Light…is not your friend

from JoeUser Forums

One of the most challenging things in making a modern PC game is nailing the lighting.  Light is all powerful when it comes to deciding how a game will look.

In most games, the camera is fixed. In some games, the camera lets you zoom in and out…a little bit…but not rotating.  It’s not a technical restriction as much as an artistic restriction. The more fixed the camera, the more optimization you can do on the presentation of the game.

image

War of Magic v1.19b.

image

Photoshop filter 1

image

Photoshop filter 2

image

Photoshop filter 3

Now, in these cases, I’m not really changing the lighting, I’m just applying a Photoshop filter in a way that simulates how the existing light source might change the look. 

In Fallen Enchantress, the lighting system is going to be redone which means that visually, it’ll look very different from War of Magic (i.e. there will be no question about what game you’re looking at from a screenshot).

But it is amazing how different something can look – with the same graphics – just by changing the light sources.

If you are familiar with examples, feel free to post them in the comments section.

123,524 views 60 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Thanks, Brad. One thing that might help improve the look of cities in EWOM is to randomize or give control to the players of which directions buildings face. I give credit to Heavenfall for the original idea as I remember the post somewhere.

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

i like photoshop filter 2. that lighting is defenitely taking the game in the better eye candy direction.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm not familiar with examples, and in fact know nothing about graphics, but I have to say that I really like 1 and 3, and filter 2 gives me a migraine.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Filter 2 looks sickly to me.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

I like filter 2 because it seems there's more contrast and it's less gray, but it also seems there's too much of a yellow tint to it. Any chance of getting a filter somewhere in between 2 and 1? 1 looks like the sun is a flourishing bulb, same with 3. 2 looks like there's a normal sun but it's casting much more colored light than it should - It needs to be closer to natural sunlight. Or maybe just make the green less yellow so the sunlight makes it look normal.

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, I know it's not for a voting that you post your screenshot, but definitly #3 for me :).

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Filter 2 would look nice to most of the Americans, filter 3 to most of the Europeans. Lightning is actually why some studios release two versions of a game - one colorful for America and one more darker for Europe and rest of the world.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting milanjirkovsky, reply 8
Filter 2 would look nice to most of the Americans, filter 3 to most of the Europeans. Lightning is actually why some studios release two versions of a game - one colorful for America and one more darker for Europe and rest of the world.
End of milanjirkovsky's quote

Thank you for this stereotype. I think we're both too busy to argue about this, what with you not bathing and hungover from the discotheque and me busy stuffing my face with McDonalds and getting fat and plotting imperial world domination.

I am and American, and I approved this message (and also like filter 3 and hate filter 2).

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting milanjirkovsky, reply 8
Filter 2 would look nice to most of the Americans, filter 3 to most of the Europeans. Lightning is actually why some studios release two versions of a game - one colorful for America and one more darker for Europe and rest of the world.
End of milanjirkovsky's quote

LOL, is that why Japan is the master of Anime while we created film noir?  Go back to troll ville with your stupid ass.

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

Number 2 is quite garish - yuck - of the samples I would go with #3

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

I like number 3 the best. (I'm Canadian BTW)

Number 2 would be alright if they toned down the yellow. However, for a post apocalyptic world, I think bright colors wouldn't be the best choice. Perhaps if there was a pre-apocalypse expansion pack.

 

Nice to see that these small details that'll make the game great are being taken care of. :)

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

All I am saying is Americans like higher saturation than Europeans do, I do not know why, but it has certainly nothing to do with McDonald and world domination

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

Why do we need lighting effect when the whole game takes place during the day?

I prefer to have a full bright map, it makes the game easier to see. By the way, I am partially color blind.

Reply #15 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting milanjirkovsky, reply 13
All I am saying is Americans like higher saturation than Europeans do, I do not know why, but it has certainly nothing to do with McDonald and world domination
End of milanjirkovsky's quote

Lol, I was just messing with you, to be honest.

The only way I can stomach being PC is to be offensive while doing it. I'm sure you shower every day.

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

One cheap, easy way to do things is to slap a full-screen shader (compositor, in Ogre-speak) over the top of things - the equivalent of using those photoshop filters in the actual game. Change the saturation and value curve and you've got yourself a more colorful game; perform additional modifications (for example, using value or specific colors to influence the saturation curve) and you can have different color schemas in different parts of the world. Sure, it's possible to construct a lighting system to accomplish the same task, but that is much harder and prone to problems, especially where procedural generation is concerned.

Reply #17 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting AlLanMandragoran, reply 1
Thanks, Brad. One thing that might help improve the look of cities in EWOM is to randomize or give control to the players of which directions buildings face. I give credit to Heavenfall for the original idea as I remember the post somewhere.
End of AlLanMandragoran's quote

You can already change the direction in which buildings face: you have to press shift + Mouse wheel up/down whilst placing a building.

Reply #18 from Elemental Forums Top

The light, it burns! A nice overcast #3 seems good.  

 

 

Reply #19 from Elemental Forums Top

 

Can we get options for all 3? I mean they are just post process filters right? Please.... 

 

It would be cool to play at a higher saturations for kingdoms and more drab hues for kingdoms.

 

Quoting Thiryn, reply 17


You can already change the direction in which buildings face: you have to press shift + Mouse wheel up/down whilst placing a building.
End of Thiryn's quote

Thanks going to try this soon. 

 

Reply #20 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Thiryn, reply 17



Quoting AlLanMandragoran,
reply 1
Thanks, Brad. One thing that might help improve the look of cities in EWOM is to randomize or give control to the players of which directions buildings face. I give credit to Heavenfall for the original idea as I remember the post somewhere.


You can already change the direction in which buildings face: you have to press shift + Mouse wheel up/down whilst placing a building.
End of Thiryn's quote

Holy crap, thanks! Has that always been there?

Reply #21 from Elemental Forums Top

actually, could you please put up some red light type filters for fallen, that would be neat to see.

 EDIT: You can do that with the mouse wheel ... NEAT.

Reply #22 from Stardock Forums Top

I like filter 3 because I like tea, scones and dapper top hats.

Reply #23 from Elemental Forums Top

Definitely #3. I would get a headache looking at a game with #2 after an hour.

Reply #24 from Elemental Forums Top

Something that always bothered me is the pointed world lightning (yes, ok, that means it's not really world lightning but ambient lightning).

Consider the two examples. One is a guy facing a direction. One is a guy facing the other direction (turned 180*).

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/5653/elemental1297458535.jpg

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/5924/elemental1297458527.jpg

I guess it's to simulate a sun. Is there a sun? According to the shadows, it's always right above everyone.

 

Reply #25 from Elemental Forums Top

Definitely like filter 3, filter 2 gives me a headache.  I also didn't know about the shift and mouse wheel changing building facing.  How does one figure this stuff out?  Is there a list of hot-keys and controls somewhere?