NOTE: You can download this tutorial in Microsoft Word format for future reference. The zip download includes 'Basic Lighting' and Lighting via 'INI Editing'. Get it here. [14kb]

On with the INI Editing Tutorial!

Have you ever made a map so dark that you realistically couldn't play it but, really liked the overall look of it and wondered "what in the world can be done with this thing"? This tutorial will attempt to give you some ideas and options. It is assumed that you know how to get a copy of the rules ini and that you know how to edit them. If not then you need to read a tutorial on ini editing first.

Tip #1: Editing the structures values to let them "emit" light.

We will begin by creating a new document with either Wordpad, Notepad, or Editpad. I use edit pad for this process as it allows me to save as an ini file directly. First off copy the UI Names of all the "Military " stuctures. These will be the structures that are owned by the Soviet Block, Allied Block, GDI, NOD, or Yuri..depending on which Command and Conquer game you will be working with. Enclose each name in brackets [ ] just as the subsections are in the ini files. 

Now enter the following lines under each UI Name:

LightRedTint=
LightBlueTint=
LightGreenTint=
LightIntensity=
LightVisibility=

When you are done you will have a list as long as your arm and it will look something like this:

[GACNST]
LightRedTint=
LightBlueTint=
LightGreenTint=
LightIntensity=
LightVisibility=

[NACNST]
LightRedTint=
LightBlueTint=
LightGreenTint=
LightIntensity=
LightVisibility=

[NAHAND]
LightRedTint=
LightBlueTint=
LightGreenTint=
LightIntensity=
LightVisibility=

[YAYARD]
LightRedTint=
LightBlueTint=
LightGreenTint=
LightIntensity=
LightVisibility=

NOTE: For those of you that are making a Yuri map you can even make a script for this and install the settings from the map editor itself.

You may be wondering where these setting come from and by what process did I come up with parameters. Well.... it is an old trick that Westwood used back in the Tiberian Sun days and the settings themselves come from the "Lamp posts" (these can be found in the structures list of the FS, FA2, and FA2~YR). 

Note the following settings found in the ini files:

; LightIntensity = This building radiates this amount of light (def = 0).
; LightVisibility= The distance (in leptons) that this light is visible from (def=5000).
; LightRedTint = The red tint of this buildings light (def=1.0)
; LightGreenTint = The green tint of this buildings light (def=1.0
; LightBlueTint = The blue tint of this buildings light (def=1.0)

We have now created our list and we are ready to enter in some values. This is a very important decision. As the effects of each structure will interact with each other creating a cumulative effect. Simply put, they will add to each other, so we need to very careful about how we edit the settings. Too much intensity and the "gamma "(brillant white light effect) will saturate the map and just look terrible. The idea here is to get just enough light to emit that when a normal base is built that the effects will not be overwhelming. This is becomes increasingly important if you are using a Day/Night Loop in your map. As you can see if the map slowly becomes brighter then the light emitting buildings need to be as dim (lack of intensity) as possible from the very beginning.

In like respect the visibility (distance) of the effect needs to be taken into account as well. If the visibility is set too high then the map will be lit up too far from the base and the "night time' look will be lost. It will also increase the interaction of the intensity of the buildings. This can be seen if we place two buildings next to each other where the visibility, range, of the light overlap, causing the intensities to add together, thus creating a bright spot where they meet. If set to low then it will have no effect when larger structures such as the Conyard or Weapons Factories are placed as it never leave the tiles that they occupy. Various top map makers use slightly different settings but, they are all very close to each other as far as the different values go. Typical settings are between 0.01 and 0.005 for light intensity and 900 and 2000 for light visibility.

Tint values are normally set so that no one tint dominants the other. I say normally because it is obviously possible to edit the values so that the surrounding terrain is painted slightly different than the norm. This can be a valuble tool if you need lets say, a "moonlight" type effect under your Conyard. By simply editing the Conyard to emit a little more blue than normal, and placing "pavement" under it you will achieve a low blue glare in the close proximity of your Conyard. This is one example and I am quite sure that you can think of others.

By looking at the default tint settings of the game we can conclude that if the tints are equal in value to each other that they will emit a neutral light. Now here is where different map makers differ. You may wish to start out with equal values and then experiment until you find a set of values that you like. I recommend this approach as it will let your map making skills attain special properties that your own and express your "arts mind". My settings are as follows and you may use them if like as no one person owns a setting, but, you really should experiment with different tinting schemes and look at some other map makers work and see what they have.

LightRedTint=0.05
LightBlueTint=0.01
LightGreenTint=0.05
LightIntensity=0.01
LightVisibility=1500

Do not be afraid to change them from theater to theater also. This can be a useful tool when working in the Snow theater as well as the Desert and Lunar theater's of Yuri's Revnge. To understand more about tinting I recommend the reading of my tutorial on Lighting Techniques "The Basics".

After you have completed your list do not forget to save it . If you save with the ini extension, then it will be readily available to you in the future FROM the map editor itself. To use it from FA2 or FS simply select INI editing from the edit menu, then click on {insert another ini content} from the ini editor, navigate to the new ini file, click on save, then click on the {import all sections} box. If you save it in a text format then you can simply "select all" "copy" and "paste" it into your map using either Wordpad or Notebook. If you are using Yuri's revenge and are familiar with script creation then you can make a script for this and access it from the "Map tools" menu.

