# GTA V – Underestimated Glow (GAT #82)

Source: https://simonschreibt.de/gat/gta-v-underestimated-glow/
Author: Simon Schreibt. Captured 2026-10-16.

## Glow options
1. Billboard with blob texture (fake volumetric)
2. Post-FX bloom
3. Real volumetrics — ruled out for small lights like traffic lights in GTA V

## Bloom + tonemapper
- Bloom = blur bright parts and composite.
- High emissive in Unreal filmic tonemapper desaturates core toward white; GTA V traffic lights keep saturated red/green.
- Draw-call buffers show values >> 1.0 (HDR).
- Froyok: tonemapper can prevent burn-to-white.
- Adrian Courrèges (GTA V frame study): Uncharted 2–style operator applies R,G,B independently—pure bright red stays red, never turns white.
- Artistic choice vs filmic realism; UE had older non-desaturating bloom vs filmic.

## Billboard layer
- With post FX disabled, residual glow remains from billboards.
- Two billboards (not one) with detailed glare textures; rotate against each other → subtle temporal glare like particles in the eye (Eurographics Temporal Glare reference).
- Billboards scale with viewing angle.
- Fallback when bloom is off.

## Tips from article
- Painted-in white cores in textures for places that *should* burn out.
- Sparkles: bake glow into larger particle texture for subtle fairy dust vs screaming post bloom.
- History: Unreal 1 billboard flares; fade when partially occluded imperfectly.
- New tech ≠ always better: NFS distant streetlamps as billboards vs Watch Dogs Legion volumetrics that fade/cull at distance.
- UE Infiltrator Demo still used old-school billboard flares (cut into geometry).