Madden NFL 11 News Post

Madden NFL 11 Blog: Lighting Improvements

06:16 PM - June 30, 2010 by myownsun

Patrick Cowan, Lighting Artist for Madden NFL 11, has posted a new blog on the lighting improvements.

Quote:


	"I'm Patrick Cowan, Lighting Artist for EA Sports in Orlando. In the article that follows, I will be sharing a few of the exciting improvements to our lighting approach in Madden NFL 11, with a focus on increased broadcast fidelity. Some of the more dramatic examples of these changes can be seen in our night games and dome stadiums, so much of what follows will address those game settings. Due to the fact that both settings are lit primary by artificial light sources, they present unique challenges to the artist. Stadiums One of the ways we pushed for increased broadcast integrity was in the lighting of our stadiums. Previously our night and dome stadiums were lit for maximum visibility of the crowd and thus were not consistent with typical broadcast camera exposures. In Madden 11 we attempted to better emulate how stadiums appear when the exposure is set for the action on the field. Using a variety of reference material, we attempted to closely approximate the patterns of light and shadow unique to the individual stadiums. In real world photography, the light and dark values of a subject can vary considerably from shot to shot depending on the exposure settings. In Madden NFL we are working with one universal exposure, so it was necessary to create a unified look which works across the board, regardless of which of our hundreds of animated cameras is active. The end result is night and dome stadiums which have considerably more contrast and shape to the lighting than in previous versions of the game and tonal values for the crowd which prevent it from visually competing with the action during game play."

Game: Madden NFL 11Reader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 96 - View All

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Member Comments

# 1 myownsun @ 06/30/10 06:29 PM

M10 Left vs M11 right

M10

M11

# 2 bxgoods @ 06/30/10 06:33 PM

I love it, it really brings out the colors more, and you can really see the contrast of colors where in M10 it kind of had a muddy look.

# 3 warrior7807 @ 06/30/10 06:35 PM

outstanding improvement of lighting and color in that picture. that stadium screen is amazing. the way the scoreboards are lit adds so much IMO.

in these pictures of night games, we can really see the difference. M11 (right) does an amazing job at emphasising the use of artificial lighting

# 4 Atomic Martian @ 06/30/10 06:37 PM

Lighting improvement for the hardcore gamer and online team play for the casual lol seriously though I like the way it looks but like another thread discussion the players are way to crisp and clean ! Dosent look likey theyve beeb battling

# 5 SmashMan @ 06/30/10 06:39 PM

Patrick Cowan writes a hell of a blog. Not only does he show plenty of examples, he explains everything in an easy-to-read way. I was aware of most of the terms he used, but explaining everything the way he does and showing those examples right with it makes it easy to digest.

Awesome blog for awesome lighting.

# 6 kehlis @ 06/30/10 06:39 PM

Out of curiosity what is the scenario where you would see the Saints logo in an endzone in Dallas?

# 7 myownsun @ 06/30/10 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmashMan


	Patrick Cowan writes a hell of a blog. Not only does he show plenty of examples, he explains everything in an easy-to-read way. I was aware of most of the terms he used, but explaining everything the way he does and showing those examples right with it makes it easy to digest. Awesome blog for awesome lighting.

Agreed its a great little read.

# 8 SteelerSpartan @ 06/30/10 06:43 PM

Looking nice

# 9 SteelerSpartan @ 06/30/10 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kehlis


	Out of curiosity what is the scenario where you would see the Saints logo in an endzone in Dallas?

SB 45

# 10 arsenal123gunners @ 06/30/10 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kehlis


	Out of curiosity what is the scenario where you would see the Saints logo in an endzone in Dallas?

It might be in the Superbowl mode. I think you can have 2 teams from the same conference in it.

# 11 jpdavis82 @ 06/30/10 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myownsun


	M10 Left vs M11 right M10 M11

If a picture speaks a thousand words than this should certainly shut up all the people who claim that Madden 11 "looks like Madden 10". My god Rex Ryan looks so real!

# 12 kehlis @ 06/30/10 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arsenal123gunners


	It might be in the Superbowl mode. I think you can have 2 teams from the same conference in it.

Makes sense. Thanks!

# 13 myownsun @ 06/30/10 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	My god Rex Ryan looks so real!

I wanted to type that but I'm using my OSK (Flu)

# 14 WDOgF0reL1fe @ 06/30/10 06:49 PM

Now THAT is a great blog. So many examples from previous games, real life games, and the new game. This really shed some light, hehe, on the new graphics.

# 15 Pappy Knuckles @ 06/30/10 06:51 PM

Looking good.

# 16 huskerwr38 @ 06/30/10 07:14 PM

I'm really glad they improved the lighting. Lighting in Madden always looked dull and dark, the colors didn't pop out like they do in real life. The lighting looks vastly improved from last year. However, it is obvious that the lights need to be brighter on the field. If you look at the real photo of the stadium and then look at M11 photo, you can clearly see that the lighting needs be brighter/better lit on the field in M11.

# 17 thudias @ 06/30/10 07:32 PM

Agreed... great blog with lots of examples = win

# 18 ThisIsReality @ 06/30/10 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	If a picture speaks a thousand words than this should certainly shut up all the people who claim that Madden 11 "looks like Madden 10". My god Rex Ryan looks so real!

Rex Ryan looks a bit too thin if you ask me.

# 19 PantherBeast_OS @ 06/30/10 08:43 PM

The photos of the new lighting looks good. I'm glad it they made some improvements to make things look a little more real. Thanks for posting the blog bro.

# 20 JayD @ 06/30/10 09:05 PM

looks great, if only progressive lighting made it in this year!

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