New Lighting System

The developers have been talking for a long time about a new lighting system for ETS 2 and American Truck Simulator. We have all been eagerly awaiting this praised system. We have seen many screenshots, videos, and articles about it, but recently the developers provided even more information, explaining when they came up with the idea, how everything was implemented, and other interesting details.

The new lighting system was conceived a very long time ago – over 10 years ago. However, due to the technical limitations of that time, it was very difficult to implement because the hardware was too weak. Now everything is different: 3D accelerators have more memory capacity, and programming as a whole has advanced to the point where this grand idea can be properly realized. The system will use a range of floating-point numbers. The main goal of the new system is to turn lighting into something beautiful and realistic, making the lighting of a simple lamp look distinctly different from daylight, just as it happens in real life, without using any tricks.

Developing the new system requires integrating correct values because even the smallest error in values can lead to unattractive visual consequences. The developers began actively testing all this almost 19 months ago. They were satisfied with the results, which is why they decided to see it through to the end. 

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Various methods and devices, including a light meter, were used to obtain the correct values. The developers initially hoped that simply changing the light sources would be enough. It was necessary to measure real values in lux, take into account factors such as day and night, other light sources like headlights and bulbs, weather conditions, and much more. This was an incredibly huge effort. 

After calculating the internal lighting, an equally important process must be done – integration and adjustment for the game, including camera exposure. The light must dynamically adjust depending on many factors, including those mentioned above. Another important factor is lighting both inside and outside the cabin. All of this also needs to be calculated correctly. It’s hard to even imagine how much effort went into just the mathematical calculations, measuring real values, and so on – hundreds of hours were spent on this. 

The changes are very noticeable, and the new lighting leads to incredible beautiful visual effects. For example, reflections on glossy surfaces now look stunning. Bodies of water, various glass surfaces, and more reflect so beautifully; the system changes so dynamically that you just want to travel endlessly, enjoying the game world. However, this also brought up another problem. 

The new lighting system turned out to be so amazing that it was decided to rebalance almost all existing game textures for the new system. The thing is, when sun rays hit an object, the effect can vary. The effect directly depends on the surface material. There are many objects in the ETS and ATS game worlds, and everything had to be refined and made as realistic as possible. 

Initially, the development team was quite small. Months of testing and hard work were conducted, and after refining and implementing graphical shaders, new specialists were brought into the team. It was impossible for a small team to complete the process; it would have taken too much time. Some lighting source adjustments were made automatically, but many sources had to be repositioned manually, which took a lot of time. Some add-ons were frozen or development slowed down to attract the necessary specialists to work on the new lighting. But it was worth it!

What this all means

Some people don’t understand why the developers emphasize the overhaul of the lighting system so much. In fact, this is a really big step for both current and upcoming games from these developers because this system is much better than the others and allows the engine to be fully unlocked. You will be able to appreciate this system in the major 1.40 update, but various refinements may take many hours and days of work.

Main changes

• All light sources in the game have been adjusted: from the smallest to daylight and nighttime lighting. Some were redone automatically, but most were done manually.
• Real values were used with various mechanics, tactics, and devices. A herculean effort was made to obtain the necessary values and results.
• Dynamic changes of light sources, more realistic shadows, beautiful graphics.
• Almost all textures in the game have been reworked, and there are tens of thousands of them. Metallic objects will have different reflections, trees and other objects will have others, and so on. Everything depends on the material.
• A large number of various effects have been added.