Static Mesh lighting - Why is it Pink????

[avp2501]

I created a helipad sometime ago using the add brushes and created this:

For multiple reasons i've now turned this into a Static Mesh which is great. well all except for one thing.

Why is it bright bloody pink???? i tried messing with some of the lighting options in the Static Mesh and the best i can do is use 'special lighting' which simply means unlit (except flashlight).

So the question is how do i make my static mesh version look like the non static mesh version in picture one?

 

[shadowwill]

Its pink because your lights are !

AND also, when you make the brush into a static mesh, or any static mesh for that matter, it is 'Vertex lit' which means it is lit by the vertexes.

Ive found when you create a static mesh in the editor from a square face, like yours, it cuts the face into an 'X' shape.

Since the polys will be huge on your helipad (4 large triangles 'X') it will light it from them.

The reason it looked fine before is because it had a light map, not vertex lit.

http://book.hourences.com/tutorialimages/vertex/vertextutvertexbase.jpg
vertex lighting

One way you can make it look better is by creating more polys on the face, this would be done in an external modelling program, the face would have to be split like a grid, multiplying the poly count but also providing more vertexes to be lit.

 

[avp2501]

Originally i had the odd issue with portals / voids etc and i've found that changing this into a mesh has been a big improvement in stopping them.

I also changed it to help with performance elsewhere in the map and its seemed to have done the trick.

If i start to make it more complicated i may lower performance in that area so i would like to try and avoid that, however the way the lighting is looks aweful.

Is there a way i can leave it as it is but use some complicated lights / lighting tricks etc to make it look much better? It doesn't have to look the same just not bright bloody pink.

When its unlit its not too bad but its a little too hard to see and needs some form of lighting.

 

[shadowwill]

Increasing the polys on it wont hard performance very much at all. And since its a large part of the map i think having a larger amount of polys on it is needed. Lets say you spit that face into a grid of 9 squares, it will only reach 18 polys and thats nothing. You could even double or triple that if you wanted.

 

[avp2501]

you definately know much in the ways of modeling young shadowwalker *cough*will

Ill see what i can do. The problem is i'm great at doing a level layout but models / textures and animations are my weak points.

 

[shadowwill]

well it wont be difficult if you have very basic modelling knowledge. But if you cant do it, send me a pm and and ill make it for you

 

[Murphy]

Why don't you just keep it as a Brush?

 

[arramus]

Set the SMs > Display > ScaleGlow to a lower setting and see if that loses some of the ickiness. Try 0.1 for starters.