The Inside Star Citizen episode Night and Day - Spring 2020 was published on 7. March 2020 on the CIG YouTube channel.
Topics and timestamps[]
Topic | Timestamp |
---|---|
Lighting - Day/Nighttime | |
Sprint report |
Video[]
Transcript[]

1 00:00:02,639 --> 00:00:06,160 what is lighting
2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:08,000 it's more than just placing many lights
3 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:10,960 around to brighten up a scene
4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,480 we also want to make objects and
5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,960 characters look good
6 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,320 um for example this scene right here
7 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:17,840 it's it's clearly too dark the
8 00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:20,400 background is too dark
9 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:21,520 you can't see me very well so for an
10 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,760 interview situation
11 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,640 this uh this won't do so how would i fix
12 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:26,880 this
13 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,320 um first of all turn on this light this
14 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,199 adds a little bit of warmth a little bit
15 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:31,359 of character on
16 00:00:29,199 --> 00:00:32,800 me specifically the background's still
17 00:00:31,359 --> 00:00:33,760 too dark but we can take care of that
18 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:35,440 later
19 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,120 uh i think the next step is i would add
20 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,440 some fill lights
21 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,160 so now i'm a little bit better lit um
22 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,079 i've got this
23 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:43,680 uh this mag light here i could probably
24 00:00:42,079 --> 00:00:45,440 turn that on you know this is
25 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,719 it's too much light now for me it's it's
26 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,120 blowing out things
27 00:00:46,719 --> 00:00:50,879 and now for the background i think uh i
28 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,719 think we can harness the power of uh
29 00:00:50,879 --> 00:00:54,879 natural lighting for this one
30 00:00:52,719 --> 00:00:56,000 and there we go that's much better so
31 00:00:54,879 --> 00:00:59,680 lighting
32 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:02,000 pretty cool
33 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,399 awesome awesome awesome all right stop
34 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:04,399 recording
35 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,240 the role of lighting artistically is to
36 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:12,960 create a very interesting atmosphere
37 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,119 that the player
38 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:17,520 maybe hasn't seen before and makes them
39 00:01:15,119 --> 00:01:20,560 excited to explore this specific space
40 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:21,119 and the other primary focus is to assist
41 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:22,799 the player
42 00:01:21,119 --> 00:01:25,840 in being able to navigate a certain
43 00:01:22,799 --> 00:01:27,759 space so that's calling out
44 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,119 certain places that the player can go or
45 00:01:27,759 --> 00:01:29,920 points of interest that the player can
46 00:01:29,119 --> 00:01:31,520 interact with
47 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:33,119 so one of the biggest problems we have
48 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,520 lighting in this game specifically
49 00:01:33,119 --> 00:01:36,880 is that the the planets are rotating
50 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,880 around their axis
51 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,000 which means that we have a fully dynamic
52 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,399 time of day and
53 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,479 all of our locations can be placed in
54 00:01:42,399 --> 00:01:46,720 any kind of orientation or location on
55 00:01:44,479 --> 00:01:48,720 any planet which means that we have no
56 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,560 control over where the sun is
57 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,079 what the path and the travel path of the
58 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:54,479 sun is
59 00:01:52,079 --> 00:01:55,840 and we have to work around where the sun
60 00:01:54,479 --> 00:01:56,479 is and and make it look as good as
61 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,240 possible
62 00:01:56,479 --> 00:02:01,680 at all times of day as much as we can
63 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,920 so in the past two concessions that
64 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,799 we've had to make for our environment
65 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,719 lighting
66 00:02:04,799 --> 00:02:09,039 is that for the ambient lighting
67 00:02:06,719 --> 00:02:10,879 specifically we've had to pre-bake
68 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:12,720 our environment probes which are
69 00:02:10,879 --> 00:02:13,360 basically entities that take a sampling
70 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,800 of the
71 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,400 ambient lighting around it and then
72 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,800 reproject that lighting
73 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,480 into the environment because these are
74 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,879 static we've had to choose
75 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,599 what time of day we want to bake them at
76 00:02:22,879 --> 00:02:25,840 which could be
77 00:02:23,599 --> 00:02:28,000 daytime nighttime or dusk anywhere in
78 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,400 between but they've stayed static the
79 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,599 whole
