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 More on sloped lighting 


We are going to talk about dividing a sloped sector and fixing it so that it is a continuous slope after we split it. Sometimes you may want to divide a sloped sector to add lighting effects and it is not easy because when you split a sloped sector the first wall is changed and the sector is rearranged in a manner other than what was intended. To add lighting effects to sloped sectors is more work but the philosophy of "all or none" still holds.
If you add light and shade effects anywhere in your map, it is best you implement the effects throughout. Anyway, back to the matter at hand: sloped lighting and sloped sectors. The best way is probably just to explain how the effect (shown in the screen capture above) was made, start to finish.
The way in which it was created would be one way any similar effect might be done.


 More on sloped lighting: step by step

The image that is below was taken from a tutorial map that I made for this topic. The screen capture below is only part of the tutorial map. The full map has ten such segments but you can only see five segments in the following image. What I did was build and copy each step and then make each copied segment to represent the proceeding step in creating this effect.

The South side of this picture is the higher sector. The smaller square just North of the first line segments are the lighted sectors, that is the brighter sectors. The next longer sectors North of those smaller ones are the darker part of the corridor leading downward toward the smaller sectors at the top of the image.
 
  • The arrow in segment 1 indicates the direction of the downward slope
  • The purple lines represent the walls which are to be made the "first walls"
  • The green lines segment 2 represent the sectors that house the sloping sectors for the sloped light effect
  • Although the purple and green lines are not shown in each segment, the same holds for all the segments.
     


    Segment 1 was originally made as one long sector and the purple line represents the wall that was made the "first wall". ( In 2d mode, hold the cursor on the side of the wall that is inside the sector you want to slope and press and hold the right Alt key and press f  ). In 3d mode, place the cursor on the floor of the sector that will be sloped and press and hold down the left mouse button. Then tap the  ]  key three times ( or however many times you want ). Do the same for the ceiling of that sector. The next thing that was done was the split at the end of segment 1. The incline will be rearranged after that. Make the wall (purple line seen in seg1) the first wall, again. Go in to the sector you just split from the longer one and press the  /  key on the floor and ceiling of that sector. This will make them flat again. Adjust the height of the floor and ceiling of this sector to match the height of the sloped sector.

    In segment 2 the sectors that will house the sloped light effect were added ( represented by green lines ). Naturally, that rearranged the slope of the sectors. In 2d mode, make the proper walls the first walls, again.
     
    In segment 3 the longer sector was split. The split is drawn across to meet the ends of the sloped light effect sectors. This sector will be the brighter sector like the one that you see in the picture at the very top of this page. The pink dots you see in segment 3 (pictured above) have been added to indicate which side of the wall the cursor was placed (in 2d mode) to make that wall the first wall. Once this latest split has been made, the sectors will look really messed up in 3d. The outer points of the sloped light effect sectors were also pulled in toward the inner wall.

    You can see in the picture above that some of the walls look blue. In the map the walls of the light effect sectors were given a palette of 1 to make it easier to see them (with the exception of first walls which were given a palette of 2). In 2d mode, once again make the proper walls the first wall.


    Once you have gone in and made the proper first walls, lower the floor and ceiling of the longer sector until they are as close to but above the smaller sloped sectors in front of them ( You can see in the picture to the right that the longer sectors are above the one in front. This picture was taken before they were lowered ). In 3d mode, place the cursor on the sloped sector nearest the front and press and hold the Alt key and press the  ] key. Do the same for the ceiling and the sectors in front will join evenly with the longer sectors.

    Next, place the cursor on the longer sectors and again, press and hold the Alt key and press the  ] key. This will make the sectors on the other side of the split join evenly with the sectors at the lowest point. The result: a split, sloped sector that joins evenly from the highest sector down to the lowest sector.


     More on sloped lighting: final steps

    The first picture below, left side, shows the ceiling sectors of the light effect sectors pulled down and the floor sectors pulled up. This is so you can see them and split their wall attributes. In 3d mode, place the cursor on the top half of the wall and press the number 2. Shade it a bit and if the bottom half does not also shade then you have successfully split the wall. Then push the floors down and the ceilings up so that they are the same height as the sector where the slopes start. The middle picture shows the ceilings of the light effect sectors sloped to meet the floor. Just use the appropriate  ]  key to get the slope close and then hold the right Shift key while you press the  ]  key as many times as you have to adjust it. The final picture shows what it looks like after you pull the floor sectors right up to meet the ceiling. That's it!

    Split the wall, top and bottom, by holding the cursor on the top half and pressing the number 2 Slope the ceiling of the light effect sector down to meet the floor Without sloping the floors of the light effect sectors, just pull the floors right up to the ceiling



     More on sloped lighting: wrapping up

    Adding textures and aligning them is all that's left to do. Now, that this section is complete, I can think about starting the next tutorial sections on textures, alignment, choosing, etc. If you need more on slopes, there's some more at the following link which talks about the fine tune stuff and a map with all the above mentioned steps and more. Just click here on extra dope on slopes

    note
    Any time you are manipulating a sector, whether you are sloping a sector, raising or lowering it, you can press and hold down the left mouse button on that sector to select it and have it remain selected during the process. This is especially useful while you are trying to fine tune the slope or can not get high enough or low enough to see the surface of that sector.

     

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