ParoXum Posted April 7, 2007 Share Posted April 7, 2007 (edited) How to render Vertex Colors using a Radiosity Solution. First, what's Radiosity ? It's basically the best way to light things, for rendars, and for prelit models, just like GTA uses. Radiosity is a very powerful calculating process, that can simulate real life lighting. With particle effects, expositions, exposure controls, volumetric lights, fog light simulation and reflect-refract uv each others. Vertex Colors, What you need to know (read carefuly) : When rendering a vertex color system to a mesh, you need at least two parameters to be filled. - First is the quality of the scene lights. Lights needs to be alway 3/4 view from the model for exteriors, and need to use soft shadows parameters (shadow map). The exterior light is never white. Always use a small ammount of yellow-grey to it. For interior lights needs to be diffrent, you need to work with renders before starting to apply the vertex colors. You'll have to play with intensity, far attenuation, and advanced raytraced shadows. Note, when using more than 8 lights, max will not show the further added lights in the viewports. Only in the renders. For interiors, use a white-blue neon color, and an intensity of 1.0 for light sources that generate shadows. Hint : If you placed all your lights correctly, but the scene is way too dark, please don't increase the intensity of them. Just add another small fill light with grey color, and 0.1-0.2 intensity. - The other parameter needed for a good quality vertex color is the amount of polygons on the surfaces receiving projected shadows. Let me explain, since the colors are applied on vertex ticks, the more the vertex number is high, the more shadows and lighting changes will be noticeable. A good way to increase the resolution of a mesh without crushing it is Tesselate. Use it with tension to 0. It will divide your polies into 4, increasing this way the vertex used on your mesh. VERY Important. The tutorial : - Start 3Dsmax 8 or 9, whatever SP you have. - Create your scene, if you already have one, merge it into the scene we're gonna set. - Look at the picture : - Go in the Render panel, Advanced Lighting window : - Set all the parameters like on the pic !!! Very Important. - You see the scene in viewport is still the same, normal. Place your lights, as explained before, at right place. Not on the neons, but a bit under. We're not in real life, omnis needs to be placed differently. - Now that everything is tweaked as we want, 1. Press "Reset", to reset an old solution, in case you're rendering for a second time. 2. Press "Start", and then wait till the process is finished. It's gonna take alot of time on low end computers, and it'll also depend on the solution quality. For our example, 88% is a good ratio time/quality. - Also the refine iterations are very important to get the best result. Wait till the refine iteration are done. Go get a cup of coffee, hot coffee. => When it's finished, follow this pic instructions : 1. Click "Setup" to set the Exposure Control Setting. For the moment, nothing is set yet. 2. Set the same automatic parameters as me. Hint : You can tweak the ambient color, Color background and Tint of the lighting to get the right athmosphere settings you want. Each time you change one, press "Render Preview". Hint : You can tweak Brightness and contrast aswell, but be careful with these value, because it's not really seen in the viewport, but after you applied vertex colors to the mesh. !!! 3. Press "Render Preview", Now you see the Radiosity Solution in the viewports. That's what we're gonna export with Kams Scripts, but before, follow these steps : - Select the model that will receive the vertex paint, go in the tool panel, pop up the the "Assign Vertex Colors" panel (seen in basic tutorials). - Set the SAME parameters as me, again. Make SURE you have checked "Radiosity, Reuse Illum From Solution" in the Options. - Click "Assign to Selected" Wait till the computer has finished to take all the radiosity solution to vertex paint. - You can now see exactly what's the result by toggleling the "VertexPaint" panel to the same state as in the pic below : => Last Step : Use the same exporting values : Here we are, now you handle the best lighting process. If you fail with this tutorial, you canstill use paint magic method, but that's far far from a radiosity quality. ParoXum. http://www.gostownparadise.com/ Edited July 11, 2008 by ParoXum Txeroki, SarahPilko, Blue and 7 others 9 1 Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
aad Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Wow thats really handy when it comes to adding NVC to dark hall ways etc, or adding some light to some ally's great tutorial Parox even i can figure this one out with to much hasle. Thanx added it to my favorites now. Aad. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4158724 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackadder. Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Very good tutorial, well marked out and easy to follow Great Job Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4158788 Share on other sites More sharing options...
-/TNT\- Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 The height of excellence, thanks ParoXum! And some questions: 1. How long does it take to render a scene like that one? 2. How do you make those reflections on the floor? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4158790 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParoXum Posted April 8, 2007 Author Share Posted April 8, 2007 1. On my comp 2 : minutes. (3.2GHz Core 2 Duo) 2. Ingame or in max ? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4158818 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JostVice Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Nice tutorial, mate. You re the boss in these zones. Thank you TNT, they are done via Cullzones, jump into maps editing forum and in the documentation topic Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4159226 Share on other sites More sharing options...
uNi Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Awesome tutorial, thanks for sharing ParoXum. RyanDri3957V 1 Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4159236 Share on other sites More sharing options...
commando Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 This is what I been waiting for, thanks for sharing you expertise. I have a few questions tho... For prelightning exterior maps you just have to configure a skylight map and follow the radiosity options on this tutorial or do i have to input different settings for it. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4160152 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParoXum Posted April 8, 2007 Author Share Posted April 8, 2007 For exteriors it's the same. But a skylight willl take more time than an omni. Prefer omni, even for exteriors. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4160230 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickarrow Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Yay, an easy to follow tutorial on fancy lighting Thanks for sharing this ParoX. I'm gonna try this asap on some interiors.... Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4161398 Share on other sites More sharing options...
