Hey. I’m trying to make a flashlight, and so far it’s all going good. The only thing is, without volumetrics, the light looks very odd. Is there any simple way of making the light volumetric? I’ve seen no tutorials online that aren’t extremely complicated - I’ve seen some that require modelling, UV mapping, etc. I’m a complete noob in UE4, and I just want a simple way to make this light look good. Any advice?
Have you already added light profile for it? Volumetric lighting is complex and depends on both light and participating media(dust/fog/etc). If you just want to fake it then add some additive mesh that is shaped like you want.
Oh, wow, that sounds very complex… What would I do to fake it? Could you explain further? Sorry, thanks! ^^
Simplest fake would be using some cone mesh applied to light source. Then render that cone using additive material.
I think it should also be possibel with a light function -> https://docs.unrealengine/latest/INT/Engine/Rendering/LightingAndShadows/LightFunctions/index.html
https://docs.unrealengine/latest/INT/Resources/ContentExamples/Lighting/3_2/index.html
Light function is not usable for volumetrics. Only output node is “emissive” but it’s just actually scalar 0-1 multiplier for light result. This mean that you cannot create light volumetrically if there isn’t surface that already receive light from that light source.(and even then its not usable).