Lighting problems

MaD_MaX

L1: Registered
Sep 28, 2014
10
0
Been working on a jump map for a while now, but have encountered an issue with the lighting on my map. Whenever i render it to .bsp for testing, it comes out like i dont even have a light_enviroment in my map. Skybox textures work fine, and if i use the cordon tool to run only the first lvl of the map (the one with the light_enviroment) it works fine, but if i turn off cordon tool to render the whole map it doesnt work. Also the filesize of the map turns out smaller than on previous renders. Im pretty new to mapping so im probably just beeing a noob but cant seem to figure out how to fix this, so any help woud be great!

Have checked for leaks, also ran the compile log through the error check at interlopers.net/errors but comes out with no errors.
Compile is running with BSP, VIS and RAD all set to normal
 

Seba

DR. BIG FUCKER, PHD
aa
Jun 9, 2009
2,364
2,728
Do you have more than one light_env maybe?
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
Lets sum up the symptoms:
  • Map is unlit
  • Smaller filesize
  • Symptoms go away when limiting to a small area of the map

This leads me to conclude that vrad does not run successfully. As such you don't get any lightmaps. This explains the smaller filesize.
 

MaD_MaX

L1: Registered
Sep 28, 2014
10
0
Its fullbright. Rooms are lit but no light from skybox and no shadows.
Been reading about Lighting optimization, can it be that i have too many lights?
maybe i need to switch to light _static instead of dynamic?
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
Never use dynamic lights unless they actually move.
 
Mar 23, 2013
1,013
347
Its fullbright. Rooms are lit but no light from skybox and no shadows.
Been reading about Lighting optimization, can it be that i have too many lights?
maybe i need to switch to light _static instead of dynamic?

ph yeah, just use light.... and if I can make a little guess... you aren't useing prop_dynamic for every single prop in your map, are you?
 

MaD_MaX

L1: Registered
Sep 28, 2014
10
0
ok so all lights used in map are just normal light and light_spot.
all props are in fact prop_dynamic, which im guessing is a bad thing?
 

radarhead

Basically? Kind of a Huge Mess
aa
Mar 6, 2013
1,045
625
ok so all lights used in map are just normal light and light_spot.
all props are in fact prop_dynamic, which im guessing is a bad thing?

Prop_dynamic is used for animated or moving props, and takes up more filespace. Any prop in your map that isn't animated or moving should be a prop_static.
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
Not filespace, entdicts. The engine has to track all dynamic props at runtime over the network. There is a limited number of entdicts available. The engine will terminate if you go over the limit.
 
Mar 23, 2013
1,013
347
ok so all lights used in map are just normal light and light_spot.
all props are in fact prop_dynamic, which im guessing is a bad thing?

Why don't you use prop_static? Because it dosn't sound so fancy? :mad:
And yes, always use prop_static if posssible. Prop_dynamic only for props which need to be moved or animated.
Maybe you should watch a few tutorials before you run in hundrets of other begginer errors
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
Dynamic props also can't cast static shadows or get the more accurate lighting that you can use on static props (it's a compile option; when you get to the detailing phase, someone will probably bring it up). So they're objectively inferior unless you need to use them.
 

MaD_MaX

L1: Registered
Sep 28, 2014
10
0
Changed all props to static. However lighting still dont work. anyone got any more suggestions to what it might be?
Will post compile log as soon as i have the time (if needed)
 

MaD_MaX

L1: Registered
Sep 28, 2014
10
0
So here is the compile log. hoping someone can make sense of it! this issue is really frustrating me!


** Executing...
** Command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\bin\vbsp.exe"
** Parameters: -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf" "C:\Users\Espen\Desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.vmf"

Valve Software - vbsp.exe (Sep 30 2014)
6 threads
materialPath: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\materials
Loading C:\Users\Espen\Desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.vmf
Patching WVT material: maps/jump_max_v2/dev/dev_blendmeasure_wvt_patch
Patching WVT material: maps/jump_max_v2/swamp/brick/blendswampcobble001_wvt_patch
Patching WVT material: maps/jump_max_v2/dev/dev_blendmeasure2_wvt_patch
fixing up env_cubemap materials on brush sides...
ProcessBlock_Thread: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
ProcessBlock_Thread: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (1)
Processing areas...done (0)
Building Faces...done (0)
Chop Details...done (0)
Find Visible Detail Sides...
Merged 26 detail faces...done (0)
Merging details...done (0)
FixTjuncs...
PruneNodes...
WriteBSP...
done (0)
writing C:\Users\Espen\Desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.prt...Building visibility clusters...
done (0)
Creating default LDR cubemaps for env_cubemap using skybox materials:
skybox/sky_day03_06_hdr*.vmt
! Run buildcubemaps in the engine to get the correct cube maps.
Creating default HDR cubemaps for env_cubemap using skybox materials:
skybox/sky_day03_06_hdr*.vmt
! Run buildcubemaps in the engine to get the correct cube maps.
Finding displacement neighbors...
Finding lightmap sample positions...
Displacement Alpha : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
Building Physics collision data...
done (2) (428598 bytes)
Placing detail props : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10
Water found with no water_lod_control entity, creating a default one.
Compacting texture/material tables...
Reduced 1188 texinfos to 852
Reduced 75 texdatas to 57 (2032 bytes to 1314)
Writing C:\Users\Espen\Desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.bsp
5 seconds elapsed

