Best use of global illumination in a game?

Ron Burgundy

Newcomer
I would say DriveClub. I feel that dynamically changing GI has only been properly seen in a game with DriveClub. I can't think of any other game with constant condition changes that change and look so realistic. Even a yellow storm cloud illuminates the scene accurately it's just crazy. What do you think?
 
I think think it's illumination you're talking about, not global illumination. The best award for global illumination in a game has to go The Tomorrow Children as the only game so far AFAIK to have dynamic GI. Everything else is precomputed and just art.
 
I think think it's illumination you're talking about, not global illumination. The best award for global illumination in a game has to go The Tomorrow Children as the only game so far AFAIK to have dynamic GI. Everything else is precomputed and just art.

DriveClub has dynamic global illumination in place. It's whole lighting model is in real time.
 
When you say precomputed do you mean precomputed probes and such as seen in Farcry 3/Farcry 4 ?
What about the GI in Alien Isolation and Driveclub where you would have colour bleeding from the cars in front of you inside your car's cockpit as well as from the tail lamps of your own car?

I know they use probes too but in a different way than Farcry 3/4, though I do not know how they differ (I imagine Farcry 3/4 generates probes while loading the level and keeps it updating along with the TOD, maybe Alien Isolation and Driveclub generate them on the fly). And if that's pre computed then what would you call the GI data baked onto textures as seen in AC Unity ?
 
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Everything else is precomputed and just art.
What are our standards here? How baked is baked? How versatile does the system have to be?

I mean, TCC's lighting generation is very general, but there are plenty of games where there's bounced lighting that isn't simply baked statically into irradiance data.
 
I haven't seen much of DC so maybe it does have secondary illumination, although it's a simpler job when your environment is a big bit of flat tarmac and you only have to worry about a few broadly box-shaped secondary light sources. ;) If we accept DC as being GI, without there being an implementation requirement, then it'll come down to aesthetic. For me, TTC 'wins' because the tech is fully dynamic with destructible/creatable environment as well as time of day, but for others, using techniques with static environments to achieve a nice look will be preferable.
 
It was looking good, but it's off the radar at the moment. Can't really rate it until we know what the release game'll look like.
 
But then the GI in Farcry 3/4 works with TOD and changing environment (the movable objects and vehicles get lit up from the bounce lighting from something like say green grass). I'm sure if the game had destructible environment it would have worked with those too. It does precompute the probe placement during loading though, so how baked is baked?
 
But then the GI in Farcry 3/4 works with TOD and changing environment (the movable objects and vehicles get lit up from the bounce lighting from something like say green grass). I'm sure if the game had destructible environment it would have worked with those too. It does precompute the probe placement during loading though, so how baked is baked?
According to what I've seen on the matter, FC3's GI uses precomputed radiance transfer; the information about how light from a given direction (and also position, in the PC version, with a much heavier solution that also works on dynamic lights) should bounce through the scene is baked offline (I'm not sure where you got "during loading" from?). Light can be received by dynamic objects, but can't bounce off of them, so it wouldn't play nicely with destructible environments.
 
I haven't seen much of DC so maybe it does have secondary illumination, although it's a simpler job when your environment is a big bit of flat tarmac and you only have to worry about a few broadly box-shaped secondary light sources. ;) If we accept DC as being GI, without there being an implementation requirement, then it'll come down to aesthetic. For me, TTC 'wins' because the tech is fully dynamic with destructible/creatable environment as well as time of day, but for others, using techniques with static environments to achieve a nice look will be preferable.

The Tomorrows Children is indeed impressive. But if I recall, DriveClub is using a fully generated volumetric lighting model with real time global illumination. Also, I'm sure that all light sources are dynamic too. The weather system in the game is dynamic and conditions can change randomly. I think they needed to use a dynamic GI solution if they wanted to simulate bounce light on the fly in different conditions. But the question is, how many games actually use real time global illumination? It seems that it's still very rare.
 
I haven't seen much of DC so maybe it does have secondary illumination, although it's a simpler job when your environment is a big bit of flat tarmac and you only have to worry about a few broadly box-shaped secondary light sources. ;) If we accept DC as being GI, without there being an implementation requirement, then it'll come down to aesthetic. For me, TTC 'wins' because the tech is fully dynamic with destructible/creatable environment as well as time of day, but for others, using techniques with static environments to achieve a nice look will be preferable.

Although I agree TTC has an awsome lighting system in place (probably the best), however, DC lighting system is quite unique. Example: The fireworks and storm lightning reflect quite accurately off surrounding surfaces and particles in a more natural fashion than any current/available game that I can think of*. And all the forms of shadowing techniques that's created around the lighting system (relation to each other) are on a whole other level not seen in a racer.

I think TTC GI is more reflective of the good CGI animation of the mid 90's, while DC GI is more of a leap towards better environment lighting of today's games. TTC just being more CGI worthy...






*Rockstar's lighting system in GTA V maynot be as technical as TTC or DC, however, it's insanely impressive... especially the lightning storms at night.
 
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But if I recall, DriveClub is using a fully generated volumetric lighting model with real time global illumination.
That's the first I've heard of it. I've read that they use light probes on the cars for dynamic lighting, but nothing on volumetric lighting. The secondary illumination I'm seeing in screenshots is in fixed locations on scenery, and I'm not seeing any coloured reflections off cars or much illumination from the road. TBH the situation of the cars is such that you can get away without global illumination, especially when the cars are all shiny.
 
But then the GI in Farcry 3/4 works with TOD and changing environment (the movable objects and vehicles get lit up from the bounce lighting from something like say green grass). I'm sure if the game had destructible environment it would have worked with those too. It does precompute the probe placement during loading though, so how baked is baked?
You ever notice in Far Cry 4 it never actually gets dark. Night always looks like dusk.
 
It may sound heretical, but I wonder how Fable Legends is coming along.

There's been some kind of closed beta. I didn't get into it, but people are playing it. Surprised there haven't been some leaks.

Hadn't seen this before, but it's sort of old.

 
That's the first I've heard of it. I've read that they use light probes on the cars for dynamic lighting, but nothing on volumetric lighting. The secondary illumination I'm seeing in screenshots is in fixed locations on scenery, and I'm not seeing any coloured reflections off cars or much illumination from the road. TBH the situation of the cars is such that you can get away without global illumination, especially when the cars are all shiny.

I think some are confusing the volumetric cloud system within DC with volumetric lighting itself. I think...
 
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