raresh_r Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 very good ..i'll try it. what if i want to make a dark place on a map ? a dark corner ... Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4163409 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParoXum Posted April 10, 2007 Author Share Posted April 10, 2007 Just use far attenuation. Or create an omni with negative intensity (will generate black light) Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4163437 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParoXum Posted April 21, 2007 Author Share Posted April 21, 2007 = First your mesh is too LP. = Second, you need to define refine iteration higher than 1 (30 set in the tut) = Third, set the exposure control to auto, and if it's to bright, delete omnis. Only one omni is needed to cast shadows. Both others are useless except if it's fill light. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4197757 Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaad Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 great tanks.... Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4390048 Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaad Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 great tanks.... I dont know what rong that I had done... but Im so sorry for bad post that I made .... which I don't know it ... but may be this is the esp ling problem because I'm not English one .... great tanks ===>> i want to say ===>>great thanks any way....I'm so so so sorry really I want to thanks Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4406044 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dertyjerzian Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 great tanks.... I dont know what rong that I had done... but Im so sorry for bad post that I made .... which I don't know it ... but may be this is the esp ling problem because I'm not English one .... great tanks ===>> i want to say ===>>great thanks any way....I'm so so so sorry really I want to thanks I just HAVE to comment on this. This is the prime definition of posts that use many smilies, but have every right reason for doing it. abaab has used the emoticons to convey his feelings, as he is unsure of how well he is communicating his thoughts, though he knows he must be close. The emoticon brings clarity. Keep at it dude. Are you using firefox? CTRL+T a new tab and use Google Translate to help to get your words together, you will learn quite fast Even if it does not give you word for word what you will post, it will certainly help you out in many aspects. Just so you know, Great Tanks is easily discernible and you can be lax. I feel bad for some of the post you are forced to read in English because of the many worse and more confusing typographical errors Keep it up dude, see ya out there. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-4406085 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surigangsta Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Nice tutorial, Only problem is I dont know excatly how i must put my omni light settings to get good results, It Works but it looks very ugly . Soo could U Rather Make A video tutorial so ill be able to see the way u set ure omni light settings Greetz Me:) Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1059343950 Share on other sites More sharing options...
supermortalhuman Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Are your omni lights perhaps just too intense? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1059344124 Share on other sites More sharing options...
JostVice Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 There are no magic settings for lights... it depends of the environment and the scene, you may use different color and falloff for different stuff (a garage isn't lighted the same way as a nightclub, no?) All you can do is test and test, I won't play with any other value than the intensity, color and shadow color at start Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1059344132 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kal-el5676 Posted May 23, 2010 Share Posted May 23, 2010 ok, so after playing with this for about 15 hours i get the same result every time. Be it omni's, sky light. whichever, it always, always, always does this: The shadows are completely uncontrollable. Tessellate causes my poly's to go from 20,000 to 100,000 and makes the model invisible in game, so i canned that. moving the lights, playing with settings, nothing makes any difference. very frustrating and time consuming. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1059938959 Share on other sites More sharing options...
hristobg Posted September 26, 2010 Share Posted September 26, 2010 ParoXum, how did you made the reflections on the floor? Did you copy whole model and paste it up-side-down? Please, reply Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1060140514 Share on other sites More sharing options...
kal-el5676 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 ParoXum, how did you made the reflections on the floor? Did you copy whole model and paste it up-side-down? Please, reply Cull zones. So over the years I have gotten pretty good at this and it's kinda fun. One question though. Around door and window frames for example it's VERY dark. The shadowed parts are SUPER dark while the lit parts are SUPER white. Is there any way to balance it a bit better or make the lighting not so "hard"? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1061785555 Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrilaeshell Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 (edited) I wanted to know that whether we have to select only the object or also the omni's for the export? p.s. the object shows in map editor but crashes the game Edited November 7, 2013 by cyrilaeshell Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1063985084 Share on other sites More sharing options...
McArthur Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Hello! Is there any way to assign separate radiocity instances to vertex color and night vertex color? Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1064454619 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Have this Post is on ? i want ask one question :\ , how can you make reflection at floor ? , please tell me any one help me please i like that improved Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1067202735 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DK22Pac Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 http://www.gtamodding.com/wiki/CULL Retired 1 Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1067215602 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 http://www.gtamodding.com/wiki/CULL hmm , thank's for information , but i don't so understand to well :\ Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1067219278 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ТheCrazyGamer Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Dudes, how make effect like in this pic ? (I am talking about floor) Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1068680325 Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMK_033 Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 (edited) Thanks a lot, great tutorial, eveything is simple and clear. But I wonder, is it possible to make an obstacle-dependent omni light (ie. light with shadows)? I mean that in my example the light isn't supposed to spread through the roof of the porch. Edited November 8, 2017 by MMK_033 RyanDri3957V and Kyrie 2 Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1069921116 Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginalCranky Posted September 12, 2024 Share Posted September 12, 2024 sucks all the pics don't work anymore, great tutorial anyway. Link to comment https://gtaforums.com/topic/273217-3dsmax-radiosity-advanced-lighting/#findComment-1072431258 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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