as we see for the halo 4 lighting system it looks pretty similar to halo 3’s but just a bit more amazing. but as we saw in reach there wasnt much of a lighting system which was disappointing. since we know that halo 5 might ship on the new console does that mean that the lighting system will be way more advanced under a new engine.
what do you guys think?
Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
By lighting, do you mean the brightness of the design style? Halo Reach had a better lighting system than Halo 3, but the overall art design was darker and grim.
> Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
>
> I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
its not really dynamic at all.
Halo 3 and Halo: Reach used the same lighting system. When the developers built a map, they’d use a tool to construct a “lightmap”, which essentially marked all the areas of light and shadow. In-game, every object on that map would be lit based on where its centerpoint was, using the lightmap data as a reference. The most noticeable result of this is that Forge pieces never cast shadows, and Spartans cast “fake” shadows.
To my knowledge, 343i hasn’t stated that Halo 4 will be using dynamic lighting, but we know that the game does (basically) modify a map’s lightmap based on what Forge pieces are present. From the gameplay videos I saw, it also looks like more than just an object’s centerpoint is taken into account when doing lighting, but given the pace of the gameplay, it’s hard to tell for sure.
So it’s better, but it’s hard to tell how much better it is.
> > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> >
> > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
>
> its not really dynamic at all.
Did you see the Forge gameplay from RTX? That my good sir, THAT is some dam fine dynamic lighting.
> > > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> > >
> > > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
> >
> > its not really dynamic at all.
>
> Did you see the Forge gameplay from RTX? That my good sir, THAT is some dam fine dynamic lighting.
no its not. That is pre-baked.
> > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> >
> > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
>
> its not really dynamic at all.
The player’s shadow can be seen on the weapon you’re holding in first person, and this shadow changes depending on how much light there is and where it comes from.
I’d say that it’s definitely closer to dynamic lighting than anything in past Halo games.
> > > > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> > > >
> > > > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
> > >
> > > its not really dynamic at all.
> >
> > Did you see the Forge gameplay from RTX? That my good sir, THAT is some dam fine dynamic lighting.
>
> no its not. That is pre-baked.
Well we have different opinions here, let’s try not to force them on each other. To me it just looks like dynamic lighting.
> > > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> > >
> > > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
> >
> > its not really dynamic at all.
>
> The player’s shadow can be seen on the weapon you’re holding in first person, and this shadow changes depending on how much light there is and where it comes from.
>
> I’d say that it’s definitely closer to dynamic lighting than anything in past Halo games.
Thats not the same. The Enviroment shadows for every Halo game are prebaked. Only the Character shadows are dynamic. Same for halo4. They have done some little magic to the lighting thx to Corrine yu, but for the most part in gameplay the Shadows are pre-baked.
> > > > > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> > > > >
> > > > > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
> > > >
> > > > its not really dynamic at all.
> > >
> > > Did you see the Forge gameplay from RTX? That my good sir, THAT is some dam fine dynamic lighting.
> >
> > no its not. That is pre-baked.
>
> Well we have different opinions here, let’s try not to force them on each other. To me it just looks like dynamic lighting.
You’re both right.
It is “baked”, as JumPeR said, but it’s baked while in Forge. It’s dynamically static.
> > > > > > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
> > > > >
> > > > > its not really dynamic at all.
> > > >
> > > > Did you see the Forge gameplay from RTX? That my good sir, THAT is some dam fine dynamic lighting.
> > >
> > > no its not. That is pre-baked.
> >
> > Well we have different opinions here, let’s try not to force them on each other. To me it just looks like dynamic lighting.
>
> You’re both right.
>
> It is “baked”, as JumPeR said, but it’s baked while in Forge. It’s dynamically static.
Ahh Well that settles it then. Thanks Cobb
> > > > > > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
> > > > >
> > > > > its not really dynamic at all.
> > > >
> > > > Did you see the Forge gameplay from RTX? That my good sir, THAT is some dam fine dynamic lighting.
> > >
> > > no its not. That is pre-baked.
