Glossary Sections
Dynamic Lighting
Overview
Dynamic lighting in games is a technique that simulates the way light behaves in the real world. It is used to create realistic lighting effects, such as shadows, reflections, and refractions.
There are two main types of dynamic lighting:
-
Global illumination: Global illumination is a technique that takes into account the reflections and refractions of light from all objects in the scene. It can be used to create realistic lighting effects, such as soft shadows and ambient occlusion.
-
Local illumination: Local illumination is a technique that only takes into account the reflections and refractions of light from the objects that are closest to the light source. It is used to create more realistic lighting effects, such as sharp shadows and specular highlights.
Dynamic lighting can be used to create a more realistic and immersive gaming experience. It can help to make games look more believable and visually appealing.
Here are some of the benefits of using dynamic lighting in games:
-
Realistic lighting effects: Dynamic lighting can be used to create realistic lighting effects, such as soft shadows, reflections, and refractions. This can help to make games look more believable and visually appealing.
-
Immersive gaming experience: Dynamic lighting can help to create a more immersive gaming experience. This is because it can make games look more realistic and believable.
-
Performance: Dynamic lighting can be computationally expensive. This is because it requires the game engine to calculate the reflections and refractions of light from all objects in the scene. However, there are a number of techniques that can be used to improve the performance of dynamic lighting.
Here are some of the drawbacks of using dynamic lighting in games:
-
Computational expense: Dynamic lighting can be computationally expensive. This is because it requires the game engine to calculate the reflections and refractions of light from all objects in the scene. This can lead to a decrease in performance, especially on older hardware.
-
Complexity: Dynamic lighting can be complex to implement. This is because it requires the game engine to track the position and orientation of all objects in the scene, as well as the properties of the light sources.
-
Limitations: Dynamic lighting has some limitations. For example, it cannot be used to create realistic lighting effects for objects that are very far away.
Overall, dynamic lighting is a powerful technique that can be used to create realistic lighting effects in games. However, it can be computationally expensive and complex to implement.
Feedback
Please be sure to submit issues or feature requests through the embedded feedback form. In the event it is a major issue please contact us directly through Discord.
