How do Radiosity and ambient light relate?
Ambient light is a catch-all phrase for the remaining light that is bouncing around in the model. Radiosity can be thought of as a way to correctly calculate and “localise” the ambient light. As more energy is accounted for in the Radiosity solution, the (un-localized) ambient energy decreases until all the light energy has been localised. Radiosity can be used as a “fast” way to produce a more accurate ambient term, and apply some of the brightest light to specific regions of the model. Note that any ambient lighting set by the Set Layer Lighting Options command should be turned off for a radiosity rendering.
