View source for Smoothing groups

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[[Image:Smoothing groups smoothing example.jpg|thumb|400px|right|The cylinder on the left is not smoothed.<br> The cylinder in the middle is smoothed with the default [[lightmap scale]] of 16.<br> The cylinder on the right is smoothed with a [[lightmap scale]] of 8.]]

'''Vertex Smoothing''' simply uses [[Vertex normal]]s ([[vector]]s) as if they were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_normal Surface normals] to generate a kind of ''pseudo-''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subdivision_surface subdivision surface] for the Lighting shader to work with.

When a number of adjacent surfaces are assigned to the same [[Smoothing group]], the ''Rendering Engine'' <!--a particular Shader perhaps?--> will "soften" the light and shadow across each vertex or edge shared by the group. This makes the geometry seem smoother when viewed from most angles. It does not soften the profile or silhouette of the object.

==Guidelines==
* Brush geometry must be manually assigned to a Smoothing Group in Hammer. Model geometry smoothing data is configured in the [[model editor]] before [[SMD export]]. {{confirm|Brush smoothing groups may not include Model geometry, and vice versa.}}



==Tooltips==
* [[Hammer_Smoothing_Groups_Dialog|Smoothing Groups in Hammer]]
* [[Model_Creation_Overview#Editing_Hard.2FSoft_Edges|Smoothing Groups in XSI]]
* etc

[[category:Modeling]][[category:Level Design]]