** Executing...
** Command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\bin\vvis.exe"
** Parameters: -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf" "C:\Users\Espen\Desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2"

Valve Software - vvis.exe (Sep 30 2014)
6 threads
reading c:\users\espen\desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.bsp
reading c:\users\espen\desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.prt
1677 portalclusters
4655 numportals
BasePortalVis: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)
PortalFlow: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (14)
Optimized: 345 visible clusters (0.14%)
Total clusters visible: 249951
Average clusters visible: 149
Building PAS...
Average clusters audible: 246
visdatasize:192037 compressed from 724464
writing c:\users\espen\desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.bsp
14 seconds elapsed

** Executing...
** Command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\bin\vrad.exe"
** Parameters: -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf" "C:\Users\Espen\Desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2"

Valve Software - vrad.exe SSE (Sep 30 2014)

Valve Radiosity Simulator
6 threads
[Reading texlights from 'lights.rad']
[34 texlights parsed from 'lights.rad']

Loading c:\users\espen\desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.bsp
Setting up ray-trace acceleration structure... Done (0.66 seconds)
11251 faces
1 degenerate faces
17929134 square feet [2581795328.00 square inches]
0 Displacements
0 Square Feet [0.00 Square Inches]
11250 patches before subdivision
557806 patches after subdivision
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 600.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 389.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 369.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 369.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 522.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 350.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 200.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 200.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 254.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 254.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 672.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 400.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
light has _fifty_percent_distance of 400.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000
sun extent from map=0.087156
122 direct lights
BuildFacelights: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (100)
BuildVisLeafs: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7..
** Executing...
** Command: Copy File
** Parameters: "C:\Users\Espen\Desktop\jump_max 2\jump_max_v2.bsp" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\maps\jump_max_v2.bsp"


** Executing...
** Command: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\hl2.exe"
** Parameters: -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf" +map "jump_max_v2" -steam
 

Muddy

Muddy
aa
Sep 5, 2014
2,574
4,592
"light has _fifty_percent_distance of 700.000000 but _zero_percent_distance of 0.000000"

I think that might be your problem. Were you trying to change the brightness/radius of your lights? Because it seems you tried to change the "50 percent falloff distance" setting to a number greater than the "0 percent falloff distance" setting.

To change the brightness of a light, you should use the "Brightness" setting (funnily enough). The first three numbers (normally 255 255 255) just refer to the light's colour, so don't worry about them; the fourth colour (200 by default) is the brightness of the light. 200 is pretty bright already, so unless you're trying to light up particularly large rooms, you shouldn't need to have this setting greater than 300. In the end, though, getting your lights right is a trial-and-error process, especially for newbies.

Oh, and to fix your problem, just set the "50 percent falloff distance" setting to 0 on all your lights.
 
Last edited:

Muddy

Muddy
aa
Sep 5, 2014
2,574
4,592
Oh. Er, are you sure you've fixed all the lights? The only other error I can see in your compile log is "1 degenerate faces", but I don't think that has anything to do with the lighting (it's still a good idea to fix that kind of thing though).

At this point, you may need to just get rid of all your lights and redo them. Unless anyone else can determine a potential cause.
 

MaD_MaX

L1: Registered
Sep 28, 2014
10
0
From interlopers:
[number] degenerate face(s)

Description:
A degenerate face is a face with no area. For instance, when two of its points are at the same place or three vertices on one line. Rarely, this error can cause all the lighting in your level to become black. If this happens, you will have to track down the degenerate face(s). This is however rare, so only go after the face if your level turns completely dark or you experience other strange errors.

Solution:
Don't try to fix this error if you don't experience strange problems, it will take you ages to find them in your level (trial and error, most likely). You will want to examply vertex-manipulated brushes first.


Generally, this error may be ignored

So if it can cause a map to go black, it can cause it to go fullbright?
in any case i think its worth a shot. So to my next question, how do i find it? in what kind of area would this occur?