three.js pointLight changes from r.67 to r.68

Question

The interaction between pointlight and a plane seems to have changed from r.67 to r.68

I'm trying to learn three.js, going through a book that is a year old. I've stripped down the tutorial example to just a plane, a cube, and a pointlight and The "Shinyness" effect of the light on the plane goes away when i use r.68, which is the point of the light effect tutorial. I'm guessing it must have something to do with the material reflectivity of planes now?

I didn't get any clues going through three.js github revision notes or history of the function sourcecode or similar current three.js examples, but my three.js rookie status is probably holding me back from knowing what to look for.

If someone could explain what changed and why it's not working I would love to turn this broken tutorial into a learning experience.

EDITED TO ADD FIDDLE EXAMPLES INSTEAD OF SOURCE

Here is r.68:

http://jsfiddle.net/nnu3qnq8/5/

Here is r.67:

http://jsfiddle.net/nnu3qnq8/4/

Code:

  $(function () {
    var stats = initStats();

    // create a scene, that will hold all our elements such as objects, cameras and lights.
    var scene = new THREE.Scene();

    // create a camera, which defines where we're looking at.
    var camera = new THREE.PerspectiveCamera(45, window.innerWidth / window.innerHeight, 0.1, 1000);

    // create a render and set the size
    var renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer();

    renderer.setClearColorHex(0xEEEEEE, 1.0);
    renderer.setSize(window.innerWidth, window.innerHeight);

    // create the ground plane
    var planeGeometry = new THREE.PlaneGeometry(60, 20, 1, 1);
    var planeMaterial = new THREE.MeshLambertMaterial({color: 0xffffff});
    var plane = new THREE.Mesh(planeGeometry, planeMaterial);

    // rotate and position the plane
    plane.rotation.x = -0.5 * Math.PI;
    plane.position.x = 15
    plane.position.y = 0
    plane.position.z = 0

    // add the plane to the scene
    scene.add(plane);

    // create a cube
    var cubeGeometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry(4, 4, 4);
    var cubeMaterial = new THREE.MeshLambertMaterial({color: 0xff7777});
    var cube = new THREE.Mesh(cubeGeometry, cubeMaterial);
    cube.castShadow = true;

    // position the cube
    cube.position.x = -4;
    cube.position.y = 3;
    cube.position.z = 0;

    // add the cube to the scene
    scene.add(cube);        

    // position and point the camera to the center of the scene
    camera.position.x = -25;
    camera.position.y = 30;
    camera.position.z = 25;
    camera.lookAt(new THREE.Vector3(10, 0, 0));

    // add subtle ambient lighting
    var ambiColor = "#0c0c0c";
    var ambientLight = new THREE.AmbientLight(ambiColor);
    scene.add(ambientLight);

    // add spotlight for the shadows
    // add spotlight for the shadows
    var spotLight = new THREE.SpotLight(0xffffff);
    spotLight.position.set(-40, 60, -10);
    spotLight.castShadow = true;
    // scene.add( spotLight );

    var pointColor = "#ccffcc";
    var pointLight = new THREE.PointLight(pointColor);
    pointLight.distance = 100;
    pointLight.position = new THREE.Vector3(3, 5, 3);
    scene.add(pointLight);

    // add the output of the renderer to the html element
    $("#WebGL-output").append(renderer.domElement);

    // call the render function
    var step = 0;

    // used to determine the switch point for the light animation
    var invert = 1;
    var phase = 0;

    var controls = new function () {
        this.rotationSpeed = 0.03;
        this.ambientColor = ambiColor;
        this.pointColor = pointColor;
        this.intensity = 1;
        this.distance = 100;
    }

    var gui = new dat.GUI();
    gui.addColor(controls, 'ambientColor').onChange(function (e) {
        ambientLight.color = new THREE.Color(e);
    });

    gui.addColor(controls, 'pointColor').onChange(function (e) {
        pointLight.color = new THREE.Color(e);
    });

    gui.add(controls, 'intensity', 0, 3).onChange(function (e) {
        pointLight.intensity = e;
    });

    gui.add(controls, 'distance', 0, 100).onChange(function (e) {
        pointLight.distance = e;
    });
    render();

    function render() {
        stats.update();
        // move the light simulation
        if (phase > 2 * Math.PI) {
            invert = invert * -1;
            phase -= 2 * Math.PI;
        } else {
            phase += controls.rotationSpeed;
        }
        pointLight.position.z = +(7 * (Math.sin(phase)));
        pointLight.position.x = +(14 * (Math.cos(phase)));
        if (invert < 0) {
            var pivot = 14;
            pointLight.position.x = (invert * (pointLight.position.x - pivot)) + pivot;
        }
        // render using requestAnimationFrame
        requestAnimationFrame(render);
        renderer.render(scene, camera);
    }

    function initStats() {
        var stats = new Stats();
        stats.setMode(0); // 0: fps, 1: ms
        // Align top-left
        stats.domElement.style.position = 'absolute';
        stats.domElement.style.left = '0px';
        stats.domElement.style.top = '0px';
        $("#Stats-output").append(stats.domElement);
        return stats;
    }

});

Answer 1

You are using a pattern that is no longer supported.

pointLight.position = new THREE.Vector3( 3, 5, 3 );

Do not create a new object. Instead do this:

pointLight.position.set( 3, 5, 3 );

three.js r.68