[LVL ED] Lighting Maps...

[Adny]

Good red/orange color (for torches/lanterns):
R: 0.5
G: 0.3
B: 0.07

Good Blue color (windows)
R: 0.3
G: 0.4
B: 0.7

Good Yellow (Alt Windows, Candles)
R: 0.15
G: 0.15
B: 0.1

The fog I tend to use the most is area_fog.ps - there are a few applications where small, large, and x-large would be good, but I find the best balance of control (in the editor) and performance (framerate) is the standard fog.

A few tips for fog:

-Under fade distance, use these values (respectively):
4
5
10
20

When coloring fog, inherit the color of the nearest pointlight (if there are none nearby, use the boxlight's color, then bump it up a little by use the +/- on the color box to increase the value by 0.1).

The darker the color, the more faint and realistic it will look. I always set the alpha (A) value to 0.5 - the only exception being that the fog is off in the distance in an area the player could never reach, so in such a case it is acceptable that it is more noticable. The settings I gave will make a cleaner fade distance (naturally reducing wall cutting), but if you want to further improve, make sure the particle system is at least 1.5 units off the ground, and in the center of the area (i.e. a hall or a room).

A quick note on alpha and particle systems: From what I've observed, particle systems only have 3 alpha settings that actually affect it: 1 (clearly visible) 0.5 (somewhat visible) and 0 (invisible).

Oh, and if you use any particles like water/drip, make sure to turn off "Fade at Distance" altogether - those things look really glitchy when you walk up, then suddenly appear, then you get too close and they disappear.


/rant