I'm completely lost in trying to create lighting effects, please help...
Hello all,
I've been playing around with lights in DD3 but have had absolutely no luck in making them work. All I end up with is a black screen when I turn the sheet effects on.
I created the simplest possible map, with one room, a wall around it, one light source and one torch. I bought the CC annual with the lighting article (Annual 2) and tried
following the directions there, still with no success.
I've attached my sheet list.
I put the wall shadow point finalize effect in to the lighting limit sheet. I've put the light source in the "lights" sheet.
I put a wall shadow point light setup into the symbol torches sheet with a shadow length of 0. I put a torch symbol on the map in the symbol torches sheet.
I put a wall shadow point light setup into the walls sheet with a shadow length of 10.
Nothing works.
Someone really really needs to make a video tutorial that explains how lighting works. I'm getting confusing and somewhat contradictory advice on the forum as well as
in the manual.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks,
Redmage123
I've been playing around with lights in DD3 but have had absolutely no luck in making them work. All I end up with is a black screen when I turn the sheet effects on.
I created the simplest possible map, with one room, a wall around it, one light source and one torch. I bought the CC annual with the lighting article (Annual 2) and tried
following the directions there, still with no success.
I've attached my sheet list.
I put the wall shadow point finalize effect in to the lighting limit sheet. I've put the light source in the "lights" sheet.
I put a wall shadow point light setup into the symbol torches sheet with a shadow length of 0. I put a torch symbol on the map in the symbol torches sheet.
I put a wall shadow point light setup into the walls sheet with a shadow length of 10.
Nothing works.
Someone really really needs to make a video tutorial that explains how lighting works. I'm getting confusing and somewhat contradictory advice on the forum as well as
in the manual.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks,
Redmage123
Comments
All I have here is 1 wall (WALL sheet), 3 columns (SYMBOLS sheet) and 1 torch (LIGHT sheet). When you create your light (LIGHTS > ADD LIGHT) make sure that your light color is not black (not sure if thats the problem, but it defaults to that color I think). Also, make sure that the radius and spread are large enough (the size for each is really going to depend on the size of your map...in my example, my total map size is 30' x 30'.)
Once you create a sheet with this Wall Shadow, Point Light Setup effect on it...every other sheet that follows (below on the sheet list) will have a shadow until its hits your light finalize sheet. Everything that comes after this light finalize sheet will not be affected by these lighting effects (in my case the walls...notice that the wall is not actually producing a shadow to the left or right side...it gets dark in the north side because the radius of my light was relatively small.)
The lava pit is on the symbols sheet. The light source is on the light sheet centered in the same area as the lava pit.
There is a point light shadow setup on the floor sheet with a shadow length of 10 (although I've tried different sizes, with no
discernible difference).
There is a point light finalize on the light finalize sheet.
That' s it...
thanks,
redmage123
p.s. If anyone from Profantasy actually reads this forum, I'd like to re-iterate my request to have a video tutorial for lights, given that
everyone that's responded has indicated that they've had trouble with this issue in the past.
But, having the floor cast a shadow is a little problematic...what does a floor cast a shadow on? Instead, you want other objects in the room that will cast a shadow on the floor (as in my simple example).
Every sheet after the point light finalize will be completely unaffected by your light effects (as you see with the wall...it receives no shadow and casts no shadow). But your background is completely black because it is your first sheet. The work around to this problem is to redraw your background so it excludes everything else in the image and put the sheet later in the sheet list. (In this case you would draw a rectangular donut around your walls and floor.)
-- redmage123
I am a very new CC3+ / DD3 user, I feel I must get that out of the way first.
I have been looking through some of the user content and I have to say that the maps are looking great guys and gals, very professional and you are all a great help to new users like myself so thank you.
Now I have buttered you all up (kidding), I am creating a D&D 3.5 edition campaign to work with Fantasy Grounds, another fantastic program in my opinion and I have just started working on my first dungeon map and have just put the wall shadows in which seem quite straight forward, however like a lot of other people I seem to be having a very hard time creating lighting effects on my maps and having trouble making my dungeon maps dark in the areas where there are no lights.
Could someone please point me in the direction of the beginners guide to lighting effects as I have no idea what I am doing at all and would appreciate some step by step guidance if there is one about, I have even looked on youtube where Joe Sweeney I think his name is has made some fantastic beginners guide videos?
So if someone could please help I would be most grateful and I am sure there will be more questions from me soon.
Thanks again for your great work so far.
Welcome to the Profantasy forum
I asked more or less the very same question not too long ago. You might find this helpful in parts