Please Help! Nightlighting in BAT.

[embersofwhatiwas]

I'm having a really hard time getting my windows up and lit. First of all, let me show you what I've got.





Okay I guess I have two questions,

1. How do I give these windows depth and appeal.

2. How do I lite those windows.

I've followed all the tutorial, and searched and I've come up with nothing. 

I followed Callagrafx's tutorial on the stained glass window, and it seems that we have two different BATs. Most of the things that he said I needed to do, I couldn't because the face and buttons weren't there.

for example,

I have no idea how to get my windows to have depth like this



secondly I don't have this interface:



this is mine :




any input would be appreciated, I would love to be a part of this community. 

[threestooges]

The main problem here is that Cal's tutorial is designed for people who use 3dsMax (different from GMAX). If you are just learning to BAT, or if you haven't aleady checked it out, take a look at philippbo's BAT tutorial at Simtropolis. It covers many things including nightlighting for the BAT. Also, check out The Mouse House by Jmouse here on our site.

Each of those should give you some insight into the intricacies of BATting, but to briefly answer your two questions:
-To add depth to the windows, make the wall thicker. Notice the thickness of yours compared to how thick Cal's is.
-To light the windows, you must either provide a nightlight inside to cast a reflection out the window, or create a plane to serve as the window and have it be lit by itself. Each is discussed in the tutorials above. I can provide more detail if necessary, but take a look at those tutorials and they should help out.

[embersofwhatiwas]

Thank you so much for respnding so quickly.

However I have tried Phillipbo's wonderful tutorial and I get stuck on the 2.5d snap thing. I don't have all those options, his looks like this;



But mine looks like this:


And because of this I can't complete the lesson. It's very frustrating when everything doesn't go as planned! 

Anyway, thank you for replying and I hope to get this straightened out.

[threestooges]

It can be frustrating to learn a program like the BAT (believe me, I know from experience) but the important thing is to keep trying. It gets easier with time, trust me. The 2.5d snap button is actually on the bottom part of your screen. The picture from the tutorial may make it seem like it is in the same window as the grid/snap settings, but it is not. Look at the very bottom of the pic you posted. You'll notice the words 'Add Time Tag' and just 4 buttons to the right is the one you are looking for. Click and hold to get it to expand. Let me know if that works, and if you have any other questions.

[embersofwhatiwas]

Oy, Now I can't get my window Rectangle to UVW wrap and have the frame get filled in.

I'm pullin' out my hair here 

[threestooges]

Not going to lie, that can happen as you learn, but it is a learning process (warning, sharp learning curve ahead). Post a pic of what you have so far and we'll see what can be done.

[embersofwhatiwas]

Okay, the first image here, there is 1 Omni light per level. Why is it so bright?

And the second, there is only 1 Omni light in use. Only 1, and it's still the same brightness.

Any ideas guys?

thanks 

[Chrisadams3997]

You'll want to adjust the attentuation and multiplier for your lights until they look like what you want.  If you're not sure what I'm talking about, look up lights in the Gmax user reference help files .  It's very comprehensive when you need to figure out how something works in Gmax.

[embersofwhatiwas]

Thank you guys so much for the help! Everything is where I think it would portray the structure the best. I think I'm going to upload it to Simtropolis, maybe you guys can test it out and give me some helpful criticism!


Haha, thank you guys so much!

[callagrafx]

Also, when using multiple lights in BAT, make sure that if you copy one, it's not an instance, but rather a unique copy.  There is a radio button on the copy dialog box to allow you to select copy, instance or reference.