Environment maps - Where and a few others

Troubleshooting graphics
1

I havn’t played with these too much and wanted to ask a few questions about environment maps.

Suppose you have a room, something like

With walls and floor all around, just a simple pic for the questions. The 4 floor platforms are raised parts of the floor that I want to be reflective (kinda blurry though so can be low ish resolution?).

Would I be wise to make multiple seperate environment maps, so like

One for each of the small cubes, or is it overkill having multiple environment maps? And if so/not, where would I be best placing maps? Nearest the surface that I want to have reflections or at a sort of eye level in game?

I have a shader I use often that has a diffuse overlay layer. Is there any reason why I cannot use a ‘specular map like’ texture to define which parts reflect using the environment map and which don’t?

Also does anyone have any ideas on what resolutions I should be aiming for with environment map textures? I’m using 2k textures where as a max where I need detail in my game, aiming quite high quality wise so not worried about low spec graphics cards.

2

Definitely at camera level.

Just check it which resolution look good.

1 Like
3

This looks like what PBR is solving.
Specular map for the reflective parts: check
Light probes with environment maps: check
:slight_smile:

2 Likes
5

Thanks winhelp. I will just start high and shrink them smaller and smaller I guess.

Ogil can you tell me what PBR would help with here? Do you mean in regards to what I said about using a specular map to block off parts of the environment map?

edit: having looked through the lighting shader I think the specular map already blocks off environment map.

6

that doesnt sound right (I’m not saying you are wrong, I’m saying if it is doing that, it doesnt sound right to me)

7

Perhaps I was wrong. I saw this in the shader

#ifdef USE_REFLECTION
            vec4 refColor = Optics_GetEnvColor(m_EnvMap, refVec.xyz);

            // Interpolate light specularity toward reflection color
            // Multiply result by specular map
            specularColor = mix(SpecularSum2 * light.y, refColor, refVec.w) * specularColor;

And I thought if they part of the specular is black then you’d see no environmentmap when multiplying?

8

you are correct, it looks like zero spec will result in zero envmap

9

TBH the reflection computation in the lighting shader may be completely wrong…
But yeah as Ogli mentioned what you want to do sounds a lot like the Image Based Lightign use din the PBR shader.