# How to enable Light Propagation Volumes GI \[ WIP AND BETA\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Rendering\ **Tags:** unreal-engine\ **Created:** [March 22, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464 "2014-03-22T12:44:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chris.R](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/chris.r/32/479920_2.png) [@Chris.R](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Chris.R)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 12:01pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/21 "2014-03-23T12:01:19Z")
> [@CharlestonS;3580](#): > > Yeah, doesn’t work for me either after following the steps given > > The file i edited is E:\Program Files\Unreal Engine\4.0\Engine\Config\ConsoleVariables.ini > > I added the variable r.LightPropagationVolume=1 after [Startup], added a direction light and set it to affect indirect dynamic lighting. My file looked like : > > \*; ConsoleVariables.ini > ; > ; file allows to set console variables on engine startup (In undefined order). > ; Console variables also can be set in engine ini files (e.g. BaseEngine.ini, DefaultEngine.ini) in the [SystemSettings] section. > ; file should be in the source control database (for the comments and to know where to find it) > ; but kept empty from variables. > ; A developer can change it locally to save time not having to type repetitive > ; console variable settings. The variables need to be in the section called [Startup]. > ; Later on we might have multiple named sections referenced by the section name. > ; would allow platform specific or level specific overrides. > ; The name comparison is not case sensitive and if the variable doesn’t exists it’s silently ignored. > ; > ; Example file content: > ; > ; [Startup] > r.LightPropagationVolume=1 > ; FogDensity = 0.9 > ; ImageGrain = 0.5 > ; FreezeAtPosition = 2819.5520 416.2633 75.1500 65378 -25879 0 > > [Startup] > > ; Uncomment to get detailed logs on shader compiles and the opportunity to retry on errors > ;r.ShaderDevelopmentMode=1\* Put it there: \*; Example file content: ; ; [Startup] \<- The Bad One ; FogDensity = 0.9 ; ImageGrain = 0.5 ; FreezeAtPosition = 2819.5520 416.2633 75.1500 65378 -25879 0 [Startup] \<- The Good One ; Uncomment to get detailed logs on shader compiles and the opportunity to retry on errors ;r.ShaderDevelopmentMode=1 r.LightPropagationVolume=1 \* ---
**Author:** ![Daedalus51](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Daedalus51](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Daedalus51)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/22 "2014-03-23T12:16:07Z")
Hahaha…now it works! 😃 In my noobish behavior I put it in D:\Program Files\Unreal Engine\Launcher\Engine\Config instead of Program Files\Unreal Engine\4.0\Engine\Config\ Man how stupid xD Works like a charm now^^ ---
**Author:** ![Daedalus51](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Daedalus51](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Daedalus51)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 1:41pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/23 "2014-03-23T13:41:33Z")
Hmmm…sadly they seem to only accept light from the directional light (like in CE3) even if all light types have the option to contribute to an LPV. Hope will change in the future since gi from lamps etc. would be very much appreciated^^ ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_e0b29deb](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_e0b29deb](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_e0b29deb)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/24 "2014-03-23T15:39:19Z")
> [@;3636](#): > > Hmmm…sadly they seem to only accept light from the directional light (like in CE3) even if all light types have the option to contribute to an LPV. Hope will change in the future since gi from lamps etc. would be very much appreciated^^ That would be . But CryEngine GI offers great possibilities too. Better use simple GI than an overpowered and hellish slow/performance-sucking GI 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Daedalus51](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Daedalus51](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Daedalus51)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/25 "2014-03-23T16:23:19Z")
> [@;3724](#): > > That would be . But CryEngine GI offers great possibilities too. > Better use simple GI than an overpowered and hellish slow/performance-sucking GI 😃 Yeah…I have to admitt that I am a little bit spoiled, because we had an Enlighten integration for UE4 at the office which was pretty , but we still decided to drop it because it needed too much mainenance. Enlighten was able to have gi from everything during runtime, but you still needed to precompute static for lightinteraction. I am really hoping we will get realtime gi without precompute (so just drag and drop stuff in and it works^^) for all lightsources generation. I love fast iteration times 😃 Also, I saw a tread in the suggestions to epic section where people ask for a reimplementation of voxel lighting for high end users…that would be 😃 ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_48d0c7fc1](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_48d0c7fc1](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_48d0c7fc1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/26 "2014-03-23T22:39:45Z")
> [@vblanco;3515](#): > > LPV DOES use compute shaders, the problem is that compute shaders only exist on DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.3, wich apple doesnt support at moment, so you are out of luck. The compute shaders seem to be abstracted, so im not sure if UE4 does that in opengl, but the other platform we can test at moment for opengl is apple, and apple, doesnt support compute shaders yet. …Which is more or less what I said RE: OpenGL and compute shaders. Technically you could test under Windows as well for GL 4.3. I’m kinda curious now if UE4 uses anything with compute shaders that wouldn’t otherwise work with OpenCL within the context of Apple’s API. ---
