Sunlight actor

[legacy-ChookWoods]

ok another day another problem...

basicalyl ive got a skybox with a sunlight actor in it, i have a zone info actor in all my zones, and the sunligt shines in fine where it should.

but in some rooms, where the sun isnt meant to be shining (there is no windows or anything nearby) im getting a small strip of sunlight going along the floor at the joins of my walls.

this seems very random, its in lots of spots and is very visible in game. anyone know how to fix this?

http://www.chookwoods.com/images/problem.jpg

[legacy-Pyrii]

I got this problem often, never figured out how to fix it though =/

[legacy-0ddjob]

How thick are those walls?

Also are you sure they are meeting up properly with the ground?

I am sure someone else has other suggestions but I have never ran into a problem like that with sunlight before.

[InvadrZIM]

this happened to me. i fixed it by going to Sunlight Actor--> Lighting--> lighting radius, and making that lower

[legacy-ChookWoods]

walls are thick, some are even on the very edge of the map (ie endlessly thick) so that cant be the problem. also changing the radius of the sunlight actor does nothing, afaik sunlight doesnt use a radius at all as it comes frm an infinite source. but i tried setting it from 64 down to 6 to no avail.

any other suggestions?

[legacy-cwv_odedge]

Looks like light bleeding to me. This can happen if you are using additive brushes and the light near the walls i kinda high. Once in a while it may happen with subtractive brushes, but that's a bit rare.

[legacy-ChookWoods]

Originally posted by cwv_odedge
Looks like light bleeding to me. This can happen if you are using additive brushes and the light near the walls i kinda high. Once in a while it may happen with subtractive brushes, but that's a bit rare.

erm considering its from a sunlight actor... what can i do to fix it then? i think the brightness of the sunlight is ~140 (i dont have unrealed atm to check)

[PointlesS]

I've had that problem too...don't know how to fix it though either...my entire level is basically subtraction brushes too

[legacy-ChookWoods]

hmmm well ill give this thread a few more days then ill just revert to using normal light actors above my windows.

[InvadrZIM]

Originally posted by ChookWoods
walls are thick, some are even on the very edge of the map (ie endlessly thick) so that cant be the problem. also changing the radius of the sunlight actor does nothing, afaik sunlight doesnt use a radius at all as it comes frm an infinite source. but i tried setting it from 64 down to 6 to no avail.

any other suggestions?

hmmm... worked fer me..

[legacy-0ddjob]

Well from my experience 140 for a sunlight actor is a tad bright so I don't know if thats a problem

[-=¤willhaven¤=-]

Looks like a lightmap resolution issue to me.

The default lightmap resolution is one pixel of lightmap per 32 units of BSP. On top of this, each surface can only get 256x256 or 512x512(I forget which) pixels of resolution.

If you have a huge floor with a really high setting, it will max out at whatever setting pushes that maximum lightmap texture size.

Basically, the solution will be one of two things:
1) Increase the lightmap resolution on that surface. Use a smaller number. Going from 32 to 16 will quadruple the detail but it will also eat up more texture memory.

2) Trim the affected floors. Basically make some BSP pieces that cover the tiles you want lit properly. Don't make them poke out the bottom of the floor, just a bit into the surface. If your floor is 64 units thick, a patch brush of 32 or 16 units tall will do well. Add it flush to the ground, use the same texture and align the textures again. Now you can up that surfaces lightmap resolution without adding too much memory overhead. If your light problems are caused by having too large a surface, you might not have to increase the resolution of these strips at all.

[legacy-ChookWoods]

ok that sounds reasonable, ill give that a try when i get home and see how it goes.

[legacy-ChookWoods]

ok well i tried both setting the lightmap res to 1, and adding a 32uu wide trim along the edge (in complete alignment with the floor) and both of these minimised the affect in those areas, but it was still easily visible.

once i have proper lighting in my map it may end up being un noticable, but does anyone else have anymore ideas?

[Angel_Mapper]

I've never been able to get rid of it, it's a lighting bug in the engine.

[legacy-ChookWoods]

Originally posted by Angel_Mapper
I've never been able to get rid of it, it's a lighting bug in the engine.

hmmm yeah im begining to think youre right, i sat there and modified every setting i could in the sunlights settings to no avail.

so i guess ill mess around a bit with the angle of the sunlight actor, see if making it face in a different direction can remove/minimize the problem, or if not, ill just use standard lights.

thanks for your help everyone.

[legacy-Meroin]

Add windows to make it look more natural

[Angel_Mapper]

"If you can't fix it, hide it with a static mesh."