Game
RTG - The Ray-Traced Game

5 years ago

Example of level building and how lighting is affecting visual quality


Hi All,

Was working on another prototype level. This time focus was to start programming first 'puzzle' (or level building) elements for the game.

Before getting to main devlog entry covering last batch of work more deeply (with some fancy animations too), here's short story how level was built and how lighting affects output visual quality.

1. only ambient light - everything looks flat (maybe I'll add some ambient occlusion later in development or in RTG 2 )

2. darker ambient and added one strong point light (with weak attenuation) - just one light brought brutal change

3. all switches have small lightie (red or green depending on state) with strong attenuation - so they do just small 'local' environment illuminations

4. finally added 2 more lamps (one white at bottom of the level, one red at exit door) - just to add even more depth to scene

Note: those reddish vertical walls are doors and black part of the floor in front of player is elevator. Both are now changed to look more 'final'.

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RTG Dev Flashback - May '21 Story level. No puzzle this time. Do you like?

Un nivel del relato, sin puzzle. ¿Os gusta? https://store.steampowered.com/app/4032050/RTG

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RTG Flashback - March '21 #2 Another animation from the first batch of levels for RTG, my sci-fi puzzle/platformer with CPU-only ray-tracing. There's a bit of reflection on the bottom floor with back lights casting shadows. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4032050/RTG

RTG Dev Flashback - Nov '21 Charged light shooters! Mechanics, which added "pool" or "billiards" gameplay. Lot of fun with that. Moreover, this effect of environment illumination is for free thanks to game's engine, so why not use it?

Dev Flashback - Nov '21 #3 End of 2021 was very productive in RTG development. After "charged light shooters", I implemented "gravity inverters", great mechanics with lot of potential for new puzzles. Here's small showcase. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4032050/RTG

RTG Flashback - Nov 2021 Tirador de las luces cargadas! Nueva mecánica añadida al juego un año y medio después del comienzo de desarrollo. Tenía mucha diversión con esa. Es un poco como jugar billar. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4032050/RTG/

RTG Flashback - April 2021 Test level for testing my collision system. Game mechanics where player needs to manipulate with boxes in order to solve puzzles is essential in RTG, thus simple collision system was needed. Here it is. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4032050/RTG

RTG Dev Flashback - Nov '21 #2 Another level with "charged light shooters". I can say, that's around this level when game's difficulty spikes up. After 20-30 levels of quite light puzzles, the game will start challenging even skilled puzzle players.

RTG Flashback - March '21 #3 One of the first levels with elevators. Here, you can see, that thx to my ray-tracing algorithm, every tiny light in the game is actual emitter which illuminates its environment and cast shadows. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4032050/RTG

In my current game I'm using my own engine. Ray-tracer for rendering is written in C++, it's not using any GPU acceleration, nor any 3rd part library. Editor & game logic are written in C#, using .NET Framework. #Devruary