> >
> > Well we have different opinions here, let’s try not to force them on each other. To me it just looks like dynamic lighting.
>
> You’re both right.
>
> It is “baked”, as JumPeR said, but it’s baked while in Forge. It’s dynamically static.
thats not right at all. Watch the forge demo carefully. Every time he goes into player mode the game bakes the shadows. If this would be dynamic lighting, there would be no need for that short bake time 
I know what im talking about and i can tell you guys that this is not really dynamic lighting. If you could change the timeofday and the shadows would move around, that would be Dynamic. But sadly thats not the case with halo4.
> > > > Similar? This looks like something beyond the light in Crysis 1!
> > > >
> > > > I love the dynamic lightning, gives the game that real life feeling.
> > >
> > > its not really dynamic at all.
> >
> > The player’s shadow can be seen on the weapon you’re holding in first person, and this shadow changes depending on how much light there is and where it comes from.
> >
> > I’d say that it’s definitely closer to dynamic lighting than anything in past Halo games.
>
> Thats not the same. The Enviroment shadows for every Halo game are prebaked. Only the Character shadows are dynamic. Same for halo4. They have done some little magic to the lighting thx to Corrine yu, but for the most part in gameplay the Shadows are pre-baked.
For the environment, they are still pre-baked, yes. However, those don’t matter much since they won’t change anyway, right? It’s the moving stuff (characters, vehicles) that really matters in this case, and I’m glad they’ve improved it.
To say Reach didn’t have much of a lighting system is a dramatic understatement. To say Reach’s wasn’t good is a less dramatic understatement. Don’t believe? Spawn a Banshee in the Colisseum and move it around under all the different lights. It looks fantastic–the light plays off the Banshee just the way it would in real life. It’s the same with the playermodel in the Armory.
That said, I greatly prefer Halo 3’s lighting (although apparantly it’s the same system as Reach? In that case, the lighting style :D). The colors are vastly more vibrant, and in my opinion more realistic. Look how the glare off a Golden Brute cuts through the jungle in Sierra 117. Look how alien the Carbine looks while moving around Guardian. Watch yourself get blinded by light as you emerge from the belly of a Scarab onto the deck. It looks so much better. Some say it looks cartoony, I say it looks fantastic and Reach looks like washed out clay. My opinion.
I haven’t played Halo 4 yet, and so much of the gameplay that we’ve seen is from cameras filming a TV, so it’s hard to tell how the lighting is. I hope it’s more akin to 3 than Reach.
> Halo 3 and Halo: Reach used the same lighting system. When the developers built a map, they’d use a tool to construct a “lightmap”, which essentially marked all the areas of light and shadow. In-game, every object on that map would be lit based on where its centerpoint was, using the lightmap data as a reference. The most noticeable result of this is that Forge pieces never cast shadows, and Spartans cast “fake” shadows.
>
> To my knowledge, <mark>343i hasn’t stated that Halo 4 will be using dynamic lighting</mark>, but we know that the game does (basically) modify a map’s lightmap based on what Forge pieces are present. From the gameplay videos I saw, it also looks like more than just an object’s centerpoint is taken into account when doing lighting, but given the pace of the gameplay, it’s hard to tell for sure.
>
> So it’s better, but it’s hard to tell how much better it is.
343 doesn’t need to tell you. Just look at the game. Shadows realistically cast over players, and other objects in Halo 4 and the shadow stops where it would realistically stop if you weren’t completely under the shadow. Whereas in all other Halos, as you went under a shadow, you could see that an object, such as a weapon in your hand, simply got darker as a whole.
> 343 doesn’t need to tell you. Just look at the game. Shadows realistically cast over players, and other objects in Halo 4 and the shadow stops where it would realistically stop if you weren’t completely under the shadow. Whereas in all other Halos, as you went under a shadow, you could see that an object, such as a weapon in your hand, simply got darker as a whole.
Either you’ve got better eyes than I do, or you’ve found a video with both better quality and more evident lighting changes. Either way, thank you for the information. 
David, they said that the game uses dynamic lighting during the Forge presentation at RTX.