As I'm sure we all know by now, the game's lighting is kind of... well, iffy. My main complaint is its tendency to cut off abruptly at the edge of a cell, and there's nothing that can really be done to eliminate the problem entirely short of tanking the lighting entirely. This segues into my other complaint, which is that the game is really dark and that lights - torches in particular - aren't very effective.

Anyway, I've been playing around with lighting settings to find something that I think is a happy medium between my two complaints. This is what I've ended up with:

[LightAttenuation]UseConstant=0ConstantValue=http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1177995-who-wants-to-test-some-light-settings/1.00;UseLinear=1LinearMethod=1LinearValue=0.25LinearRadiusMult=1.25;UseQuadratic=1QuadraticMethod=2QuadraticValue=0.75QuadraticRadiusMult=1.25;OutQuadInLin=0

Of all the different combinations I've tested, this is the one that I think looks best. The biggest tradeoff seems to be that any light settings that don't cause torches to make your character's skeletal structure look really weird when a torch is held makes the light from torches totally ineffective. So, yeah... any thoughts?

Yes. Are you using the Code Patch 'increased light falloff range' feature?
I think that's an important variable to take into account.

Yeah, I forgot to metnion that.

I am using said fix.

MCP gets rid of the ugly cutting, and I don't get the useless torches part, I find them very useful. Torch can always be given a bigger radius if needed for those pitch black places, but in original game there is no cell that needs such a powerful torch a anyway, such mods should add stronger torches in the 1st place.

Not really. It gets rid of a lot of it, yes, but it is most definitely still there - particularly if you're using quadratic lighting.



The problem isn't the radius - it's the magnitude.

Quadratic lighting? IIRC lighting radius is always round, not sure what you're talking about.



Magnitude goes down proportionally to the radius. Bigger radius will make the torch shine brighter closer around the player = the bigger the magnitude the bigger is the radius, as it should in reality.

If you look at those settings I posted initially, I'm referring to the part that says "quadratic", which is disabled by default. With just linear lighting activated, seeing things is never really an issue, since everything is usually adequately lighted... except when it isn't. In either case, torches don't really change the situation much.



My testing shows almost no difference between a radius of 128 and a radius of 500.

I see you have Linear lighting AND Quadratic lighting enabled. I thought you had to disable Linear if you used Quadratic. Do they work together mutually together? and look better?

They do work together, yes.
Some people even use all three types at once.

Ah, I didnt know they could work together, whats the impact on FPS if any and what is the quality of it compared to using a singular one?

Well, it's hard to say unless someone other than me gives it a whirl. It's one of those things that varies from computer to computer.

I personally never noticed any real difference in FPS for the different lighting types, I could be wrong though. :shrug:

Me, either.

But the overall light will vary from monitor to monitor. I personally have to crank the gamma correction way up just so I can see, which is annoying because then the screenshots I take look all dark.

Just tried out your settings. Too "glowy" and bright for me and gives everything this weird tint.

I changed it to this and I like the result:

UseLinear=1
LinearMethod=1
LinearValue=http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1177995-who-wants-to-test-some-light-settings/0.15
LinearRadiusMult=1.0
;
UseQuadratic=1
QuadraticMethod=2
QuadraticValue=http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1177995-who-wants-to-test-some-light-settings/2.5
QuadraticRadiusMult=1.15

Well, I have different results, so no idea.

+1 on no FPS from different lighting settings tho, in fact I didn't notice any big FPS drop difference between having 1 light source and 10 of them to be honest (given that they are invisible markers, and not meshes).

Actually lighting will effect fps, it usually takes quite a few lights tho, for me, it takes like 30 or something before I really start feeling an effect. I just posted somethign about this too, but the lighting part wasnt very indepth, I am sure there is more to add though.

Dark? I've never found the game dark. I want it darker in fact! I have always felt lights were mostly useless, because everything is obviously light by ambient lighting.

Sorry BTB, but your settings looks terrible. All green and glowing... Why, it's like nuclear waste! I don't have the light falloff option activated. It seems to be gone from the latest beta as well, which is what I am using. morrowindguy's looks nicer, but still too aggressive for my taste.

I haven't used lighting mods yet, and I haven't messed too much with the light settings. I figured I'd get to it when I finally do darken my game. Y'know, when I actually play it again... I have it at default, with the only changes being enabling quadratic and setting QuadraticRadiusMult to 1.4. I've found that it looks nice and minimizes the green color, which is a problem with the colors of the light, I believe.

I have managed to make regular lights go black by setting things really high. It was trippy, and it felt like you were lost. That was a walk by the Odai that I'll never forget.

I should add that I have a particular fascination with light, so I pay a lot of attention to it. Experience in photography probably makes me even more critical. In both of the examples given, it just looks too unnatural. I'm quite used to candlelight and firelight, and being in rooms only with candles, and the atmosphere just isn't there.

[LightAttenuation]
UseConstant=0
ConstantValue=http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1177995-who-wants-to-test-some-light-settings/0.0
;
UseLinear=0
LinearMethod=1
LinearValue=http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1177995-who-wants-to-test-some-light-settings/3.0
LinearRadiusMult=1.0
;
UseQuadratic=1
QuadraticMethod=2
QuadraticValue=http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1177995-who-wants-to-test-some-light-settings/16.0
QuadraticRadiusMult=6.0
;
OutQuadInLin=0

I will have to play with my settings some, but so far they work fine for me.

Hmm, that looks pretty good. I was doubtful when I saw QuadraticRadiusMult that high.

Edit: Oh wait, never mind. Looks like I hit Meta+S instead of Ctrl+S, so the changes didn't save. Still too strong for me.

Don't you all find that green glow and strong flashing to be jarring? I mean, it's just not subtle. A candle is.

Jeoshua's lighting is still the best of the best! :tongue:

[LightAttenuation]UseConstant=1ConstantValue=http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1177995-who-wants-to-test-some-light-settings/0.382UseLinear=1LinearMethod=1LinearValue=1LinearRadiusMult=1UseQuadratic=1QuadraticMethod=2QuadraticValue=2.619QuadraticRadiusMult=1OutQuadInLin=0

That is amazing. Thank you, that sure saves me time. It even looks good with no ambient or sunlight.
I'm sure I would have searched the forums for settings eventually. So I did a search, and found that info, and the math behind it for anyone interested. I knew math would make it rock.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/956115-graphics-to-those-asking-about-graphics-mods-start-here/ Scroll down to the lighting section.

And there is this ( which is linked in the above thread ) which explains what each setting is for. Apparently the Xbox .ini explained it... Scroll to the sixth post.
http://www.yacoby.net/es/forum/9/6227011168971900.html