Revision as of 16:07, 18 November 2020

Updated Dynamic Lighting (aka. UDL) is the new version of the Roll20 lightning system that is meant to replace Advanced Fog of War and Dynamic Lighting, combining them into a single, unified system. It features a stronger framework for future feature enhancements, is more performative, and has been updated for more current computing technologies. The old system is referred to as Legacy Dynamic Lighting (LDL).

In UDL, the old features of Advanced Fog of War have been renamed Explorer Mode to avoid confusion. Updated Dynamic Lighting uses WebGL, which is available in most computer systems and is supported by all the web browsers that Roll20 supports (Chrome and Firefox). The Legacy Dynamic Lighting has always used WebGL, so the change here is that Explorer Mode (previously Advanced Fog of War) now runs on the same system.

UDL was released on April 8th, 2020 as opt-in feature for Pro/Plus users, after having been available over a month on the Dev Server for Pro subs to try out.

On July 30th, 2020, UDL reached Feature Parity with LDL, but still have issues and optimization to do before it becomes superior to the LDL on all aspects.

As of November 2020 there is no timeline yet when LDL is starting to get phased out.

Official Documentation

UDL was created after Roll20 had moved their Official documentation to the Help Center, so the Community Wiki doesn't have duplicates of these articles, so these features have better pages there:

Updated Dynamic Lighting - Help Center article
Updated Dynamic Lighting - Vision Examples - Help Center article
Updated Dynamic Lighting API Support - Help Center article

Parallel Systems

Currently UDL exist in parallel with the Legacy Dynamic Lighting(LDL) until all issues are resolved, even though it reached feature parity on July 30th. Users will be warned well in advance when LDL will be phased out so people have time to adjust.

While we continue development on Updated Dynamic Lighting and support for licensed products, both the Legacy system and the Updated will exist in parallel. However, when you switch from one to another, the revealed areas are not transferred over. So, for example, if you and your crew have been crawling through a dungeon with Advanced Fog of War on, and you decide to switch to the new Dynamic Lighting with Explorer Mode, your players won't see anything they had previously explored. Players can fix that by moving their tokens around to re-reveal the area.

Similarly, if you switch to Explorer Mode and then decide to hop back over to the Legacy system, anything you had revealed in the UDL system will be reset/hidden when changing to LDL. If you then switch back to the UDL, the revealed areas that you had revealed when you last used UDL(might?) still be there.

The Dynamic Lighting layer, where you can add barriers that block light and movement, continues to function for both systems, and you do not need to change anything on that layer.

On August 6th, the Convert Lighting Tool was released, making it possible to convert existing games to UDL automatically.

Features

Page

Main Page: Page Toolbar

UDL Page Settings - Roll20 Help Center

Token

Main Page: Token Features

UDL Token Settings - Roll20 Help Center

Known Issues

The UDL Bug thread lists the Known Issues & Feedback, and this section replicates it.

(list updated August 17th 2020)

Known Issues List:

Performance Improvements
- Some pages with Updated Dynamic Lighting are not loading properly
- Improvements to loading times and responsiveness
- Dynamic Lighting lines appear jagged [ 1 ]
- Lag build-up with keyboard movement (Especially for multiple token movement and large maps) [ 1, 2 ]
- Certain users are experiencing memory spikes and high memory usage
Improvements to Night Vision
- Night Vision aesthetics with multiple tokens are overlapped.
- Objects on GM Layer disappear when tokens with Night Vision overlap them [ 1, 2, 3 ]
Rotation handle for groups does not work when Updated Dynamic Lighting is enabled 1
Visual artifacts while using Explorer mode with integrated graphics on MacOS
Zoom Interactions
- levels interacts with "Pixel dust" and Explorer mode
- Dynamic Lighting creates distorted duplicates
Ghost-like effect for animated tokens in GM view with Night VisionNightvision or Explorer mode
Yellow box missing when hovering over Turn Order entry for UDL enabled tokens [ 1 ]
When a GM moves a player token, the GM does not see reveal areas until drop
Vision or lighting sometimes appears as a cone without changes to Directional Light/Vision being made

