UDK rendering issues

manilamerc

So I build the lighting and I turn off light mass. And this is what I get.
I get rendering issues on the wall. I only get them when I put objects in front of them.






here is my wire frame

manilamerc

anybody?

aristides

There's no issue here. When you turn off the lightmass UDK uses vertex lighting instead. That's what is happening there. When you don't use lightmaps you need to compensate them with more geometry, just try to add edges here
the topology overall is messy, you need to clean it up extensively

manilamerc

what do people generally do? Use lightmass or take it off?

Cay

vertex lighting is cheaper, and you need a more dense mesh for decent detail.. light info is interpolated from one vertex to another.. each vertex can only have 1 color

lightmapping is more expensive but pretty much standard I suppose, unless everything is dynamic.. you will need a 2nd uvset where every part of the mesh is unique, no overlaps

aristides

You could get good results with only lightmaps or only vertex lighting, but usually it's not all that simple. If you have a simple scene like the one above, you can use only one approach, but if you have a big environment with interiors, exterior, landscape, greenery, various types of lighting, etc. you should use mix of both. In UDK that is. In UE4 there's no vertex lighting so only lightmaps are used.

manilamerc

So what are the main rules when working with vertex lighting in UDK? no overlapping UV's?

Ramseus

The main issue I see here is the triangle fans all over your wall. In my experience they're one of the biggest causes of shading issues in ue3. Since your wall is flat you could probably get away with unwelding the entire front face of the wall (or making it its own element or whatever you want to call it), if that doesn't clear up the problems then you'll need to add more verts to minimize the triangle fans. Obviously what you've done is efficient in that there aren't many vertices, but it's also something that unreal just doesn't seem to like, even if it renders fine in everything else.

manilamerc

My environment is for a portfolio piece. I just want to take some screens and post it on my website. Now would using light maps be needed? Could I just use vertex lighting?

I know I could take screenshots using the snipping tool instead of building lighting and taking screens from in game. Because right now I don't have light maps. So do you guys think it would be ok If I just took screens using snipping tool? Or would building lighting with light maps be worth it in the long run?

Vailias

You can use vertex lighting, But right now your geometry doesn't light well when using vertex lighting. Its not going to be a really good portfolio piece as it highlights a lack of understanding rather than a mastery. If you're going to use vertex lighting, then rework your mesh so it lights well.
If you want to keep the same geometry, then make up some lightmap uv's and bake your lighting so it looks good.

manilamerc

what are the main rules for vertex lighting?

Vailias

This should help as a good starting point.
http://www.hourences.com/tutorials-vtx-lighting/