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# Lighting Basics

Adding light to a level is one of the key steps of creating a beautiful and complete map. Lighting shouldn't be used soley to provide light to your work, but to create atmosphere, enhance textures, and complement textures.

## Let There Be Light!

To add a light to your map do one of the following:

- Right-click the surface you want the light to appear on, and select Surface Context Menu → Add Light here.
- Hold down the L key and left-click in a 3D Viewport.

### Positioning Lights

Once you have lights in a map you can duplicate them the same as any other actor. You can move the light easlily with Control + left mouse in the 2D viewports. It can also be moved in the 3D viewport, but the mouse control is a little more involved.

### Approximate Versus Exact Light

Although lighting will appear to show while inserting lights into a map, the light is approximate should you change its properties or move it. To get a correct render of the lights, rebuild your map: click on the little 'lightBulb' icon in the UnrealEd toolbar.

## Changing Light Properties

The procedure for changing a lights' property is:

1. Right-click the light and go to the Actor Properties Window
2. Expand the property
3. Drag the slider with the mouse or enter a number

## Essential Properties

Summary here:

Property | Description | Location | UT | UT2k3
Radius | Changes the spherical area size the light can affect. The default light radius is 64 and is usually either too big or too small. | Lighting → LightRadius | * | *
Color & Brightness | Sets the light brightness, color and depth or richness the color. By clicking the Color button in the upper right corner of the key, a color can be selected visually. | LightColor → LightBrightness, LightHue, LightSaturation | * | *
Corona | Used to show a corona from the light source. Not to be mistaken for a Lens Flare. | Lighting → bCorona | * | *
Fog | Depth of vision per map or zone | Lighting → VolumeBright,VolumeFog,VolumeRadius | * | -
Special Lit | Allows a light to affect only certain surfaces. See special lit for more. | Lighting → SpecialLit | * | *
Light Types | shapes and movement | Lighting → LightType | * | projector
Light Effects | Modulates brightness | Lighting → LightEffect | * | projector
Light phase | Sets start of cycle for light animation. Used with LightEffects and LightTypes. | Lighting → bLightPhase | * | ?
Cycled colors | Texture palette effect | location | * | ?
Movable | Allows light to be movable when attached to a mover | Advanced → bMovable | * | *

Fool around with different values to achieve the look you desire. See Actor (UT)/Lighting to see all the property details that can be changed.

### Things to write about (in here?)

- Light types(cylinder)
- Using in addition to fog

## Related Topics

- Lighting is the hub for everything on lighting
- Creating light animations
- Creating textures for cycled colors
- Light Effects

## Comments

ViKTiM: I have found that a lot of lights with a colour saturation of 0 screw your frame rate considerably, USE THEM SPARINGLY!!

Tarquin: Great Should we link Actor/Lighting too?

Sobiwan: I dunno; I dont use UT2k3.

Shuriken: Half updated table for 2k3... don't do much lighting though, so don't know it all.

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