80 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:32,560 time of day cycle the other concession
81 00:02:31,599 --> 00:02:34,720 that we've had to make
82 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:36,000 is that the lights are always on 24
83 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:38,400 hours a day
84 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,440 which means that even if the sun is high
85 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,280 noon then
86 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,720 street lights are still on supporting
87 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:44,879 lights are still on
88 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,920 this has impacts on the performance
89 00:02:44,879 --> 00:02:47,200 obviously and
90 00:02:45,920 --> 00:02:49,200 doesn't look so good it makes
91 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,120 environments feel quite static
92 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:53,680 but that said the lighting team has been
93 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:56,319 working on two big improvements to our
94 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,120 tech which help us tackle these issues
95 00:02:56,319 --> 00:02:59,200 so the first
96 00:02:57,120 --> 00:03:00,800 new feature that we worked on was what
97 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,440 we call runtime probes
98 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,000 this basically is a an extra flag for
99 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,080 the environment
100 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,239 probe entity that you can enable and
101 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,640 this tells the entity to periodically
102 00:03:08,239 --> 00:03:11,519 update itself and and recapture the
103 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:13,920 ambient lighting
104 00:03:11,519 --> 00:03:15,599 based on several things uh primarily the
105 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,440 the movement of the sun so every few
106 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:18,000 degrees that the sun moves in the sky
107 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,840 the probe
108 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,280 will try and recapture that ambient
109 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:23,200 lighting and reproject it into the
110 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,120 environment
111 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:27,120 the benefit for the players in this case
112 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,680 is that you can sit in an environment
113 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,599 and watch the the time of day pass and
114 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:32,400 the ambient lighting should update
115 00:03:31,599 --> 00:03:34,080 accordingly
116 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,760 which will help these environments feel
117 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,599 a lot more dynamic and a lot more
118 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,200 immersive
119 00:03:37,599 --> 00:03:41,040 so the second major feature that we've
120 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,680 been working on is what i call
121 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,560 day night light groups this basically
122 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:46,159 takes the
123 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,000 existing light groups feature that we've
124 00:03:46,159 --> 00:03:49,360 had running previously in ships for
125 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,920 things like damage states
126 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:52,879 and emergency states this allows us to
127 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,599 use those same
128 00:03:52,879 --> 00:03:57,519 controls but on a time of day basis so
129 00:03:55,599 --> 00:03:58,959 we can choose a specific state for the
130 00:03:57,519 --> 00:04:01,840 light group to use during the day
131 00:03:58,959 --> 00:04:01,840 and for the night time
132 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,200 what this means for the lighting team is
133 00:04:03,519 --> 00:04:07,040 that we can add a whole new layer of
134 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:10,000 complexity to environments
135 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,360 such as turning on overall city lights
136 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,640 when it becomes night time
137 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,480 and turning them off during the day
138 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:17,360 which saves performance because you
139 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,360 can't see them anyway
140 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:21,600 it allows us to turn on and off street
141 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:24,000 lights based on the time of day which
142 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:26,560 feels very realistic
143 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,280 and it allows us to in the case of new
144 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:29,759 babbage
145 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:30,880 we can create an entirely new mood and
146 00:04:29,759 --> 00:04:33,199 atmosphere
147 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,759 in a specific location when it's night
148 00:04:33,199 --> 00:04:38,240 time compared to when it's daytime
149 00:04:35,759 --> 00:04:39,600 the ambient lighting also changes over
150 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:43,120 the course of the day thanks to the
151 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:44,639 the runtime probes so personally i'm
152 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,080 really excited about these features
153 00:04:44,639 --> 00:04:48,720 because they allow me to
154 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,720 to really create variety within a single
155 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,479 environment so we have the same geometry
156 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,320 but we can make it feel like very
157 00:04:52,479 --> 00:04:57,360 different locations very simply
158 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:58,960 and also dynamically so as for when
