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Vega Prime: Seeing the light

Mon, April 20, 2009 - 9:23.

Posted by Yannick Lefebvre.  

As in real life, light is very important in any type of 3D visualization environment to be able to see the terrain and various models that it contains, but also to give everything a realistic appearance. A lighting effect can quickly make a simulated environment look wrong or look picture-perfect. While ambient light has been a strength of Vega Prime for some time with its skylight capability, a new feature released as part of Vega Prime v.2.2.1, called Projected Light Lobes, addresses the ability to create realistic spotlights in the environment.

 

Light lobes are essentially directed beams of light that are positioned in the environment or are attached to a given moving model. Like any other Vega Prime objects, they have a variety of parameters that can be used to configure how they will look and behave at runtime.

Now, unlike the regular light lobes that were previously available in Vega Prime, the new projected light lobes use shader techniques to be able to properly wrap around the geometry that the light hits in its path.  In the example below, a projected light lobe was attached to the approaching aircraft and we can see that the light that it sends follows the shape of the carrier deck.

Vega Prime Light Lobes

Of course, if you use other Vega Prime modules (such as Marine) or custom modules which make calls to shaders, you will need to make sure that you don't go over the limit of shaders that can be displayed on a geometric element and the limits set by your video card. In the Lynx Prime interface and through the programming API, this new Light Lobe type is completely separate from the existing light lobes, enabling customers to keep using the old system if it suits their needs or to switch over to the new type at the appropriate time.

Enjoy seeing these new lighting effects in action if you have not explored them yet.

Vega Prime Light Lobes