Neverwinter Nights 2 Forum News

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Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 2 forum highlights, collected by NWVault from Obsidian Forums. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

Brian Lawson, Graphics Programming

Graphic Comparisions
There are a couple of things I see in this scene that indicate at the very least...incorrectness to me. If you'll notice, the world geometry (the floor that the skeleton is standing on etc) is lit with a blue/green light coming from the LEFT and a more neutral coloered light coming from the right. Now take a good look at the skeleton and you'll see that he's lit in almost the opposite fashion with the blue/green light to the right and the neutral light to the left...

Also, the torches and flames that you see on the walls in the upper right hand portion of the image seem to have shadows (or "darker" areas) ABOVE them rather than below them as one would typically expect. I can see that they're encased and those shadows are likely the shadows being cast from the cases...but where's the additional light that those torches should be eminating upwards??

Hence, for those very reasons. I can't tell if any of that light is being done real-time or if it's all pre-baked. I'd assume that the lighting on the skeleton is real-time, but which is technically correct?? The world geometry or the skeleton? As for the skeleton's chest plate, it's a tough call as to whether it's normal mapped. With the lighting in the scene appearing to be in a conflicting state it's tough to make a call on anything else. By the way, those are just things that I as a "game player" would notice from looking at this image (nevermind my technical experience).

 

I agree about the torches but the skeleton and the floor appear to be lit with a blue green light coming from a doorway off camera to the right. Of course that should mean that the skeleton should be generating a shadow but I guess there is only so much that can be expected from a game.

 

I can see where you'd think that JSBB, but I must disagree. Unless there are actually three sources (2 blue-green), then the blue-green light must be coming from off camera left, above and behind the skeleton.

Beneath it's right elbow there is a piece of stonework protruding from the arch. It's flat end is lit with the blue-green light and it casts a shadow downward and toward the skeleton.

 

The problem with an off camera left light source is that there is no way it could produce the observed pattern of clear division of blue-green light versus neutral light on the floor to the right of the skeleton.

I suppose a two blue-green source wouldn't really work either as the front of the masonary that you pointed out should be illuminated by the blue-green light if there was an off-camera right door source.

I guess that just proves that the lighting system doesn't work very realistically.