159 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,440 uh these features will be rolled out
160 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,080 we're looking to in the next patch and
161 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,000 beyond
162 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,320 convert our existing legacy landing
163 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,919 zones like loreville and area 18 and
164 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:10,400 other planetary locations
165 00:05:07,919 --> 00:05:12,000 to use runtime probes and day night
166 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:14,560 light groups
167 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,320 we're also looking to expand this into
168 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:18,240 other planetary locations like
169 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,520 our surface outposts underground
170 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,479 facilities and
171 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:24,240 other locations and you can actually
172 00:05:22,479 --> 00:05:27,360 already see these
173 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:29,039 features live now in patch 3.9 in new
174 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,039 babbage which was our first kind of test
175 00:05:29,039 --> 00:05:32,479 bed for this
176 00:05:31,039 --> 00:05:34,560 if you go to wally's bar you'll notice
177 00:05:32,479 --> 00:05:38,000 that there's a very distinct nighttime
178 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,759 mood compared to the daytime
179 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:41,120 so yeah we're we're really excited about
180 00:05:39,759 --> 00:05:42,320 these features and what they will bring
181 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,840 to star citizen
182 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:45,520 uh we hope that you guys enjoy it as
183 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:47,440 much as the lighting team has enjoyed
184 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,560 uh breathing new life into legacy
185 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:52,400 locations and
186 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:54,160 new locations as well
187 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:56,800 from lighting the universe to filling it
188 00:05:54,160 --> 00:06:00,240 with characters locations and spacecraft
189 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,280 here's the sprint report starting things
190 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,960 off with characters
191 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:05,919 we've got a quick look at additional
192 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:07,039 concepts for yoga outfits for the npc's
193 00:06:05,919 --> 00:06:09,600 of new babbage
194 00:06:07,039 --> 00:06:11,759 where personal health and well-being is
195 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,840 an important aspect in maintaining the
196 00:06:11,759 --> 00:06:14,639 optimum productivity for any valued
197 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,440 employee
198 00:06:14,639 --> 00:06:18,639 and at microtech every employee is
199 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:22,080 valued
200 00:06:18,639 --> 00:06:24,000 take that workers of lauraville also a
201 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,120 new babbage is work on a mission giver
202 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,199 named eddie parr
203 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,639 now eddie is the bartender at wally's
204 00:06:27,199 --> 00:06:30,000 and since there's a slew of
205 00:06:28,639 --> 00:06:30,880 entertainment coming in and out of
206 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,720 microtech
207 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,639 it's believed he's been running a side
208 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,919 racket with his old friend michael shaw
209 00:06:34,639 --> 00:06:37,759 to smuggle
210 00:06:35,919 --> 00:06:39,280 we'll call it contraband in for the
211 00:06:37,759 --> 00:06:41,680 locals hey
212 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:43,680 people gotta cut loose and yoga ain't
213 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,840 for everyone
214 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,919 but before we see eddie parr and yoga
215 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:49,599 outfits the environment art team is
216 00:06:47,919 --> 00:06:51,120 putting the finishing touches on their
217 00:06:49,599 --> 00:06:53,120 high-tech hangar set
218 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,479 that will eventually populate the space
219 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,560 port at new babbage
220 00:06:54,479 --> 00:06:58,400 like the hangars already in place in
221 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,319 lauraville and area 18
222 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,759 these will come in a variety of shapes
223 00:07:00,319 --> 00:07:03,919 and sizes to accommodate
224 00:07:01,759 --> 00:07:05,120 most ships in the persistent universe
225 00:07:03,919 --> 00:07:07,199 just
226 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,599 just wait for the doors to be completely
227 00:07:07,199 --> 00:07:12,160 open before you try to pass through
228 00:07:09,599 --> 00:07:14,319 don't don't be like disco the cargo
229 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,520 module interiors we first saw concepts
230 00:07:14,319 --> 00:07:17,360 for two weeks ago
231 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,720 have moved into white box phase as they
232 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,240 look to expand the gameplay
233 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,960 opportunities for cargo haulers
234 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,440 everywhere
235 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:24,080 with new contracts new opportunities and
236 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,080 eventually
237 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,360 tie-in functionality with the upcoming
238 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,440 player trading app
239 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:31,360 which when used together will facilitate