Also one last point on this subject...this technique can also be used for the civilian buildings and Tech buildings. It will add or subtract from the overall playability of the map depending on the terrain type used and the physical proximity of the structures. So, as I have stated before, "Moderation in all things". Bear this in mind when editing the light values. Although it may look pretty to you, you have to ask a very important question if you plan to release it to the public....will it be accepted by the community as a good map or rejected as unplayable, unattractive, and obtrusive?

Tip #2: Adding Extra Glow to Units,Infantry, and Aircraft

In the [AudioVisual] portion of the rules ini there are values for extra light so that the units, infantry, and aircraft glow.

ExtraUnitLight=.2 ; Extra light to make units glow.
ExtraInfantryLight=.2 ; Extra light to make infantry glow.
ExtraAircraftLight=.2 ; Extra light to make aircraft glow.

When the desired effect of the map is an overall dark type atmosphere then these values can also be quite useful. When the values are increased slightly then the units, structures and aircraft will glow a little more than the norm. This lighting effect can be seen quite easily by making a map with an ambient setting of somewhere between 0.30000 to 0.20000 and then observing the units on game start up. Now increase the Extra Light values from .2 to .5 and inserting them into your map via Wordpad or Notebook. Again, as in the previous tip, if you save these values as an ini file then you can insert into the map and edit it from FA2 or FS itself by accessing the ini editor. With this being done, you can again go "ingame" and look at the results. The units infantry and airsraft now glow a little more making them much easier to see. This comes in handy when the comp or human opponent comes a 'knockin.

A little bit goes a long way here also, if too much is added to the normal values then the units begin to look "cartoony" and just simply put......lame. I have never had an occasion to decrease the values from norm, although this would not be entirely out of the question, I just can not think of a scenario that would be appropriate for this. My personal settings for these values are as follows:

ExtraUnitLight=.4
ExtraInfantryLight=.4
ExtraAircraftLight=.4

These values allow the units to be seen well in very dark maps but, do not glare at you when in full sunlight as would be the case when using a Day/Night Loop with ambient settings at the extremes.

Tip #3: Editing the Lamp Posts

There are several structures in the Building list that are referred to as Lamp posts the number varies from editor to editor(FA1, FA2, FA2`YR, FS). They are all edited in the same way. You should already be familiar with the techniques in editing these structures as they have the same entries under there UINames as the ones we placed under the military UINames.

LightRedTint=
LightBlueTint=
LightGreenTint=
LightIntensity=
LightVisibility=

They do however serve a different function. These structures serve as a way to tint a small portion , or area of the map, in order to enhance that particular areas appearance. Some on the Lamp Posts are invisible in the game and others are not. Some emit, or add color while other subtract, or absorb color. I will not cover the use of these structures in this tutorial, just the editing. The use of these structures will be in a separate tutorial.

The lamp posts can be edited quite easily by changing the values around. In this way you can change the normal [INGRNLMP] (invisible green lamp) to emit light from the top of the green range right thru the spectrum to the bottom . This also allows you to make map specific effects such as a blue/green lamp for enhancing the shoreline of a lake or river in the temperate theater. Or creating a small "spotlight" around a campfire.

As you can see, the possibilities are boundless....however, there is a draw back that must be weighed very carefully. All lamps when used in large number cause the map to lag and eventually the game will freeze up. The Alpha lamp will cause the game to lag when more than 2 are placed in the scenario. There is no difference in the visible lamps and invisible lamps other than the UIName. If the combination of intensity and visibility is reduced then the lag factor goes down. The Theater sensitive lamps, (TEMMORLAMP, TEMDAYLAMP, TEMDUSLAMP, TEMNITLAMP, SNOMORLAMP, SNODAYLAMP, SNODUSLAMP, SNONITLAMP) also cause the game to lag when used in large numbers. Their normal use is to offset the shadows caused by the "Level" setting values when the map has a large variance in height. I have not seen an instance in RA2 or Yuri's Revenge where Westwood has used them. I believe they are a hold over from Tiberian Sun. I normally do not use these particular lamps as it is much easier to edit lighting values from the editor itself, and the shadowing effect seems to be more realistic and natural in RA2 than in Tiberian Sun, which had a "Dark and Gloomy" atmosphere to it. But they are there and can be edited to your preference in the same way as the others.

If you are using FA2~YR , there are also some other Lamp posts that you can gain access to, if you are using FS or FA then you already have access to them. Navigate to your FA2 directory and locate the FAData ini file,open it with a text editor and then scroll down to [IgnoreRA2]. 

Going down the list you will find the following:

34=REDLAMP
35=GRENLAMP
36=BLUELAMP
37=YELWLAMP
38=PURPLAMP
39=INORANLAMP
;40=NEGLAMP ; NEGLAMP added again, invisible in game
41=NEGRED

By commenting out (by putting a semicolon in front, see the NEGLAMP entry) the lamp will be enabled. All of these lamps will be visible in the game, with the exception of the INORNLAMP. Using these lamps actually serves no purpose, other then the NEGRED lamp, and it too can be cloned, as the inviso lamps can be modified to emit the same tint and visibilities as these. Inversely these can be modified to be invisible in-game and would you would be better served using them in this way. This does not apply to Tiberian Sun though, these lamps are used as legitimate light fixtures in that game, hence their strange shape and obvious pallet problem. To understand more about the uses of lamp posts read my tutorial , Lighting Techniques " Lamp Posts."

Check out RVMECH's Basic Lighting Tutorial!