A bit of help with making LOD use a glow map

[oc3]

I am trying to make the white gold tower to be lit at all times, kind of as if by magic. For the close areas within the IC, light sources work just fine. But for far away, I am trying to use a glow map on the texture associated with the _far.nif file for the tower. I'm using RAEVWD by the way, which is awesome. Anyway, I know the far texture is kicking in about halfway between the outer wall and the prison district because I can see the change(I put a big purple spot in the texture for test purposes) but the glow map is a no show. However, when I enter the prison, and then turn around to see the tower, guess what? The glow map works perfectly. I know it's the glow map and not lights because I made it glow a distinct color just for test.

 

OK, so the prison is a different cell, but why would that matter? Also, I can walk basically to the end of the map and the glow map never kicks in. The only time it is visible, that I can tell, is in the arcane University or the prison.

 

If I can figure this out, I will probably replace the lighting on the main model of the tower with a glow map, that way, there should be no performance hit.

 

Does anyone have any idea why my glow map is working sometimes but not others.

 

Thanks!

Edited June 10, 2011 by oc3

[Ghogiel]

Glow maps are a mask, they do not enable glow effect by themselves, they only mask it and do a color blending of the models emissive color material property. Have you set the emissive color in the _far nif to something other than black, ie white? Edited June 10, 2011 by Ghogiel

[oc3]

Glow maps are a mask, they do not enable glow effect by themselves, they only mask it and do a color blending of the models emissive color material property. Have you set the emissive color in the _far nif to something other than black, ie white?

 

I have it set to light blue so that it will be distinguishable from the lighting on the full model. As I said, the glow map works fine inside the AU or the prison, but nowhere else. The bizarre part is, just outside the prison, the texture that is the glow maps 'parent' appears, but no glow.

 

Thanks

[oc3]

Nevermind, I think I have it figured out. I made a noobish error and failed to realize that Better Cities had its own version of the tower, both near and far versions. That's why it worked sometimes and not others. It now seems to work right and is visible from quite a ways unless there is fog or rain, which I think is unfixable.

Thanks anyway.