I used to use spotlights lights set to about 400% with a blinn node in them to get hard edged lighting... it looks like that trick no longer works on PP2012.

Do you have to add something in materials now, or is there a new/better way to do them?

I guess you mean like in your avatar picture?  How exactly is it different?  Do you have a particular scene saved that works the way you want it to in an older version, and what happens with the same scene in the new version?

Could render gamma correction be the culprit?

Yep, like in my avatar. I'm sure I have my lights setup the old way, but it looks like the render engine changed and they no longer give you that hard lit edge, just the usually spotlighting.

I figured odds are BB or someone came up with another way to do them by now.

It still works for me I am pretty sure but what kind of lights are you using and do you have anything like GC on?

I'll have to look again and see if I can figure out what is causing it. I just loded an old lights set I had done (Probably the one I used for my avatar) and the. lights looked like hell.

Quote - I used to use spotlights lights set to about 400% with a blinn node in them ...

You have to be way confused - that has never been allowed. You cannot put lighting nodes in a light. The Blinn node belongs in the object, not in the light.

he may have put the blinn on the bat-cow's skin.  the appearance of this rim lighting may change with the new scattering methods.  corben liked to use that effect of rim lighting on his human figures.

Here's the light material setup

"bat-cow" :lol:

moooooo!

I think I found it.. it appears to be something in the geometry angles. Since my target object all has smooth shapes, it doesn't pic up the hard edge as well as less smooth objects.

Since it s a product promo render, I can't show the object with the issues, but I loaded the free poser creature from the black lagoon in there, and the lighting on him is fine. The poser hi res ball pics it up less, and my new product figure picks it up even less. If I kick the light up to 1400% though, it starts to show up better. (Originally, the light wa sset at 400%.)

I've never run into this before!

When you render to you have smooth poygons on or off?

On.. and I loaded other objects in the scene. I think you really need more edge detail for the objects to pick up the hard lit edge, and this new figure has pretty much broad smooth edges.

I ended up just adding reflection for detail

You know you can control Smooth polygons in each objects and/or groups parameters palette.
It is not a Render settings only thing.

In General preferences, you can control the default crease angle.
In render settings you click its use ON or OFF
In the parameters palette you can do detailed control of the smoothing up to object / group level.

So? Set smoothing to OFF for your new product object in its parameters palette and see what gives?

That wuld be good if I wanted a non organic object, but this needs to look smooth. I'l have to look at skin shaders,.. maybe some micro bumps will pick up the lighting.

Glossy, Blinn, Specular? Reflection?
Blend some of those together and shake??

I think I blended some of those when trying to reproduce silk.
And as I remember right it went into Alt_specular.
Quite controllable with IDL light on it.

Found it "click to enlarge"

Feel free to take a look at this post. (more examples)
Someone had made a nice texture but could not get it to work.
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2832094&page=1

2 pages but he became uninterested.

Sorry I forgot the Light:
One pure white infinite light in bb's sphere and rendered with IDL. 
I think its strenght was at 60-70% somewhere.