In this test I am testing out how to light and lead the player for a multiplayer type of map. For multiplayer map you need to focus more on readability around the map but also the characters moving around. Since I still do not have my graphic card it gets difficult to do too much intensive work.
Frontal area of the map showing brighter side on left and darker side on right
Right now I decide on the colors I want first before I pick the HDRI sky and generally the time of day. So if I want more yellow and orange, I know my time of day is earlier or later in the day etc.
You can see the two colors I focused on for the color palette.
I decided to have one side identified as the brighter area and the other one in the shadow. So for that the light from the sun was coming into the left side.
The bright area tells the player which side they are on or going towards.
As you see the lit side is easily identifiable. So I allowed the purple to dominate more on the shadow side.
This part could use more contrast as it does get a bit flat. The idea is this is the shadow side.
The shadow side as seen above is dominated by the color purple. And does perhaps become flatter than intended. The overall values are okay in some of the other areas though.
You can see the different in values where it is darker on right and brighter on left.
Even though some areas as inaccessible I wanted it to feel bigger. For that reason the blocked areas are lit up a bit.
Brightest area is in the middle under the dome. Inaccessible area to right has light.
You can see in the image above that the brightest area is under the dome by the bridge, to encourage people to go there. And there is a contrast with the background that is dark on the right, where the players can not go. The light in there does however give impression of scale and something going on outside of the play space.
The basement area is the darkest and hardest to read players.
The darkest area is under the map and also where it can be hard to spot the players, but for now it is readable enough. This area is darkest so players will know by the layout, design and lighting where they are. Overall it could use more brightness and contrast to deal with the flatness. To show this I have recorded a short video running around the level with and without color in it. The character and weapon are not working in the lighting right now due to capsule shadow bug.
Since I still have not managed to replace my graphic card I continue to focus my time into gameplay lighting and color palettes. This time I went with the epic games tower defense assets relighting session. With this decision I decided on a joker and batman color palette of green and purple being the dominant colors. Let us investigate what I ended up with.
Location of lights and reflections
As you can see from above I did not use a lot of lights. And the only lights that are dynamic are the ones near the path. Those are the purpose lights. Everything else is baked.
Lighting setup without text
As you can see from above it is fairly lit, perhaps a bit too much and not enough contrast.
Some dark areas but still flat and eyes in statue not good enough
Here you are able to see some difference between the path but it is generally flat, this can be fixed but increasing brightness of path light or/and decreasing skylight to be darker so overall the scene is darker.
Small contrast between light sources
There is a bit of darkness in the corner here due to removing a light source but the statue is still overly bright with odd green light coming through the eyes.
I tried establishing more mood, depth and atmosphere by using fog. I primarily wanted the acid pool under to get more of a glow through the fog. You can notice the evenly lit path at this side of the map.
More contrast, more stronger light and more stronger fog.
Above you can see I reduced the skylight a bit to darken the scene, pushed fog to be stronger under the acid pit, increased the light on the path and took away the statue light and pushed the green out from the eyes a bit.
How it should have been
The above image is just a quick edit on how it should have been with clearer light and dark areas. That said I think the color palette worked well this time around. Below is a short video testing the level but since I do not have a graphic card it lags a lot.
In short, I used an hour on this and would need more time to get the contract between dark and light areas more obvious. Overall I am happy with the color palette but could have tried some yellow golden on top of it.
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Due to not having a graphic card I am unable to use a lot of lights. For that reason I have been playing around with game-play lighting and color palettes more actively. These are unfinished pieces done in a few hours. The rules are simple. Try and light something in an hour and then share what could be better. That means there might be some self critical pointers on what I could have done better. #whatwentwrong Since I really dislike this piece I am being fairly short this time to share the thought process and experiment. These blogs are about being honest and share the critical mind that goes into creative work.
Reflection probe, sun light, light portal and shadows
In the above image you see the lighting view where I tried getting some interesting shadow coming into the area. Since the player is starting here and need to be directed to the other side of the room, I kept the furthest area darker with more blue. Although this area could have been more gradient and variety, as it is kind of flat here.
Locked door, fill light to tree, decoration blue light in background, shadows
In the image above you see the locked door that the player will notice, if the player goes to the very bright orange red light area then they will realize it is locked. Hence a darker red color over the door. But still bright enough to separate it from anything else nearby. Although, this area might have too strong direct light as it is clipping a bit.
Cool lighting versus warm lighting, darker shadow area, room to enter
In the above shot I translate the dominant orange into more blue and higher contrast. I tried making it clear that I want the player to go this way into the room. I also tried having some interesting shadows. Although, I do have reflection issues here.
Warm versus cool on both side, reflection probes, shadows
In the image below you see specific reflection probes and no fill light being used. It does have a nice transition from bright, dark to bright. Although, I should have added accent lighting on top and background to inform player about the origin of the warm lights to the left. And I should have boosted the warm light from the left.
Blue light, reflection and button to push to open door
In the image above you see the two lights being used. One up close to the light fixture and another one to push the light with shadow out to the hallway. Although, it could have been more interesting to place it on the side to have interesting shape to the lighting.
Flat by the archway, need more gradient and shadow
As you see much clearly on top image here it is fairly flat in some places, it could use gradient by blocking out light from one of the window.
Blue tree to create contrast with orange light. A bit burned out light on walls.
As you see in the top image it ended up too bright on the direct light. Commonly known as clipping the highlights.
Reflection issues, need more fill light on tree
As you see in the top image the reflection is not working correctly, so the metal objects are almost black. I also do no like the lighting in the end around this area. Probably the least.
Light could be on side to create gradient. Overblown on the floor.
As you see in the above image it is fairly boring back at the wall and the highlight on the floor is clipping here too.
Probably best shot but needs more orange on left, and prop orange lighting on roof .
As you see in the image below it is probably the best shot of this gameplay lighting practice. Although, I could use orange light on the roof, by the plants in the back you probably do not see and stronger light on the left going further up the wall to build the mood better.
That is about it. I hope you like that I share imperfect and unfinished pieces and discuss the reasoning but also what went wrong. If you like this please leave a like and comment. Thank you
