Bob Hughes wrote:
> 
> Remco stated that too, about the stars showing through the beam.
> A long time ago (version 3 atmosphere stuff) I was bringing this up a
> lot about background objects appearing to sum up a visible spotlight
> like this does.
> Perhaps a media using absorption could compensate for it, I have yet to
> try.
> 
> Of course the beam could be in a haze and starry sky still show, but I
> wonder of the brightness getting so luminous at the far reaches.
> Obviously the narrower part could be in less a haze where it starts out
> so that makes sense enough but it probably requires some brightening
> nearer the lighthouse and then drastic dimming further away. Darcy?
> media_attenuation off? or just media interaction on ? (default).
> From what I've seen of this stuff so far though a spotlight in media is
> inherently dim at the apex for some reason. Bet its something to do with
> light quantity, or volume as it were, and the tendancy to sample less
> there.
> 

Thinking about it: if you see the beam of a lighthouse, will you see the
lighthouse at all? In a photograph you could do this with some simple trickery,
so much for photo-realism. Perhaps the depiction of objects may account for
realism, but the representation of light will always be wrong because it is very
subjective (admitted, the color/size/shape of objects can be more ore less
subjective, depending on the amount of LSD you use).
So, in other words, let the stars shine (?)

Remco

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