Props with improper lightmapping

[Pdan4]

[RESOLVED]

Hey y'all, I'm running into a very strange issue with props for my In & Out Detailing Contest entry.

I've had props that were properly lightmapped before, but now ignore light_env except for its ambient. They almost look black... almost. Regular lights work fine, but this stuff is outdoors and I'd prefer to not use a massive spotlight in place of the sun.

I have tried changing all the prop settings relating to lighting, with no luck. In fact, disabling vertex lighting instead disables lightmapping and the prop gets vertex lit instead.

I have also tried changing the light_env settings, angles, sunspread values, etc... no change.

I've tested the JI palm trees (I checked, and the textures are as basic as possible; no bumpmapping or phong, etc.) JI foliage, the big barren swamp trees, and the props_woods trees.

 

[Zeus]

What happens if you set a info_lighting origin on the prop to somewhere thats clearly in very bright light?

Ususally this happens if the prop's origin is completely occluded by ambient light by a world brush and can be "hacked" around with a info_lighting entity

Also screenshots are very helpful too

 

[Pdan4]

I have set test models in mid-air in front of skybox walls in open spaces, and the issue persists. Besides, with lightmapping, the origin doesn't matter. There's not much to screenshot; my props look almost black but are tinted a tiny bit navy by the light_env ambient.

 

[Zeus]

And model is a prop_static with shadows enabled and that it was compiled with $static_prop? Also the vmt for the texture; i assume that is an VertexLitGeneric?

Screenshot of the prop's properties page and what it looks like will help people understand what it is and other people see if this is the same issue affecting them

 

[Pdan4]

The props are stock static props, yeah. Like I said, the props were lightmapping before, and then suddenly not. The issue persists regardless of the settings of the prop, unfortunately. "Disable Vertex Lighting: Yes" makes them vertex lit instead of badly-lightmapped.


Edit: SORSE MOMENT.

If I launch TF2 with Hammer, the props show up with this non-direct-env lightmapping.

If I launch TF2 with Steam, they appear lit. I am checking now to see if they're getting vertex lit or properly lightmapped.

Edit 2:

Okay, only sometimes are the props properly lit? Still busted.

 

[Da Spud Lord]

Maybe it's something to do with your graphics configuration? Try running the game with the -autoconfig parameter (after copying your cfg files to a different folder, so you don't lose your current settings).

 

[Pdan4]

No fix with -autoconfig.

 

[Pdan4]

UPDATE: It turns out my light_environment was from an older version where I wanted to switch it on or off.

Named light_envs can seriously break lightmapped props' lighting; they can appear black or lit only by ambient. They can pop into vertex lighting on some map loads, too. In addition, even if you turn vertex lighting off, they will be vertex lit.

Thanks to WillWow_mc who I can't seem to @mention here. They mentioned remaking my light_env and I wouldn't have noticed mine was named without their suggestion.

 

[MOCOLONI]

Naming light entities was never a good idea in the first place, unless you needed to. It generates weird lighting, degrades performance, and also seems to affect filesize.

 

[DrSquishy]

Named light_envs can seriously break prop lighting; they can appear black or lit only by ambient. They can pop into vertex lighting on some map loads, too. In addition, even if you turn vertex lighting off, they will be vertex lit.

Incredible, source will never cease to surprise me with some of the minor things that can cause issues like this.
Is a named light_environment a cause for the recurring 'all props in the map appear black/world geometry is fine' issue then?

 

[Pdan4]

Naming light entities was never a good idea in the first place, unless you needed to. It generates weird lighting, degrades performance, and also seems to affect filesize.

Well, it's fine if you know what you're doing, but I hadn't experienced this particular issue before.

Incredible, source will never cease to surprise me with some of the minor things that can cause issues like this.
Is a named light_environment a cause for the recurring 'all props in the map appear black/world geometry is fine' issue then?

I have edited my post - it can break lightmapped props.