Luces volumétricas: Exponential Fog y Atmosferic Fog

How to create fog effects and volumetric lights in Unreal Engine?

Adding fog and volumetric lights can bring any scene to life, bringing depth and realism to your Unreal Engine projects. In this article, we will explore how to apply these effects to simulate particles in the air that interact with light, transforming the overall appearance of your scene.

How to set up exponential fog?

To give your scene a deeper atmosphere, start by adding an exponential fog. This type of fog affects the overall lighting, simulating particles dispersing in the environment:

1. Add Exponential Fog:

   • Go to the visual effects modes and select "exponential fog".
   • You'll automatically notice how it adds a dimension of depth to the elements in the scene, helping to disperse sunlight evenly.

2. Adjust the details of the fog:

   • Density: controls how dense the fog is. As you increase this value, your scene will become more covered with fog.
   • Falloff: Modifies how the fog disperses horizontally across the landscape.
   • Color: Change the color of the fog to match the desired mood. For example, blue tones can simulate a cold environment.
   • Opacity: Adjust the amount of visible particles using the opacity slider.

How do volumetric lights behave?

Volumetric lights are essential for creating an immersive environment in scenes. They allow lights to interact realistically with the environment:

1. Activate volumetric lights:

   • Enter immersive mode to observe how the light interacts with the environment.
   • From the "Spotlight" settings, adjust the volumetric intensity to control how it affects the scene, keeping a subtle touch to prevent the scene from looking overexposed.

2. Spotlight impact:

   • Adjust spotlights on pillars or highlights in the scene.
   • Change the light to a stationary light if necessary to activate volumetric features.

How to integrate particles such as fire?

Incorporating particles can add realism and dynamism to your projects:

1. Migrate particles from another project:

   • Open example projects in Unreal Engine that contain collections of particles (such as fire).
   • Use the "migrate" option to move the fire particles to the current project.

2. Add fire particles to pillars:

   • Create a new component in Blueprint, such as "particle system" and select the fire particle.
   • Adjust its size and position inside the pillar to make it look natural.

How to use atmospheric fog?

Finally, atmospheric fog can simulate the effects of the open environment:

1. Atmospheric fog settings:
   • Increase or decrease the amount of particles that light interacts with in the sky.
   • Useful for simulating the passage of day in natural or urban outdoor settings.

With these settings, you can make your scenery look richer and more detailed, providing a stunning visual experience. Feel free to experiment with different settings to find the best fit for your needs and always keep your curiosity to learn and improve your Unreal Engine skills active.