DB/Light

This is the starting file for what controls the lights, fogs, sky color, water color, and well other similar items. This information prior to 1.9 used to be stored in the .LIT files but in 1.9 was moved to Light.dbc and the other Light DBC files.

If no Light setting is set, hardcoded, default one is used (the one default for Eastern Kingdoms (Azeroth) map, used f.e. in Elwynn Forest). If Light setting has coordinates 0, 0, 0 and radiuses 0, 0, it overrides default one and becomes a new default (worldwide) setting for map it is on.

Local Light settings (non0 coords and radiuses) override worldwide Light setting. Soft transition between local Light setting and worldwide (or neighbour local) setting happens between faloffStart and falloffEnd radiuses.

The coordinates in the database are in inches rather than yards, so need a multiplication by 36 to make sense in other coordinate systems. This was confirmed at Blizzcon 2019 (WoW Developers' Tales) to be a remnant of a very early pre-release engine change where everything was in inches but had numeric issues due to numbers getting to big. This database was just never adapted and hackfixed instead.ᵛ

ZoneLights do exist in Northrend in 3.3.5 but the DBC for it doesn't exist yet, instead all the values are hardcoded directly in the .exe with the map ID hardcoded, just like Occluders. This is what makes Northrend zones render a specific sky other than the global one by default.

Structure

All "Params" fields are reference to LightParams.dbc.ID and corresponding records in LightIntBand.dbc, LightFloatBand.dbc (later, both Band dbcs have been merged into DB/LightData) and LightSkybox.dbc - one Light setting can consist of up to 8 different Light params, which are then used under different circumstances.

Column 	Field 		Type 		Notes
1 	ID		Integer 	
2 	iRefID_Map	Integer 	
3 	position	Float[3]	X/Y/Z position of the center of light(skybox) sphere. To get them, spawn a model in Noggit on that place, get its X/Y/Z coords and multiply them by 36.
6 	falloffStart 	Float		Inner radius, where is only this light(skybox) present. To get this, take radius in yards and multiply it by 36.
7 	falloffEnd 	Float		Outer radius, in space between outer and inner radius is a soft transition from this light(skybox) to surrounding/worldwide ones. Again, yards*36.
8 	ParamsClear	Integer 	Used in clear weather.
9 	ParamsClearWat 	Integer		Used in clear weather while being underwater.
10 	ParamsStorm 	Integer		Used in rainy/snowy/sandstormy weather.
11 	ParamsStormWat 	Integer		Used in rainy/snowy/sandstormy weather while being underwater.
12 	ParamsDeath	Integer		Only 4 and in newer ones 3 are used as value here (with some exceptions). Changing this seems to have no effect in 3.3.5a (is death light setting hardcoded?)
13 	ParamsUnk1 	Integer		Following 3 Params are used only in WotLK records, and not very commonly. Perhaps used in different phases.
14 	ParamsUnk2 	Integer		
15 	ParamsUnk3 	Integer		

Amaroth 7th June 2017

LightRec::ConvertDBToGameCoords()

pos.x = 17066.666 - pos.x / 36.0f;
pos.y = 17066.666 - pos.y / 36.0f; 
pos.z = pos.z / 36.0f;
falloffStart = falloffStart / 36.0f;
falloffEnd = falloffEnd / 36.0f;

For the record, the conversion above doesn't translate light into world coordinates(the ones that are used in wow net protocol). Considering x is at index 0 in position field, y is at index 1 and z is at index 2, the correct formulas would be

worldPos.x = 17066.666 - position.z / 36.0f;
worldPos.y = 17066.666 - position.x / 36.0f; 
worldPos.z = position.y / 36.0f;

To place custom lights or retroport from higher expansion to 3.3.5, you can use the worldposition and adjust the coords using these formulas :

DBC.X = (17066.666 - worldPos.Y) * 36.0f;
DBC.Y = worldPos.Z * 36.0f;
DBC.Z = (17066.666 - worldPos.X) * 36.0f;

1.12.1.5875

struct LightRec {
  uint32_t m_ID;
  foreign_keyⁱ<uint32_t, &MapRec::m_ID> m_continentID;
  float m_x; // (0,0,0) = global light, used as fallback if in no other light. If there is no (0,0,0) entry for a continent, use m_ID == 1 as fallback
  float m_y;
  float m_z;
  float m_falloffStart;
  float m_falloffEnd;
  enum {
    params_standard,
    params_standard_underwater,
    params_sunset?,
    params_other?,
    params_death,
    params_num,
  };
  foreign_keyⁱ<uint32_t, &LightParamsRec::m_ID> m_lightParamsID[params_num];
};

6.0.1.18179

struct LightRec {
  uint32_t m_ID;
  foreign_keyⁱ<uint32_t, &MapRec::m_ID> m_continentID;
  float m_x; // (0,0,0) = global light, used as fallback if in no other light. If there is no (0,0,0) entry for a continent, use m_ID == 1 as fallback
  float m_y;
  float m_z;
  float m_falloffStart;
  float m_falloffEnd;
  enum {
    params_standard,
    params_standard_underwater,
    params_stormy,
    params_stormy_underwater,
    params_death,
    params_unk_5,
    params_unk_6,
    params_unk_7,
    params_num,
  };
  foreign_keyⁱ<uint32_t, &LightParamsRec::m_ID> m_lightParamsID[params_num];
};