**Author:** ![CharlestonS](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@CharlestonS](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/CharlestonS)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/27 "2014-03-23T22:49:20Z")
Yeah, i tried it there as well but when i place a directional light and set up the properties it’s shadows have preview tiled across them until i do a rebuild even though i have static lighting disabled, i also don’t see the GI effect working… I have a modern video card in SLI with all the latest drivers on Windows 7 > [@Chris.R;3583](#): > > Put it there: > > \*; Example file content: > ; > ; [Startup] \<- The Bad One > ; FogDensity = 0.9 > ; ImageGrain = 0.5 > ; FreezeAtPosition = 2819.5520 416.2633 75.1500 65378 -25879 0 > > [Startup] \<- The Good One > > ; Uncomment to get detailed logs on shader compiles and the opportunity to retry on errors > ;r.ShaderDevelopmentMode=1 > r.LightPropagationVolume=1 \* ---
**Author:** ![vblanco](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@vblanco](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/vblanco)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/28 "2014-03-25T13:49:31Z")
Bump for visibility, Working on a WIKI page with photos and step by step proper instructions. ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_64593dc8](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_64593dc8](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_64593dc8)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/29 "2014-03-25T13:54:51Z")
Bump for visibility, Working on a WIKI page with photos and step by step proper instructions. [/QUOTE] ! I’m really interested in LPV ---
**Author:** ![vblanco](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@vblanco](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/vblanco)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/30 "2014-03-25T14:12:32Z")
[A new, community-hosted Unreal Engine Wiki - Announcements and Releases - Unreal Engine Forums](https://wiki.unrealengine.com/Light_Propagation_Volumes_GI) There you have your wiki page. If someone knows how to make it better, feel free to add pictures or fix the formatting. Also, i have no idea how to add that page to tutorials category, never edited a wiki, so help me with that please. edit: nevermind, found how to add it to tutorials list. ---
**Author:** ![Sitrec](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Sitrec](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Sitrec)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/31 "2014-03-25T18:38:56Z")
is great! Thanks vblanco. ---
**Author:** ![CharlestonS](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@CharlestonS](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/CharlestonS)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/32 "2014-03-25T19:39:23Z")
So it seams to work now, sort of I still get Preview text tiled across my shadows until i hit rebuild which ind of defeats the purpose… Anyone know how to fix ? ---
**Author:** ![darthviper107](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/darthviper107/32/710746_2.png) [@darthviper107](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/darthviper107)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/33 "2014-03-25T19:49:44Z")
If your shadows have Preview written on them that means you need to change your light type to Movable (dynamic only) light type. ---
**Author:** ![CharlestonS](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@CharlestonS](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/CharlestonS)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/34 "2014-03-25T20:14:04Z")
Perfect, that fixed it! **vblanco** - You may want to add to your tutorial and wiki, under the **Light Details** expand \*\*Transform \*\*and change \*\*Mobility \*\*to **Movable** > [@;5755](#): > > If your shadows have Preview written on them that means you need to change your light type to Movable (dynamic only) light type. ---
**Author:** ![Chris.R](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/chris.r/32/479920_2.png) [@Chris.R](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Chris.R)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/35 "2014-03-25T22:20:13Z")
> [@vblanco;5496](#): > > [A new, community-hosted Unreal Engine Wiki - Announcements - Epic Developer Community Forums](https://wiki.unrealengine.com/Light_Propagation_Volumes_GI) There you have your wiki page. If someone knows how to make it better, feel free to add pictures or fix the formatting. As you command 😉 Rewritten and Formatted to Wiki standards ---
**Author:** ![vblanco](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@vblanco](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/vblanco)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/36 "2014-03-25T22:31:33Z")
> [@Chris.R;5886](#): > > As you command 😉 > Rewritten and Formatted to Wiki standards WORK, absolutely amazing. Now its a very nice page for the community. Thanks a lot for your help ---
**Author:** ![Chris.R](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/chris.r/32/479920_2.png) [@Chris.R](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Chris.R)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/37 "2014-03-26T01:27:28Z")
> [@vblanco;5892](#): > > WORK, absolutely amazing. Now its a very nice page for the community. Thanks a lot for your help You’re welcome. I’ve also added a simple level that contains a Cornell Box, way people can experiment a bit better with LPV’s. Here’s the wiki File Link [https://d26ilriwvtzlb.cloudfront.net/2/21/CornellBoxUE4.zip](https://d26ilriwvtzlb.cloudfront.net/2/21/CornellBoxUE4.zip) HF with it. ---
**Author:** ![BrUnO\_XaVIeR](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/bruno_xavier/32/1110230_2.png) [@BrUnO\_XaVIeR](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/BrUnO_XaVIeR)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/38 "2014-03-26T01:37:14Z")
! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CharlestonS](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@CharlestonS](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/CharlestonS)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 2:47am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/39 "2014-03-26T02:47:49Z")
Great, thanks for ! ---
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_099b55a2](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_099b55a2](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_099b55a2)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464/40 "2014-03-26T18:58:00Z")
only shows how advanced Cryengine is, they’ve got tech for years 2014 and UE4 is not yet ready to have GI:p [Previous page](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/how-to-enable-light-propagation-volumes-gi-wip-and-beta/464.md?page=3)