Lighting up a object in G-Max.

[robin9000 88]

I have been creating mods for a little while now but have not yet been able to figure out how to successfully make functioning lights in G-max.

For instance I am working on a Train station and I would like to add some Lighting in key locations with some street lamps.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

[robin9000 88]

I am working on a new 6 block long and two track wide train station. View the attached picture of the station to see what I am talking about.

I would like to know how I can add some working lights to it and have them look right. I have played with spot lights on a station that I just released already and they did not seem to work for me after the station was rendered.

In this one I would like some advise on different lighting I could add to the station, How to edit the lighting so it looks right and how to make it work correctly.

Any and all advise would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[harishna 847]

Nice little model you got there.

I would recommend you to use only one thread or to use the troubleshooting section.

About your stations I think you are going to encounter 2 problems first I believe that the lights projected into the track are not going to be visible unless you also model the tracks. Second you are using gmax which is not very good for lighting so all you can do is play with the size of the cone, the decay and intensity until you find settings that you like.

Also when showing progress on your work its advisable to use show rendered previews rather than a snapshot from the viewport. The rendered previews give a better idea on how the proportions and materials applied to a model will look in-game as it simulates the views and the lighting used in SC4.

[robin9000 88]

I am working on a model and have found the perfect day texture but I don't want to have the same texture for the night. I am working with G-Max. Is it possible to have a different texture for night then what I have for the day view?

I really hope this is somehow possible?

UPDATE: I have now created a poll and attached two photos to this topic to help me decide in what I should do because I am really unsure of what people will think?

By the way it's just a G-Max rendering, (not textured and only a few of the windows are done so that you get the idea.) I would be using night texture for all the windows at night and the windows you see in the right side of the model to complete the day look.

Please if you don't think it's great tell me how to fix my problem. Give me a link to a place where I can fix it or straight up just tell me how to, thanks.

Thank you to all.

  Edited June 17, 2011 by robin9000  

[His Divine Hand 244]

Yes-ish. Props can be made to be in-game time dependent, so that between x o'clock and whenever, the prop shows, but after that it disappears. Now, what you will have to do is render your model with both textures so that you end up with two of your building, and make them both props in the PIM. Then you make one prop show during the day, and the other prop at night (this might be a bit trickier, but there are tutorials amongst the community), and viola! Your building texture changes between day and night.

[Cockatoo 2,256]

It all depends on what you mean. If you're simply trying to light up some windows with an illuminated texture, just add the 'nite' prefix to the object name of your window. However, if you want to change something else, for instance a wall texture, well I don't think that's possible in the Gmax BAT. With the traditional export process (the process used by the Gmax BAT), what you see at night in game is essentially the same as what you see during the day, only with your night lighting overlayed. The whole thing is then tinted purple / orange by the game to simulate night / dawn. It's a difficult thing to wrap your head around at first, but BAT's exported via the traditional process only contain a full day export and an overlay for that day export to create night lighting. This is why you can’t change things such as wall textures between them. With the truNite export process though, you can change virtually anything you like between the day and night exports as long as the LOD's stay the same size. This is because truNite does away with overlays and allows you to do a full export for both day and night. I think truNite is only available with BAT4Max through - the 3ds Max BAT, but I could be wrong. If you can find truNite for Gmax, it'll solve your problem - otherwise you'll have to export your model twice and use the timed props.

[robin9000 88]

Yes-ish. Props can be made to be in-game time dependent, so that between x o'clock and whenever, the prop shows, but after that it disappears. Now, what you will have to do is render your model with both textures so that you end up with two of your building, and make them both props in the PIM. Then you make one prop show during the day, and the other prop at night (this might be a bit trickier, but there are tutorials amongst the community), and viola! Your building texture changes between day and night.

Where do I find the timed props tutorial. Also if I create the building as a prop then that means I need to create some kind of object to put in the center of the building to actually act as the building so that I can create my stats and such, correct?

[harishna 847]

Robin9000 please try to use only one thread or the troubleshooting section

[cogeo 960]

I would recommend against using timed props (using the Time of Day property), if possible. They are known to cause the so called Prop Pox (a data corruption problem, resulting in the loss of many props in the city's lots). It can be caused if the player uninstalls the prop-files without first bulldozing all lots they are used into; or if the prop definition changes from simple to timed or vice versa. Instead, you can use the Resource Key Type 4 property along with the Nighttime State Change one (set it to 1). The game will simply display the state-1 model during the night and the state-0 one during the day. But such a prop is not really "timed". Of course you will need to export your model twice, once with the textures/colours that look OK during the day, and once more with the night ones.

  Edited June 17, 2011 by cogeo  

[robin9000 88]

I would recommend against using timed props (using the Time of Day property), if possible. They are known to cause the so called Prop Pox (a data corruption problem, resulting in the loss of many props in the city's lots). It can be caused if the player uninstalls the prop-files without first bulldozing all lots they are used into; or if the prop definition changes from simple to timed or vice versa. Instead, you can use the Resource Key Type 4 property along with the Nighttime State Change one (set it to 1). The game will simply display the state-1 model during the night and the state-0 one during the day. But such a prop is not really "timed". Of course you will need to export your model twice, once with the textures/colours that look OK during the day, and once more with the night ones.

Where do I find this Resource Key 4 Property?

[Lach77 2]

Looks good - the props make it really realistic. The only thing I would say is the platforms look a bit too narrow and the stairwells creat chokepoints for passengers on the platforms and especially in the middle of the concourse. Other than that though it is a great pragmatic style for a suburban station.

[00.7 Cheeses 69]

Wow There's a great diversity on props. I relly like that

Maybe you should make the staircase a bit bigger. Try to search for safety rules on governmental buildings for stairs. Then you will end up with a realistic staircase. Also in modern platforms there are elevators so why aren't you making them from beautiful glass?

Progress is going great

-Ernst

[Cockatoo 2,256]

I've merged the three topics you made about lighting into a single topic. It's better not to start a new thread every time you have a new question, but to add to your old one.