The Importance of Lighting in Tracks. | Forums

[LynxNinjaTrials]

I can appreciate that in a track with a lot of light sources it can be tricky to try and get some dynamic lighting into the track. However, a lot of the tracks I have seen, where the lighting has been killed, dont even have that issue. They are simply left totally flat. While I still believe there was a solution for your track, it would have been tricky. Whereas certain tracks could have had it done very easily and yet it wasnt.

Its good to see some people agreeing with the concept and even better to see someone post saying its not something they've considered before, but they will now. Until this was pointed out to me and I was given two tracks to compare, I didnt realise how much of a difference it could make myself! So its good to know I've at least passed the info onto someone else and hopefully helped them out as well.

i had problem with the light setup on my "Tetragrammaton" track, made everthing look "blue" and only the headlights show the "real"
color. light is def really important, but also hard to use in a good way

[Just_Shogun]

Nice to see people talking about this, it's been something that has been bothering me since launch. I've seen some really nice looking tracks in the decoration and drive line department that i just can't justify giving a good rating because the lighting was completely flat. In my eyes it's a balance. A really good track pays attention to every aspect of track creation and lighting is a very important one. Imagine going to the movies and seeing one with a great story and acting but the cinematography has had no thought put into it all, 99 times out of 100 that's going to be considered a bad movie.

That being said I do think it is possible to create dynamic lighting looks without using dynamic lights. Shadows are good because they are a great way to create depth in a track, but you can also create that depth with other lighting options when the dynamic lights just aren't going to work. Flyer's track Lost Future is a great example of this. The track uses background action, static lights, colors and effects to create a great sense of depth throught the whole track to the point where I never really noticed that there weren't any shadows. And that's the main thing about lighting, it's not really that you have to have dynamic lights, it's just that you need to spend some time on lighting to make it look good, if that means dynamic lghts than great, but if you come up with other ways to do it that's all good as well. The worst thing you can do is spend a long time creating a nice track then just use only the ground and sky environment lights to light it (which i've seen many times now).

For me I try to always use at least the sunlight in some way so that there are some shadows cast from that. If interiors are too complex for dynamic lights (which is often) than the point light is great. Light the background differently from the drive line, find ways to make the rider or certain obstacles/scenery stand out. But whatever you do, if your track is having performance issues don't just sacrifice lighting to save your decorrations.

[Just_Shogun]

Nice to see people talking about this, it's been something that has been bothering me since launch. I've seen some really nice looking tracks in the decoration and drive line department that i just can't justify giving a good rating because the lighting was completely flat. In my eyes it's a balance. A really good track pays attention to every aspect of track creation and lighting is a very important one. Imagine going to the movies and seeing one with a great story and acting but the cinematography has had no thought put into it all, 99 times out of 100 that's going to be considered a bad movie.

That being said I do think it is possible to create dynamic lighting looks without using dynamic lights. Shadows are good because they are a great way to create depth in a track, but you can also create that depth with other lighting options when the dynamic lights just aren't going to work. Flyer's track Lost Future is a great example of this. The track uses background action, static lights, colors and effects to create a great sense of depth throught the whole track to the point where I never really noticed that there weren't any shadows. And that's the main thing about lighting, it's not really that you have to have dynamic lights, it's just that you need to spend some time on lighting to make it look good, if that means dynamic lghts than great, but if you come up with other ways to do it that's all good as well. The worst thing you can do is spend a long time creating a nice track then just use only the ground and sky environment lights to light it (which i've seen many times now).

For me I try to always use at least the sunlight in some way so that there are some shadows cast from that. If interiors are too complex for dynamic lights (which is often) than the point light is great. Light the background differently from the drive line, find ways to make the rider or certain obstacles/scenery stand out. But whatever you do, if your track is having performance issues don't just sacrifice lighting to save your decorrations.

[rlmergeuser]

i've spent a little longer with lighting on next next track, oh i don't know, maybe 10min instead of 5min - no joke ! And its looking damn fine.

holding of releasing at the moment due to the current comp. Really making sure its as bullet proof as i can make it. It's also got my first EVO easter egg (not to hard to find). Will release within the next 3-5 days

and thanks CannibalShogun , that track was a ***** to get the lighting how it was.

