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----Tutorials----
-Lighting and True Light-

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I was surprised how many people still haven't attempted lighting. So I thought I'd create a tutorial to help ease you into it. Don't be scared. Take my hand... also, you MUST be using version 2.x in order for this method to work.
It's absolutely impossible to create an even half way decent level without lighting effects. So lets get right down into it. You will have to use red boxes, so you'll have to be in the DOS editor. First, create an invisible platform. The inside of the platform will be lit to the maximum brightness and on the outside the light will fade off. Make your rectangle a reasonable size and do not make the platform visible when the little red window pops up. Now you should see another window that says "Set Platform Parameters" in the title box. Beneath that is the platform elevation; you don't need to worry about this for now. Select the "Assign Value to Register" and click ok. Now another window will come up with two little red boxes in it. On the top one you set the register and on the bottom you set the value of the register. Basicaly if you put a register number between 194 and 223 you will be telling the engine that the rectangle is a lightsource- nothing more. Before 2.0 was released this box determined the brightness of the light but now it doesn't really matter what number you put in. I always put in 222 because its easy to remember. Anyways, in the "Value" box you need to put in the number that will determine the brightness. Put 222 in just for kicks. There you go. You just made a light source and it didn't hurt a bit. Now go to "Test Level". Your going to have to have to "Edit Extra Data" before you can see anything in your level. By default everything is lit up with "Normal Light". Select "Set Level Options" from the "Editor" pull down menu. When the window comes up you will see three options: Normal Light, True Light, Ambient Only. Choose "True Light". This will make everything in your level dark. Just like in real life, if you want there to be light you're going to have to put a light there. Now you can save and exit. When you test your level you should see your light source. If the light appears on the ground and ceiling but not the walls you probably made your light source to small. The light fade out distance is calculated by the corners of the wall and floor panels. So if the light range doesn't reach all four corners of the wall segment, their won't be any light shown at all. You can have up to 32 different light sources in one level. This does not include point lighting. That's about it for creating regular lights. If you still have trouble you can email me here.
 


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