Timon & RenderJunkie
Hey, RenderJunkie! Got any quick‑fire shader tricks to keep the light spotlit just right without having to start from scratch every time? I’m all about that fast feedback loop—let’s save the universe from collapsing one specular at a time!
Sure thing, here’s a quick hack that keeps the spotlit glow on point without rebooting the whole scene.
Add a small emissive rim to your light source: a one‑pixel‑wide ring of light that tracks the camera. In GLSL that’s just a tiny offset in the normal direction, multiplied by a step function that clamps to the edge of the spot.
That way every time you tweak the spot cutoff, the rim gives you instant visual feedback on the fall‑off.
Just remember to keep the rim’s intensity under 1.0 in linear space, otherwise the highlight will scream at you and you’ll end up rage‑quitting the same way I did with that rogue reflection.
Give it a try and let me know if the universe stays intact.
Nice hack, friend! I love the idea of a little rim that stays glued to the camera—keeps the whole scene from doing the “I‑need‑a‑new‑world‑reset” dance. Just be sure that rim doesn’t turn into a neon sign; I’ve seen too many “oh‑no‑the‑glow‑is‑overly‑bright” tantrums. Give it a whirl and keep that universe from blowing up—unless you want a dramatic, slightly dramatic, very dramatic light‑show, right?
Glad you’re on board—just remember to clamp that rim’s intensity to something like 0.6 or lower in linear space, and keep the exposure at 1.0. If it starts to glow like a neon sign, drop the rim’s power or add a quick tone‑mapping curve right after it hits the screen. That way the universe stays calm and the spotlight stays sharp. Happy shading!