Fixed issues:

- full list of solved issues

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+[[File:A-new-light-udl.jpg|right|thumbnail|350px]]
 {{Pro only}}
+{{notebox|This feature is under active development, so both the community wiki and the Help Desk documentation might lag behind the latest features a updates [[User:1223200|1223200]] ([[User talk:1223200|talk]]) 16:05, 18 November 2020 (UTC)}}
 '''Updated Dynamic Lighting''' (aka. '''UDL''') is the new version of the Roll20 lightning system that is meant to replace [[Advanced Fog of War]] and [[Dynamic Lighting]], combining them into a single, unified system. It features a stronger framework for future feature enhancements, is more performative, and has been updated for more current computing technologies. The old system is referred to as '''[[Legacy Dynamic Lighting|Legacy Dynamic Lighting (LDL)]]'''.
@@ Line 6: / Line 8: @@
 UDL was released on April 8th, 2020 as opt-in feature for Pro/Plus users, after having been available over a month on the Dev Server for Pro subs to try out.
+On July 30th, 2020, [https://blog.roll20.net/post/625101101120798720/a-new-light-a-new-path-ahead UDL reached Feature Parity with LDL], but still have issues and optimization to do before it becomes superior to the LDL on all aspects.
+As of November 2020 there is no timeline yet when [[LDL]] is starting to get phased out.
 ==Official Documentation==
-UDL was created after Roll20 had moved their Official documentation to the Helpdesk, so the Community Wiki doesn't have duplicates of these articles, so these features have better pages there:
+UDL was created after Roll20 had moved their Official documentation to the [[Help Center]], so the Community Wiki doesn't have duplicates of these articles, so these features have better pages there:
-* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045793374-Updated-Dynamic-Lighting Updated Dynamic Lighting] - Helpdesk article
+* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045793374-Updated-Dynamic-Lighting Updated Dynamic Lighting] - Help Center article
-* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044771413-Updated-Dynamic-Lighting-Light-Vision-Examples Updated Dynamic Lighting - Vision Examples] - Helpdesk article
+* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044771413-Updated-Dynamic-Lighting-Light-Vision-Examples Updated Dynamic Lighting - Vision Examples] - Help Center article
-* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046490373-Updated-Dynamic-Lighting-API-Support Updated Dynamic Lighting API Support] - Helpdesk article
+* [https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046490373-Updated-Dynamic-Lighting-API-Support Updated Dynamic Lighting API Support] - Help Center article
 ==Parallel Systems==
-Currently UDL exist in parallel with the [[Legacy Dynamic Lighting|Legacy Dynamic Lighting(LDL)]] until it reached feature parity and all bugs are fixed. Users will be warned well in advance when LDL will be phased out so people have time to adjust.
+Currently UDL exist in parallel with the [[Legacy Dynamic Lighting|Legacy Dynamic Lighting(LDL)]] until all issues are resolved, even though it reached feature parity on July 30th. Users will be warned well in advance when LDL will be phased out so people have time to adjust.
 While we continue development on Updated Dynamic Lighting and support for licensed products, both the Legacy system and the Updated will exist in parallel. However, when you switch from one to another, the revealed areas are not transferred over. So, for example, if you and your crew have been crawling through a dungeon with Advanced Fog of War on, and you decide to switch to the new Dynamic Lighting with Explorer Mode, your players won't see anything they had previously explored. Players can fix that by moving their tokens around to re-reveal the area.
@@ Line 22: / Line 28: @@
 The [[Layers|Dynamic Lighting layer]], where you can add barriers that block light and movement, continues to function for both systems, and you do not need to change anything on that layer.
+[https://blog.roll20.net/post/625723091466747904/a-new-light-the-convert-lighting-tool-is-now On August 6th], the [[Convert Lighting Tool]] was released, making it possible to convert existing games to UDL automatically.