240 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:34,720 the transfer of commodities and such
241 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:36,880 between players in tech updates
242 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,720 on friday viewers of star citizen live
243 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,400 got an in-depth look at the gas
244 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,160 tech being developed for both star
245 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,599 citizen and squadron 42
246 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,440 and what we showed on friday's show
247 00:07:43,599 --> 00:07:47,440 could be done in about an hour
248 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:49,280 but what you're seeing here are tests
249 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,520 that are much farther along
250 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:53,520 the idea here is to explore where we can
251 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,879 add texture to the spacescapes of the
252 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,120 persistent universe
253 00:07:54,879 --> 00:07:58,000 with this test specifically for those
254 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,840 wayward space
255 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,039 stations found between the planets of
256 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:03,360 the stanton system
257 00:08:01,039 --> 00:08:05,599 now this is look dev in its purest form
258 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,199 as artists explore what's possible
259 00:08:05,599 --> 00:08:08,960 as opposed to building something
260 00:08:07,199 --> 00:08:11,280 specifically that you'll find around
261 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:12,960 one station or another now once the
262 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,199 capabilities have been identified and
263 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:17,840 the process is developed and streamlined
264 00:08:15,199 --> 00:08:19,840 this work will form the basis for gases
265 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,919 found throughout the persistent universe
266 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,919 including in asteroid fields around
267 00:08:21,919 --> 00:08:26,639 space stations near jump points
268 00:08:23,919 --> 00:08:28,639 and beyond finally from outer space down
269 00:08:26,639 --> 00:08:30,400 to the surface of our planets and moons
270 00:08:28,639 --> 00:08:33,120 as the planet tech team continues to
271 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:35,279 enhance and build upon planetech v4
272 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:37,519 sometimes it's required to go back and
273 00:08:35,279 --> 00:08:39,279 update older content to match the still
274 00:08:37,519 --> 00:08:40,880 advancing state of our tech
275 00:08:39,279 --> 00:08:42,320 in the case of these new height maps
276 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:42,959 which we touched on a little last
277 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,959 quarter
278 00:08:42,959 --> 00:08:46,720 the main objective here is to make
279 00:08:44,959 --> 00:08:48,800 better use of the available texture
280 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,839 resolution for every piece of elevation
281 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:51,600 and climate data
282 00:08:49,839 --> 00:08:52,959 in both the persistent universe and
283 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,880 squadron 42.
284 00:08:52,959 --> 00:08:56,160 the benefits of which will be better
285 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,640 object distribution
286 00:08:56,160 --> 00:09:00,000 nicer ground material breakup natural
287 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,240 color transitions
288 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,040 more accurate far distance reads and
289 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,040 more
290 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,040 another benefit of this enhanced detail
291 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,200 pass is that our artist can now work
292 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:11,120 with data that is much more accurate
293 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:12,959 which will in turn be more predictable
294 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:15,040 and ultimately makes for a much
295 00:09:12,959 --> 00:09:16,800 easier and more efficient time painting
296 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:19,040 the planets which will just
297 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:21,120 speed up the overall process even more
298 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,279 than it already has
299 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,640 so what we learned about this week well
300 00:09:23,279 --> 00:09:25,600 we learned that it can often be the
301 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:26,959 little things like
302 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:29,040 turning the lights off when the sun
303 00:09:26,959 --> 00:09:30,560 comes up or enabling ambient light to
304 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,160 fill a room as we'd expect
305 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:34,399 that can lead to the greater sense of
306 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:36,080 immersion that there's even more coming
307 00:09:34,399 --> 00:09:38,560 to new babbage in alpha 3.1
308 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,480 and beyond the gas clouds can add a bit
309 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,360 of texturing to make space scaping more
310 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,440 interesting
311 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,560 and that even with planetec v4 as good
312 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,080 as it already is
313 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:48,080 there could still be ways to make the
314 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:48,959 process faster and look better than ever
315 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,720 before
316 00:09:48,959 --> 00:10:05,839 for inside star citizen i'm jared
317 00:09:50,720 --> 00:10:05,839 huckaby we'll see you next week
318 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:14,640 you