Having issues re-compiling my map from 2016. Does VRAD compile differently now?

[Philipp]

Doing an update for my map Lair to get the radar in order and do a bit of polishing. The map is from 2016. (Workshop Link)

I have decompiled it with the latest BSPSource since I do not have access to the original file. When compiling it again some prop_statics were really underlit or appeared black. Checking 'Enable Bounced Lighting' helped a bit here but introduced other issues as can be seen below, and the underlit prop_static issue persists in many places:

https://imgur.com/a/0liJk8W

I'm wondering if Hammer is calculating the lighting differently in 2021 vs 2016 or if this is a decompile issue.

(I don't think the 'Enable Bounced Lighting' option even existed in 2016.)

Parameters for compile:
-final -both -StaticPropPolys -textureshadows -staticproplighting -game $gamedir $path\$file

Is there a fix for this, or would I have to somehow get a legacy version of Hammer to get the map to compile as before?

 

[JorisCeoen]

In CS:GO you don't want to have -both enabled, as it doesn't use LDR any longer (it automatically compiles with HDR). Basically if all your prop_static's have default settings, they should start lighting properly in the scene 'as is'. The difference since 2016 is that now, props with a normal bumpmap will have correct per-vertex lighting, whereas before it would not and thus end up with big splotches of black faces etc.

Your scene might benefit from better placed lights. No matter how you turn it, Source still handles lighting a bit odd. Thus if you have a ton of props clustered together and little light to cover it, the ambient shadowing around it might end up looking average.

TIP: Don't use info_lighting in case you did (used to be a thing in the older days when this new lighting didn't exist). It disables per-vertex lighting, and thus might cause errors with your new compile.

Edited January 26, 2021 by JorisCeoen

[Philipp]

Thank you for the suggestion!

It's weird, I got it to work by enabling -StaticPropLightingOld without the -both parameter. That in turn made the map way darker than before. Re-enabling -both made the map go back to the right brightness levels again.

So it's all fixed now.