Why are my Directional Light settings not showing/reflected in the final build?

I’ve made a basic level out of BSP to prototype something, however I’m having an issue with the lighting. The level is meant to be fairly dark however it looks like broad daylight. It looks perfectly fine in the editor, it’s only on the actual build that the lighting doesn’t show up.

I’ve been looking for a solution for a while and I have no idea what to do as none of the possible solutions I found have not helped.

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Hi Kagamusha -

This is probably generated from your indirect lighting though it should be reflected in editor after a light build. If in the Directional Light Source, you decrease the Indirect Lighting Intensity you will get less light reflecting off of your Materials in the level and will be closer to just the dimmer direct lighting setting.

If this does not work, please post a screenshot of your issue so we can narrow it down for you -

Eric Ketchum

Hi Eric,

Thanks for getting back to me. I’ll upload the screenshots now. I am just evaluating any differences in decreasing the Indirect Lighting Intensity parameter.

All is looking fine in the editor and in Game View as it shows the darkness levels I’m looking for, however the actual build won’t display any real change.

Unfortunately the Indirect Lighting Intensity didn’t work.

PS: Apologies for messing around on the edits, I’m rubbish at posting images on anything haha.

Hey Kagamusha -

What is your Post Process settings while in the editor? Have you turned off the visualization of the post process in the editor which it looks like you might have in the screenshots? Just turning off the post process settings in the editor will not translate into the built PIE or Stand Alone game. You will have to add a Global Post Process volume and set the effects you want there.

If that’s not the case let me know -

Eric Ketchum

Hi Eric, I don’t think I’ve touched those settings but I will check, also I know how to add a post process volume, but I can’t find the option for a Global Post Process Volume, unless it’s the same thing but renamed to Global? Also where can I check the post processing settings? Is it listed in a viewport tab? If so then the majority of the settings are ticked.

Hey -

Here is where the settings are in the editor’s viewport:

A Post Process Volume becomes Global when you check the “Unbound” setting.

Thanks for Checking-

Eric Ketchum

Ah yes all these were checked as to be shown in the editor. I’ve added a global post processing volume by making it unbound. I’ve just changed some light propagation settings and they didn’t work either. Nothing seems to be changing the Directional Lights Intensity. The value of 1 even makes the world illuminated, however setting it to 0 shuts it off completely so something is happening it’s just not being reflected in the build, only in the editor.

I’ve toggled many settings as well as playing with indirect intensity and that doesn’t seem to solve anything either. Really confused of why this is happening. A colleague tried to building on their machine and they get the same issue so it’s definitely not a corruption in the engine, it must be an error of my own or a setting I have toggled but I have no idea what it could be.

I may have the answer. I have been struggling with this exact same thing so I played around with ALL the different settings, one by one, then in pairs, then in triplicate… you get the idea. Here are some settings I found that actually look OK (for me anyways, I’m not trying to be too fancy… was just hoping to help.) Please let me know if this helps. So many people in this community have helped me, it would be good to know that I can actually help someone else.

First, in your Global Post Process (GPP) look for Auto Exposure. I found that setting Min Brightness to 0.25 and Max Brightness to 0.75 that the “eye adjustment” of going from light to dark was squeezed WAY down and helped a LOT. I think that this eye adjustment setting is what was causing 50% of the problem by making the minimum brightness somewhere around 2? Can’t quite recall now.

Next, check your GPP - Global Illumination settings. I have mine set now to a white color, and the Indirect Lighting Intensity to 1.25. Default is one so if you want REALLY dark, try 0.75 or even a little lower. Depends on just how dark you want your dark.

Then, in your GPP - Ambient Cubemap, I checked intensity to on with a value of 0.5 (no texture).

Next, in GPP - Light Propagation Volume, set Secondary Occlusion Intensity to around 0.25, and the Secondary Bounce Intensity to 1.0.

Then check your actual Directional Light Object (I re-named mine to SunObject so that I knew what the hell it was). I tuned the Intensity to 1.176 (or there about). Also, tune the Indirect Lighting Intensity to 0.1 for good measure.

I don’t know if this will work for you, but it sure looks great in my build. I am going for a more “gritty” lighting style where night is dark and scary, and daytime feels heavy and saturated, so these settings slay it for me. Would be very curious to know if this works for you.

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IT WORKED!!! This is just what I needed! Thanks so much Gabriel and Eric for your time in helping me out!! This is much appreciated :smiley:

Hello everyone
A noob reporting here. Anyway, what I just did was recalculate “build lights alone”. I’m telling you this. Because I am that person who tries everything but the simplest things simply get out of my sights.
By the way. If you are reading this, and you are a newbie or a poster that is not active on web pages, you might consider doing it(contributing to the community, even if its silly or if you think it is silly) It migth help someone.
OMG my tears are out of control.
!I´m not crying ¡ !You are crying… ¡ (says my heart)
This might contain some errors…