[empecee]

i've spent a little longer with lighting on next next track, oh i don't know, maybe 10min instead of 5min - no joke ! And its looking damn fine.

holding of releasing at the moment due to the current comp. Really making sure its as bullet proof as i can make it. It's also got my first EVO easter egg (not to hard to find). Will release within the next 3-5 days

and thanks CannibalShogun , that track was a ***** to get the lighting how it was.

mint track m8 . i even sent you a msg when you released it over xbox .

[empecee]

Nice to see people talking about this, it's been something that has been bothering me since launch. I've seen some really nice looking tracks in the decoration and drive line department that i just can't justify giving a good rating because the lighting was completely flat. In my eyes it's a balance. A really good track pays attention to every aspect of track creation and lighting is a very important one. Imagine going to the movies and seeing one with a great story and acting but the cinematography has had no thought put into it all, 99 times out of 100 that's going to be considered a bad movie.

That being said I do think it is possible to create dynamic lighting looks without using dynamic lights. Shadows are good because they are a great way to create depth in a track, but you can also create that depth with other lighting options when the dynamic lights just aren't going to work. Flyer's track Lost Future is a great example of this. The track uses background action, static lights, colors and effects to create a great sense of depth throught the whole track to the point where I never really noticed that there weren't any shadows. And that's the main thing about lighting, it's not really that you have to have dynamic lights, it's just that you need to spend some time on lighting to make it look good, if that means dynamic lghts than great, but if you come up with other ways to do it that's all good as well. The worst thing you can do is spend a long time creating a nice track then just use only the ground and sky environment lights to light it (which i've seen many times now).

For me I try to always use at least the sunlight in some way so that there are some shadows cast from that. If interiors are too complex for dynamic lights (which is often) than the point light is great. Light the background differently from the drive line, find ways to make the rider or certain obstacles/scenery stand out. But whatever you do, if your track is having performance issues don't just sacrifice lighting to save your decorrations.

+1

[rlmergeuser]

i've spent a little longer with lighting on next next track, oh i don't know, maybe 10min instead of 5min - no joke ! And its looking damn fine.

holding of releasing at the moment due to the current comp. Really making sure its as bullet proof as i can make it. It's also got my first EVO easter egg (not to hard to find). Will release within the next 3-5 days

and thanks CannibalShogun , that track was a ***** to get the lighting how it was.

mint track m8 . i even sent you a msg when you released it over xbox .

i try to reply to all msg's, think i did with yours. Sometimes i have to many, and not enough time, can't say i don't like people leaving feedback, kinda spurs you to make more

[VPeliteFTW]

I agree with Shogun. It's not that you need to use certain kinds of lights, it's just that you need to put some thought into it and use lighting that improves the look of your track instead of just making it visible.

Still nice video Barry. Good to see people drawing more attention to an often overlooked aspect of track building.

[rlmergeuser]

I think lighting is def a factor in making things look better, but if its already ugly pls don't light it up.
Imo building outside tracks that already have sunlight in it don't need lights to brighten it up cos the sunlight is already doing that, if you do light it up i would advise to set the brightness of the light very low.

What i personally always try to avoid are lights that don't have a source that creates the light (random pointlights) i see this in a lot of tracks. While it may sometimes look better it doesn't make any sense imo. The game skyrim does this a lot too if you pay attention to it.

Its not ugly but for me it doesn't make sense.
Also I've seen a candle light brighten up whole rooms while in real life a candle doesn't give that much light.

Just keep it abit realistic is my advise.

[Morfyboy]

yeah, top topic... point lights i hardly use unless needed too.. i would use these in a room in the background, that matches theme,look, etc, that i think to myself to need to be seen..even if the riders eye catches a glimpse of it...like cannibal said, it adds depth which is certainly needed to give tracks that certain feel....im so happy that people have paid attention to this topic.if they have not really thought about light as a great tool, im sure they have now... So much can be achieved with good light..and, to put it in a nut shell, if the track casts shadows,then it works...
its only a game after all..And to make a game look real, then good LIGHT has to be the main factor...

[dasraizer]

agree with all you guys, its very important, used the sun light on my head cam tracks to better show riders posture, another thing i think is important is friction, nothing more annoying trying to stop fast to flip over knowing there was enough space to stop (ok it would help if i didn't mash the break , but button players! ), uphill through water and the backwheel should be spinning faster than a pole dancer in a stingfellow's club.

OT:I was thinking as there is a banner running across the bottom of the screen, why not use it for some insightful editor tips and plant the seed.