World War Relight

This project I have been working on lately as practice for gameplay lighting with a new style of post-war lighting.

I started by setting up Physically Based Lighting values for Sky, Directional Light, Exposure, and the Tone Mapper

I then wanted to get more dynamic results, so I started adding Exposure Compensation Curves to ensure there is good visibility in the entire level, without the need to add multiple Post Process Volumes, or too many Fill Lights

The same goes for Local Exposure, I didn't use just fixed values for Highlight Contrast and Shadow Contrast. Instead, I used Curves to dynamically shift between the values based on the average scene luminance, so I don't get over-exposed highlights or very dark shadows. And to ensure that, I use FalseColor PPV Material to keep this consistency.

I used Lumen for Global Illumination and Reflections, just default values with Surface Cache mode for best performance, but I disabled the automatic AO from Lumen and used Screenspace Ambient Occlusion instead, to get these fine, small details on the assets and get a better mood overall

In Color Grading, I rely on the Post Process Volume grading tools, No LUTs, All in Engine, and when you disable the Color Grading, you don't see a big of a difference, as I tend to do all the Coloring in my Light Actors, then I keep the PPV for fine tweaks, not major mood change

I find this approach is very good for game lighting from my experience. This might be different on your end and your workflow, and I'm willing to discuss more if you have a different approach!

Let me know if you will be interested in the breakdown of it!