Spotlight Anomaly

[Sotha]

Playing Dishonored and Bioshock games convinced me that spotlights can truly add up the visuals, so I decided to use a lot of spotlights in my WIP.

 

To my disappointment, I noticed a weird anomaly in rendering when the player is under a spot light.

 

See this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVH1feOXdrA&feature=youtu.be

 

When I am roughly below the spotlight, look down in an 45 degree angle and approach the center of the light spot on the ground, the spotlight crops in an ugly way (@3 seconds) from the botton of the screen and from the sides. When I approach the light spot from a different angle, there are no problems. This makes me reluctant to use spotlights as they seem bugged.

 

Any ideas what is causing this? Is it a general problem in TDM renderer? A video setting combination? Or something specific to my hardware?

 

Do others get it too? Please check. You can copy paste the same test map from the spoilers. See from the video how it manifests and try to see if it happens for you as well.

 

I tried to get a screenshot of this, but the screenshots look fine. Luckily video capture was able to get the effect "on tape."

 

I have an ATI Radeon HD 4800 video card, and the catalyst AI is disabled. I tried to fiddle with antialiasing, vsync, interaction shader and other video settings (from the TDM video menu), but it seems it happens no matter what settings I have.

 

 

 

 

Version 2
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"classname" "light"
"name" "light_4"
"_color" "1.00 1.00 1.00"
"light_right" "-150 60 0"
"light_target" "-60 -170 -180"
"light_up" "-40 -120 100"
"nodiffuse" "0"
"noshadows" "0"
"nospecular" "0"
"origin" "214 283 152"
"parallel" "0"
"texture" "lights/biground1"
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"name" "info_player_start_1"
"origin" "56 288 0"
"angle" "-3.5083545633527932e-015"
}

 

 

[Obsttorte]

This is a typical phenomenon, which I'm not a houndret percent sure whether it is caused by the spotlight or the angle you've put it in. You could try creating the same effect with a default light, and see if that error still occoures.

[nbohr1more]

I believe there are over 10 light clipping and scissor cvars. When I get a chance ill take a look at how this behaves if you turn off those. Performance may tank though

[Sotha]

obst, it occurs even with a light made with the following way:

1) create light

2) press L, choose Spotlight (or was it projected?)

3) don't do anything else.

 

The effect is there, but it is a bit more subtle.Normal lights (as in non-spotlights) never exhibit this.

[Obsttorte]

Than use a normal light, rotate it, and surround the parts where no light should go through with shadow brushs.

[Sotha]

Than use a normal light, rotate it, and surround the parts where no light should go through with shadow brushs.

 

Err? In that case, what would be the purpose of the spotlights then?

 

What I'm trying to do here is to bring the issue to general awareness and check the origins of the problem: if it is system or setting specific or a general issue in TDM. As you see from the video, it is quite an unnerving issue that prevents the mapper from using and placing spotlights as they please.

 

Do other people see the issue in their systems?

 

If other people see it too, it is a general issue that needs a fix.

 

If nobody else, but me, have it, then it's my problem and I should not consider it as a problem I need to circumvent in my map.

[Obsttorte]

As said I have that issue, too, sometimes. If you don't have access to the bugtracker I can file a report there. Else I would left this up to you.

[Sotha]

As said I have that issue, too, sometimes. If you don't have access to the bugtracker I can file a report there. Else I would left this up to you.

 

Oh, so that's what the "typical behavior" meant.

 

Okay, if it is happening for other people as well, it is not just a graphic card/driver glitch on my end.

 

Tracked here:

http://bugs.thedarkmod.com/view.php?id=3562

[AluminumHaste]

No this has always been an issue. It's too bad, I like spotlights.