Are non-attenuatd lights attenuated on models?

[Sir Robin]

Somethiing I've noticed:

The switch and engraving are models set into a hole in the wall. All textures have normal maps defined


Attenuated light at a steep angle, lighting is even


Non-attenuated light at a steep angle, lighting is uneven


an even steeper angle




This is a secret door. It is a model but it takes it's texture from the nearest wall. So it's definitely using the exact same texture and normal map as the surrounding wall


Under the non attenuated light it's definitely shaded differently than the surrounding wall

[Professor Hastig]

If you think about what attenuation is, it should be obvious that it has to be done to make light look correct. Unattenuated lights do not consider a surface's normal, but for lighting models this is essential because otherwise you'd get flat lighting without shadows over its entire surface, which is certainly not what you'd want for a real model that isn't just a flat surface attached to a wall.

[Graf Zahl]

Indeed. Without attenuation the model's lighting would just look wrong.