply use
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the textures surrounded by a white box in the texture window. Many
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of them have their light values as part of their names: Example:
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ceil22a_5k. This would be a small, square light with a light
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value of 5000. There is not a direct correspondence between
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the light value of a texture light and an entity light.
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<p>If you want to make your own lights, either with new, custom
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textures, or changing the light and/or color values of the emitted
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light in existing id textures, plan on learning your way around the
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shader files. The Shader Manual explains the light commands.
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Place the new lights in unique directories. Example:
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Mymapname_light\skull_light_2k. Use the q3map_editorimage key
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to make multiple light intensity versions of your new lights.
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<p>Generally speaking, very small lights need to have very large
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values to look right (a 32x32 pixel light could easily have a
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surfacelight value of 10,000 or more). As the surface area of
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the light becomes larger, the amount of light needs to be
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substantially reduced for it to look right in the world. A
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word of warning, though. Very large glowing surfaces (other than
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skies) can look odd in the game world, especially if they are made
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from a repeating texture. The light source will appear to be
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generated from the center of the brush with the glowing
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texture.
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<p><div class = "subheading">"Sky" Lights</div>
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<i>Quake III Arena</i> was designed so that sky textures could
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appear to emit light in a natural way. The q3map_sun parameter
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creates a single light source in the sky. The mapper can control
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the brightness, color, and position in the sky of this light
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source. Furthermore, the designer can add a
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q3map_surfacelight value to the sky, giving it an overall lighting
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value.
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<p><div class = "subheading">Ambient Light</div>
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Ambient light is a property of the map's worldspawn entity. By
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assigning a number value to the ambient key, the overall lighting
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level of the map is raised. This has the tendency to flatten the
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difference between light and shadow. The color of the light can
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also be modified. This technique is considered a "hack." It does
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not come recommended. You will find instructions that are more
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complete later in this manual under the worldspawn entity heading
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in the Entities Appendix.
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<p align = "center"><a href = "../ch08/pg8_1.htm">Back</a> | <a href = "../index.htm">Home</a> | <a href = "../ch10/pg10_1.htm">Next</a>
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