 ==Features==
+* '''Explorer Mode'''
+* [[Darkness Tool]]
+* [[Convert Lighting]]
 ===Page===
 {{main|Page Toolbar}}
+[https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360052521913-Page-Settings UDL Page Settings] - Roll20 Help Center
 [[File:UDL-PageSettings.png|280px]]
@@ Line 33: / Line 47: @@
 ===Token===
 {{main|Token Features}}
+[https://roll20.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360051754954-Token-Settings UDL Token Settings] - Roll20 Help Center
 [[File:UDL-TokenSettings.jpg|280px]]
@@ Line 38: / Line 54: @@
 ===Known Issues===
-This is a cleaned-up and reorganized version of the [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pageforid=8422746#post-8422746 Known Issues List] from the Bug report thread.
+The UDL Bug thread lists the  [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/9072910/updated-dynamic-lighting-feedback-thread/?pagenum=1 Known Issues  & Feedback], and this section replicates it.
+'''(list updated August 17th 2020)'''
+'''Known Issues List:'''
+* Performance Improvements
+** Some pages with Updated Dynamic Lighting are not loading properly
+** Improvements to loading times and responsiveness
+** Dynamic Lighting lines appear jagged [ [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pageforid=8424617#post-8424617 1] ]
+** Lag build-up with keyboard movement (Especially for multiple token movement and large maps) [ [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8193435/a-new-light-is-live-on-the-dev-server/?pageforid=8243378#post-8243378 1], [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8193435/a-new-light-is-live-on-the-dev-server/?pageforid=8245468#post-8245468 2] ]
+** Certain users are experiencing memory spikes and high memory usage
+* Improvements to Night Vision
+** Night Vision aesthetics with multiple tokens are overlapped.
+** Objects on GM Layer disappear when tokens with Night Vision overlap them [ [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pageforid=8926919#post-8926919 1], [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pageforid=8935935#post-8935935 2], [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pageforid=8971578#post-8971578 3] ]
+* Rotation handle for groups does not work when Updated Dynamic Lighting is enabled [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/9017933/rotate-groups-of-tokens/?pageforid=9017946#post-9017946 1]
+* Visual artifacts while using Explorer mode with integrated graphics on MacOS
+* Zoom Interactions
+** levels interacts with "Pixel dust" and Explorer mode
+** Dynamic Lighting creates distorted duplicates
+* Ghost-like effect for animated tokens in GM view with Night VisionNightvision or Explorer mode
+* Yellow box missing when hovering over Turn Order entry for UDL enabled tokens [ [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pageforid=9017251#post-9017251 1] ]
+* When a GM moves a player token, the GM does not see reveal areas until drop
+* Vision or lighting sometimes appears as a cone without changes to Directional Light/Vision being made
-'''UDL Known Issues (30th June 2020)'''
+'''Fixed issues:'''
-* '''Large Bugs'''
+** [https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/9072910/ full list of solved issues]
-** '''Updated Dynamic Lighting fails on very large maps.'''
-** '''Unexpected behavior is occurring with masks created by circles.'''
-** '''If a player's system crashes, they will occasionally have DL masks revealed to them.'''
-* '''Feature Parity''' (features not yet implemented in UDL from LDL):
-** No feature parity with "[[Fog of War]](FoW)", where a GM can manually hide/reveal areas. Please note: FoW is the free tool you can select on your [[Toolbar|toolbar]], and is not the same feature as [[Advanced Fog of War]](AFoW). That's why we changed the names. FoW will become the "Reveal Tool", and AFoW has become "Explorer Mode" in UDL.
-** Token's light/vision sensitivity can't be adjusted yet (previously labeled as "Has Sight / Multiplier").
-* '''Bugs:'''
-** When a token with Night Vision is at the edge of a lit area, there is a gradient at the edge of the lit area before the night vision begins.
