Build #139 (win 10, x64): shadow effect with item based player torch

[Prester Lewin]

If I have the new "item based player torch" option checked and the light source is the candle of a light spell, it causes strong shadow effects when getting close to enemies and other objects, when my light source is calculated to be behind the object. See screenshot below, which is a frost daedra. My light spell is casting the daedra into shadow from behind him.

I only get this effect with that option checked and it is strongly intrusive in the game play, by which I mean that my in-game view frequently shifts from well lit to gloomy and back. It also gets very dark if my "candle" is deemed to go behind a wall I'm close to.

I think it is a valid option for the player to want to use a mix of lanterns, etc, and light spells as he/she progresses through a dungeon, isn't it?

Screenshot.jpg (183.28 KiB) Viewed 1155 times

[Hazelnut]

I suspect this effect was simply not as extreme when the player 'torch' was always on and giving some light from the player position. If you have the item light sources option switched on then this will only happen if you have one lit.

Not sure whether the light spell is in front of the player to match classic or not, but it may work better in one of the corners so above players shoulder and only slightly in front. That would avoid it clipping though walls and enemies so often. IK will need to comment on that, I have never used the light spell in classic myself.

[ftr89wgbtf4]

1

[Interkarma]

The light source for Light effect is centred on candle, as per classic. If the candle clips through geometry then the light will be obscured, again as per classic.

One improvement I made in DFU was to move the candle much closer to player to minimise the amount of clipping through geometry. In classic, the candle is quite a distance in front of player and will clip through walls more frequently than in DFU. I recommend trying this out in classic to see what I mean. At the time, I purposefully tuned the candle to be inside of combat range, so if you find it clipping through enemies then just back up slightly. It should be possible to maintain close combat while keeping the candle between you and your foe.

Some future improvement would be a spring system to push candle closer to player rather than clip through objects, and alternate light formats, such as making light source hover over player's shoulder. But first priority is to reimplement classic with small QoL improvements, so classic candle with minor improvements is the intended design for now.

Also seconding what Hazelnut said above. The effect is more dramatic without the personal torch. I also think I forget to couple this effect to "EnableSpellShadows" in settings, so at this time you can't disable shadows for spell lighting effects. I'll wire this up soon so you can disable shadows soon.

Moving to Help & Support, as it's more of a conversation around the feature, not a bug.