Unity lighmaps too bright

MrOneTwo

I'm trying to bake lightmaps in Unity. Unfortunately they come really blown out. All the lights are area lights. Side lights imitating screens are set to 0.04 and top light to 0.3. On the screen you can see the settings I use. Any idea how to make it work ? Scale is ok since I'm using default first person controller and everything matches.

I would like to lighten the scene with those lights next to screens and one really bright light in the middle. Not that bright though ;p

SanderDL

I've never used area lights so I can't really help you there. But perhaps you could use an emissive material as a light source and bake of that.

You also have many lights for the monitors. Check the range/scale on them too.

Hope it helps.

MrOneTwo

Yeah i have light for each monitor to bake lights from them. I used spot light with rectangular cookie. They give way better result (not as bright). Still would like to know how to make area lights work. Scale on those is ok.

Brendan

Try a bake with just the area light, no spot lights for the monitors. Then post a screenshot of the result from a camera (not scene view) with the tonemapping image effects, set to Photographic, 2. That'll give you an idea of what kind of values it's spitting out (if it's still pure white, something's horribly wrong).

Also wtf is with your contrast threshold? shouldn't it be closer to 0.1 or something? Crank final gather back up to 200 at least. turn resolution down a lot (to maybe 10-20) while testing for light intensity values. And reset the interpolation, that shouldn't be zero.

tobeeffle

Hi,
The range of area map is more big than the rectangle (http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/Components/class-Light.html).
Your image don't appear for me, but bounce modifier and multiplier for bounce could be the problem. Try to put a 0 value.
Don't forget you can open your lightmap render in photoshop (or other) and overwrite it.
Personnaly, for top light (ceiling) i prefer used an emmisive shader even if after the lightmap i bake an another shader on the ceiling.

Nostradamus

I have tried to use area lights a few times, every time i had to turn their intensity veeery far down, to get anything reasonable...

cupsster

True that with intensity.. They are there to simulate ceiling lamps and to avoid using custom imported meshes for just baking GI with emission materials. Use them in wall openings as well.
For influencing light on big scale look in project settings menu for environment light color. Try to darken it more. It should also darken your lightmaps.

Teemu

One thing you could check is each of your lightmap's import settings:

Go to your scene folder, click on a lightmap texture and check the 'Texture Type'. It should be set to 'Lightmap'.

I've had a Unity bug in a scene where all beast generated maps were always automatically imported as normal textures. This made them look completely blown out. Similar to that screenshot you posted.

osman

The image is exactly how it's supposed to look with that big of an area light. The size of the area light is very important, scaling it up slightly already increases the intensity A LOT. So basically, you have to turn down the intensity until it looks like you want it to be, even if you have to go to 0.01 or something. Good luck

[edit]

imagine having a lightbulb or whatever THAT big, it's almost a search light. If you want to mimick the ceiling lights you see in offices, remember that its not the WHOLE rectangle that emits photons, but only the tubes or lightbubls.