Issues with very bad, very dark shadows

Screen of bad shadow:

I’ve had this issue since I started. But, it’s been low priority to fix. However, I was very pleased when I packaged the game for the first time. ALL of my shadow/lighting issues were fixed:

Every time I packaged my game, all my lighting issues would get fixed.

However, I just packaged again, and the lighting didn’t fix itself. Now every time I package it looks horrible like the first screenshot. I didn’t change anything at all, other than updating the engine.

How can I fix this?

EDIT: If the light is aimed directly at the wall, it looks… okay. But, angle it up just a bit, and the wierd shadows instantly come alive.

Could this be a UV issue?

It looks like either you were using mobile lights in your scene, with the skylight disabled in persona, or vice versa.

What happens when you add a skylight to the scene? Are your lights static, stationary, or mobile?

My lights are 100% default.

I have a stationary Light Source. Adding a skylight take away the darkness about 5%, but it’s also introduces a horrible tint.

Is there anything I could try? What setting would give a massively different result like that? (and only after packaging?)

Thanks for the reply!

Found the fix for this.

I had to check “recompute normals”

Anyone know why? What can I do when making the mesh to prevent that?

A huge drawback is it “unsmooths” the mesh.

Hi Vanlacke,

Can you provide the following information:

  • What modeling application are you using to create your asset?
  • Are you using OBJ or FBX format on export?
  • Can you post a screen shot of your UVs?
  • Can you post a screenshot of your Normals from within the Static Mesh editor before you recalculate normals, may need to import a free copy with a different name. ( Enable Normals via the toolbar in the Static mesh editor).
  • Can you apply a blank white material to your mesh with no other texture information? This rules out other factors as well.

Thank you!

Tim

  • If you’re willing you can always post a copy of your FBX and I can take a look as well.