Simulates effects, such as the twinkling of stars, light scatter, and shadows.
Activate
Specifies whether the light should be used for illumination. This option is checked by default whenever a light is placed. This option can be used in Display Set animation to simulate effects such as twinkling of stars. However, to display an actual light in a scene, you must model the light as geometry and then add lights in the same location to simulate the effect of light.
Affect ambient only
Specifies that the light should only affect objects with materials that have ambient light properties.
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If the Affect ambient only option is turned off, the light affects all objects equally.
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Ambient light is useful to simulate "scatter", such as under a desk or in dark closet. Ambient light is used to model the normal light scatter that is not solved by the raytracer. Only radiosity solves for ambient contribution to the scene.
Cast shadows
Specifies whether the light should cast shadows. This option is selected by default.
When lighting a scene with a single light that casts shadows, the shadows will be
dark. With Smart Review, you can lighten shadows without adding unwanted amounts of light to the scene. For
more information, see Lighten Shadows.
Color
Displays the current color of the new light.
Edit
Displays the Color dialog box from which you can alter the color of the new light.
Intensity from 0 to 1
Specifies the intensity of the light. We recommend setting this option to 1.
Spot cone angles
These options are available only for spot lights. There is one level of attenuation for light in the inner cone, and a different attenuation for light in the outer cone angle.
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Inner (must be less than outer) - Specifies the degrees of the inner angle (hot spot) of the spot cone, ranging from 0 to 180. Refer to the following illustration.
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Outer (must be greater than inner) - Specifies the degrees of the outer angle of the spot cone, ranging from 0 to 180. Refer to the following illustration.
