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cubemaps and nonreflective surfaces
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 Re: cubemaps and nonreflective surfaces
Posted by coldbladed on Wed Dec 29th at 2:25am 2004

Do cubemaps have an effect on nonreflective surfaces? I ask because I was having a hard time getting lighting in my map to look good, shadows, props being overlit etc, and I threw in a cubemap entity and whalah. So whats the deal there? A happy coincidence? Does the buildcubemaps do more than just build the cubemaps?
Thanks in advance,


***EDIT***
Crap this was accidentally posted in HL1 section of the forums. Admin pls move, I have no clue how to




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 Re: cubemaps and nonreflective surfaces
Posted by Nickelplate on Wed Dec 29th at 2:02pm 2004

cubemaps affect EVERY surface except prop surfaces. Since they help sort out lighting and stuff. Cubemaps are very necessary for HL2 maps. Place one for every good-sized surface you have. [addsig]



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 Re: cubemaps and nonreflective surfaces
Posted by JFry on Wed Dec 29th at 11:44pm 2004

one for every surface? I was under the impression you only needed one for each area of contrasting light.



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 Re: cubemaps and nonreflective surfaces
Posted by Campaignjunkie on Wed Dec 29th at 11:55pm 2004

Cubemaps affect props, yes. Basically, most shaders in HL2 use cubemaps in some way or another. JFry is right, place one for each general area that contrasts with another. In a few isolated instances, you'll want to define cubemaps for specific surfaces, but most of the time no.
[addsig]



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 Re: cubemaps and nonreflective surfaces
Posted by coldbladed on Thu Dec 30th at 12:13am 2004

? quote:
place one for each general area that contrasts with another.


How do you mean exactly? One per each room? Or if I have a fancy lighting effect at one end of a large room will placing two cubemaps on either end of that room cause the effect of the lighting to be different on the far side (and if so, more lit or less lit according to the other side of the room)?

I realize I can play with this on my own but I have done a lot of playing and not a lot of sense is coming of it




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 Re: cubemaps and nonreflective surfaces
Posted by satchmo on Thu Dec 30th at 5:17am 2004

? quote:
One per each room? Or if I have a fancy lighting effect at one end of a large room will placing two cubemaps on either end of that room...


Exactly correct. That's how I use them. The lighting effect on the walls and models looks much better with cubemaps built.
[addsig]




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