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Lighting Setup - Dubai Metaverse

Overview

This document describes the lighting setup for the Dubai Metaverse project, including Lumen global illumination, day/night cycle, and atmospheric effects.

Lighting System: Lumen

Lumen Overview

Lumen is Unreal Engine 5's fully dynamic global illumination and reflections system. It provides realistic lighting without pre-baking lightmaps.

Lumen Configuration

Global Illumination

  • Method: Lumen Global Illumination
  • Quality: Epic (or High if performance issues)
  • Settings:
    • Final Gather Quality: High
    • View Distance: Maximum
    • Detail: High

Reflections

  • Method: Lumen Reflections
  • Quality: Epic (or High if performance issues)
  • Settings:
    • Reflection Quality: High
    • Ray Tracing: Optional (if RTX GPU available)

Sky and Atmosphere

HDRI Sky Setup

  1. Create Sky Light:

    • Add Sky Light actor to level
    • Configure as BP_SkyLight

  2. HDRI Setup:

    • Import Dubai-specific HDRI sky
    • Assign to sky light
    • Adjust intensity

  3. Sky Settings:

    • Source Type: SLS Captured Scene or SLS Specified Cubemap
    • Intensity: 1.0 (adjust as needed)
    • Light Color: White (or adjust for time of day)

Directional Light (Sun)

  1. Create Directional Light:

    • Add Directional Light actor
    • Configure as BP_DirectionalLight

  2. Sun Settings:

    • Intensity: 8-12 lux (daytime)
    • Light Color: Warm white (daytime), warm orange (sunset)
    • Temperature: 5500K-7500K (daytime), 4000K-5000K (sunset)
    • Cast Shadows: Enabled
    • Shadow Resolution: Virtual Shadow Maps

  3. Sun Position:

    • Controlled by day/night cycle system
    • Rotates based on time of day

Day/Night Cycle System

BP_DayNightCycle Blueprint

Purpose: Control time of day and lighting transitions

Time Settings

  • Sunrise: 6:00 AM
  • Daytime Start: 8:00 AM
  • Sunset Start: 5:00 PM
  • Night Start: 7:00 PM
  • Night End: 6:00 AM

Implementation

  1. Time Variable: Float variable for time (0-24 hours)
  2. Sun Rotation: Rotate directional light based on time
  3. Sky Color: Adjust sky color based on time
  4. Light Intensity: Adjust light intensity based on time
  5. Atmosphere: Adjust atmosphere based on time

Time of Day Presets

Sunrise (6:00-8:00)

  • Sun Intensity: 4-6 lux
  • Sun Color: Warm orange/red
  • Sky Color: Warm, dramatic
  • Temperature: 4000K-5000K

Daytime (8:00-17:00)

  • Sun Intensity: 8-12 lux
  • Sun Color: White
  • Sky Color: Clear blue
  • Temperature: 6500K-7500K

Sunset (17:00-19:00)

  • Sun Intensity: 4-6 lux
  • Sun Color: Warm orange/red
  • Sky Color: Warm, dramatic
  • Temperature: 4000K-5000K

Night (19:00-6:00)

  • Sun Intensity: 0-1 lux (moonlight)
  • Sun Color: Cool blue
  • Sky Color: Dark, starry
  • Temperature: 8000K-10000K

Atmospheric Effects

Volumetric Fog

  1. Create Exponential Height Fog:

    • Add Exponential Height Fog actor
    • Configure as BP_Atmosphere

  2. Fog Settings:

    • Density: 0.02-0.05 (subtle)
    • Fog Height Falloff: 0.2
    • Fog Inscattering Color: Slight blue/gray
    • Fog Max Opacity: 0.5-0.7

  3. Purpose:

    • Atmospheric perspective
    • Humidity simulation
    • Depth enhancement

Heat Haze

  1. Create Heat Haze Material:

    • Material: MFX_HeatHaze
    • Type: Post-process or material function

  2. Heat Haze Settings:

    • Distortion Intensity: Subtle
    • Distance Falloff: Distance-based
    • Application: Above hot surfaces (roads, buildings)

  3. Implementation:

    • Apply as post-process effect
    • Or as material on surfaces

Post-Process Settings

PP_DubaiCinematic Post-Process Volume

Purpose: Cinematic color grading and effects

Settings

Bloom

  • Intensity: 0.5-1.0
  • Threshold: 1.0
  • Tint: Slight warm tint

Chromatic Aberration

  • Intensity: 0.1-0.2 (subtle)
  • Start Offset: 0.0

Depth of Field

  • Method: Gaussian
  • Focal Distance: Camera-based
  • Focal Region: 1000-5000
  • Near Transition Region: 500
  • Far Transition Region: 1000

Color Grading

Time-of-Day LUTs:

  • Sunrise LUT: Warm, dramatic
  • Daytime LUT: Natural, slightly enhanced
  • Sunset LUT: Warm, high saturation
  • Night LUT: Cool, reduced saturation

Settings:

  • Saturation: 1.0-1.2 (slightly enhanced)
  • Contrast: 1.0-1.1
  • Gamma: 1.0

Lighting Calibration

Dubai-Specific Lighting

Characteristics

  1. Intense Sunlight: Harsh, direct sunlight during day
  2. Strong Shadows: Sharp shadows with high contrast
  3. Reflective Surfaces: Glass buildings create strong reflections
  4. Heat Haze: Visible distortion above hot surfaces
  5. Artificial Lighting: Neon and LED at night

Calibration Steps

  1. Reference Comparison: Compare to Dubai reference photos
  2. Light Intensity: Adjust to match reference
  3. Shadow Quality: Ensure sharp, high-contrast shadows
  4. Reflections: Verify glass reflections are strong
  5. Color Temperature: Match Dubai lighting color

Performance Optimization

Lumen Quality Settings

  • Final Gather Quality: Adjust based on performance
  • Reflection Quality: Adjust based on performance
  • View Distance: Optimize for performance

Shadow Optimization

  • Virtual Shadow Maps: Use for performance
  • Shadow Resolution: Adjust based on performance
  • Shadow Distance: Optimize shadow distance

Light Optimization

  • Light Count: Minimize dynamic lights
  • Light Complexity: Optimize light complexity
  • Culling: Use distance culling

Validation Checklist

Lighting Setup

  • Lumen GI enabled and working
  • Lumen Reflections enabled and working
  • Sky light configured
  • Directional light configured
  • Day/night cycle working
  • Atmospheric fog configured
  • Post-process volume configured

Quality Validation

  • Lighting matches Dubai aesthetic
  • Day/night transitions are smooth
  • Shadows are realistic
  • Reflections are accurate
  • Performance is acceptable

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Lighting too bright/dark

  • Solution: Adjust light intensity
  • Solution: Adjust exposure settings

Issue: Shadows not appearing

  • Solution: Check shadow settings
  • Solution: Verify Virtual Shadow Maps enabled

Issue: Reflections not working

  • Solution: Check Lumen Reflections enabled
  • Solution: Verify reflection quality settings

Issue: Performance issues

  • Solution: Lower Lumen quality settings
  • Solution: Optimize shadow settings
  • Solution: Reduce light count

Tools

Lighting Tools

  • Unreal Editor: Primary lighting tool
  • Lumen: Global illumination system
  • Post-Process Volume: Color grading and effects

Validation Tools

  • Unreal Insights: Performance profiling
  • Lighting Validation Script: scripts/lighting_validation.py

Version: 1.0 Last Updated: [Current Date]

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