-** In certain systems, images from the <span style="font-family:Pictos;">@</span> Map-layer are being distorted and skewed when viewed using Dynamic Lighting.
-** '''GM Vision:''' With Explorer Mode enabled, when using CTRL-L on a token that is not controlled by anyone in a page (or if there are no players in the game), GMs will only see a grayscale version of the map, without the GM Darkness Overlay.
-** '''GM Vision:''' Tokens with light and no vision are not visible to the GM until a token with vision is nearby.
-** '''Map Contrast:''' It can be difficult to see the difference between an illuminated map that is low contrast and a map that has been revealed in Explorer Mode, especially if the GM opacity is low.
-** Mask outlines are not as smooth as expected.
-** Zooming out with browser zoom, not the VTT zoom, can cause some strange visual issues.
-** Slight lag with keyboard movements using UDL still exists.
-** '''Mac Users:''' When using Explorer Mode on a Mac with Intel integrated graphics, the Lighting system may display a wide diagonal black bar across the middle of the screen that scrolls as you pan across the page.
-* '''Fixed issues:'''
-** <s>Setting negative numbers in the token light and vision settings results in tokens revealing more than they should.</s> Fixed Apr 10
-** <s>If your maps use units other than feet, the light distances will not change based on the correct unit. Until this is fixed, assume that the "ft" in the Token Settings for vision and light distances is whatever units your map uses.</s> Fixed April 17
-** <s>Default Token Settings in the game details page do not currently apply when creating new tokens.</s> Fixed Apr 21
-** <s>Resetting fog more than once is causing issues.</s> Fixed Apr 21
-** <s>When the GM moves a token, the areas will only be revealed for players who are currently online.</s> Fixed Apr 21
-** <s>Tokens on different pages/accounts sometimes reveal masks for the incorrect page.</s> Fixed April 28
-** <s>Decimals in the token light and vision settings result in incorrect light calculations.</s> Fixed April 28
-** <s>When using CTRL-L, GMs see through the token's eyes for purposes of lighting and vision, but can still see objects on the GM layer.</s> Fixed April 28
-** <s>Tokens with Light on the GM layer are showing that Light to Tokens on other layers.</s> Fixed May 19
-** <s>Using CTRL+L on a token will occasionally result in vision of what's beyond Dynamic Lighting barriers.</s> Fixed May 19
-** <s>Light bleeds through some corners in Dynamic Lighting barriers (in explorer mode, this can result in areas being revealed).</s> Fixed May 21
-** <s>A "pixel dust" like effect is occurring within certain markings.</s> Fixed June 30
-** <s>There is no "update only on drop" option.</s>  Fixed June 30
-** <s>Night Vision does not allow for Low Light at the moment and appears the same as Bright Light.</s>  Fixed June 30
-** <s>Dragging a token next to a Dynamic Lighting barrier can result in vision past the barrier.</s> Fixed June 30
 =See Also=
-* [https://blog.roll20.net/post/614847973200969728/a-new-light A New Light] Roll20 Blog post on the UDL release (April 8th 2020)
+* [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/9072910/updated-dynamic-lighting-feedback-thread UDL - Feedback/Bug Report Thread]
-* [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pagenum=1 UDL Bug Report Thread]
+* [https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/9072910/ UDL Known Issues List] <strike>Legacy Sunset phase (August 17th ->)</strike>
-* [https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/8422745/a-new-light-bug-thread-updated-dynamic-lighting-and-fog-of-war/?pageforid=8422746#post-8422746 UDL Known Issues List]
+== Blog Posts==
+* [https://blog.roll20.net/post/625723091466747904/a-new-light-the-convert-lighting-tool-is-now A New Light The Conversion Tool is Now Live!] (August 6th,2020)
+* [https://blog.roll20.net/post/625101101120798720/a-new-light-a-new-path-ahead A New Light A New Path Ahead] UDL reached Feature Parity with LDL (July 30th, 2020)
+* [https://blog.roll20.net/post/614847973200969728/a-new-light A New Light] UDL is released (April 8th 2020)
 <br>
 <br>
 [[Category:Docs]]
+[[Category:Dynamic Lighting]]
+[[Category:UDL]]

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