Following the release of my recent demo,I was asked by a user to create a lightmapping tutorial that explains how to lightmap your level effectively to achive a professional look.
This tutorial shall be written in chapters,and updated over time. I shall write the first set of tips tonight,then update it over the following days.
So lets fire up FPSC,the class is about to begin. (Face the front you!!!)
Chapter 1:Using Hex Codes
To put briefly,a Hex code is a sequence of numbers (usualy 6) that FPSC uses to determine the colour of light emitted. By using Hex codes,you can create many different shades of light,thus making for a much more interesting atmosphere. You can also change the colour of the light manualy by using the colour picker. To do this,
right click on the light marker > click on the box light colour >then click on the grey box. You are then presented with a selection of preset colours. You can apply your own by clicking
other.
Once you have found a colour that you like,copy the 6 digit hex code out of the
light colour box,and save it in a text file named
my hex codes.txt for example. It helps in you write a brief description by the code so you will remember what colout it emits. Here are a list of my favourite codes. Feel free to use this is you want.
07529e = Dark orange
00002a = very dark red
0042ff= very dark orange
0b668d= Dark yellow
373737= dark white lighing (good in hallways!!!)
575757= More dark white lighting
3f3f3f= Dark lighting
0890df=Sun/Sunset (very good,expecialy if mixed with red/dark red)
222222= moody white lighting
7d7d7d = white lighting 2
Using different light colours can improve the overall look of your game,and seperate your game from the others. Thats all for this chapter,time to move on to chapter
lighting Placement
Chapter 2: Lighting Placement
So..youv'e got awsome coloured lighting,but that means nothing if you can't place your lights effectively. This is the most crucial part in lightmapping,so
listen up
First up,im going to assume your making a horror game (but these tips can be applyied to other games). I reccoment setting your overall ambience to
10. That includes ambience red,green etc,but set
ambience blue to 5. The lighting setting can be found under the
Global Script tab. Now the overall ambience is set,it's time to do some light placing. ( a shot is attached at the end of this post to show a editor shot on how to do this).
The most important thing to remember when lighting is that,anything outside the light range circle will be shrowded in shadow,and won't be visible by the player. For this example I am using lights,all with a range of 100,and a hex code of
b7b7b7,apart from the middle wall orange light which has a hex code of
0890df. I also used illuminationmaps of the light sources to create a more realistic feel,but I shall cover this in another chapter. Then add some entities near to the light source (depending if you want it to bee seen). The closer the object,the brighter it shall appear. I shall also cover this in the chapter
Static vs Dynamic. After you have done all this build you game,and have a look at the results. Attached is a editor shot showing the light marker placement.
