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Lights

Discussion in 'High Definition Render Pipeline' started by MathewHI, Sep 19, 2021.

  1. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    How can I see lights in Unity? I can put a light point or area on headlight for example but I never really see the light just its reflection on surfaces. If the light is placed inside the bulb the bulb still appears to be dark and the light is never really seen emanating from it but rather just reflects of top of things.
     
    MathewHI, Sep 19, 2021
    #1

  2. UnityLighting

    UnityLighting

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    UnityLighting, Sep 19, 2021
    #2

  3. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    Thanks but those videos are showing the exact problem I described. You don't actually see the light emanating, you only see it when it hits a surface. You know how if someone shines a flashlight right at you, you can see the origin of the light and actually see physical beams coming at you. In Unity that doesn't exist, you only see light on top of a surface.
     
    MathewHI, Sep 19, 2021
    #3

  4. UnityLighting

    UnityLighting

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    Send a example image
     
    UnityLighting, Sep 20, 2021
    #4

  5. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    See this forklift, it has an area light coming from the the headlight on its frame. You can't actually see the light, you only see light on top of surrounding surfaces. I need to see a bright light at the source.
     
    MathewHI, Sep 20, 2021
    #5

  6. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    MathewHI, Sep 20, 2021
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  7. UnityLighting

    UnityLighting

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    I think you want the volumetric lighting
    at 3:27 of below video you can find the volumetric lighting setup:
     
    UnityLighting, Sep 20, 2021
    #7

  8. Reanimate_L

    Reanimate_L

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    i'm confused with the question, are you asking about light gizmos? volumetric light? lens flare? or an emissive mesh / the light source renderer?
     
    Reanimate_L, Sep 20, 2021
    #8

  9. HIBIKI_entertainment

    HIBIKI_entertainment

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    In some lights, you want to turn on the 'Reflector' some lights and engine versions it's on by default.

    This means you'll see the "beam" itself too, affecting things like Volumetrics.

    Pierre covers this very well in this video.



    In answer to your part about bulb being black, you have a few options but the most likely solution is adding an emission map to the bulbs material, this allows the material itself to glow, and you can use light layers to control this further ( also check the 2020.3 demo scene if you need reference)

    You also must be aware, if you're using physically based lighting numbers, you won't see something like an EV 7 emission in a 100,000lux /EV 13.5 scene.

    Something like magic particle emissions you would have to fake (just a little) to get the desired effect. Just always be aware of it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2021
    HIBIKI_entertainment, Sep 20, 2021
    #9
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  10. chap-unity

    chap-unity

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    No. Reflector in the spotlight means that HDRP simulates a physically correct light intensity, meaning that the visual intensity of the light will change according the spot outer angles. It has nothing to do with volumetrics directly.


    if what you mean by "seeing" the light is the beam:
    Like in the real world, to "see" the light beam, you need something for light to bounce. That's why you can see those only when there's smoke / fog / particles.. you name it. This effect can be simulated using a volumetric fog override and Volumetrics enable for your lights. Note however, that area light are more complicated to compute than standard directional lights or punctal lights (spot, point) so volumetrics for area light is not supported.

    upload_2021-10-1_10-35-32.png

    upload_2021-10-1_10-37-52.png
    Finally, if what you mean is seeing the source of light, what you need is put an emissive object to represent the light source. You can do that by yourself or, for area lights, you can check this option that will allow you to see the emissive quad at the dimensions set in your area light (like if it was a neon or a skylight).

    upload_2021-10-1_10-41-59.png
    upload_2021-10-1_10-43-16.png
     
    chap-unity, Oct 1, 2021
    #10
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  11. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    Thank you I never noticed that option
     
    MathewHI, Oct 1, 2021
    #11

  12. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    Actually I don't have the "Display Emissive Mesh" option. How do I get that?
     
    MathewHI, Oct 3, 2021
    #12

  13. chap-unity

    chap-unity

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    It's an additional property. (read: advanced). If you want to see all of them, click on the ellipsis button on your component (the three vertical dots) and you should be able to see something like "show additional properties" depending on the HDRP version you're using.

     
    chap-unity, Oct 4, 2021
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  14. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    Hey sorry for not responding earlier my computer was getting repaired for a week so I couldn't work on my project. The Show All Additional Properties must be a brand new option because I don't have it. I'm using 2021.1
     
    MathewHI, Oct 20, 2021
    #14

  15. Matjio

    Matjio

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    Additional properties were a little wheel until 21.1 and now in the component menu (for UX coherency reasons). They can also be shown or hidden by default in the Preferences:
    https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/c...high-definition@12.0/manual/More-Options.html

    To sum up about seeing lights:
    You can use material emission for that.
    On a light bulb geometry you could set the wire material to emissive.
    On area lights there is an option to automatically generate an “emissive mesh”.
    For the directional light you have celestial body options to choose how your sun or moon look like.
    https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/c...h-definition@13.0/manual/Light-Component.html
     
    Matjio, Oct 20, 2021
    #15

  16. MathewHI

    MathewHI

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    Thanks for the answer but unfortunately again I don't have the option. I followed the manual you linked and it states
    Edit -> Preferences -> Core Render Pipeline
    I don't have the option of a Core Render Pipeline its not there.
    Unity editor changes too drastically and frequently
     
    MathewHI, Oct 21, 2021
    #16