Env projectedtexture

Projecting a colorful texture in Garry's Mod.

Portal 2 uses projected textures extensively for world lighting.

Showcase of volumetrics in a Portal 2 map.

Template:Base point It projects a texture as a dynamic light that affects all objects in the world, optionally with Shadow Mapping. env_Projectedtexture does not light the world similarly that other light entities which are ray-traced when you compile the map. This light however is real-time and works without RAD.

Warning:This is the most expensive light entity in the engine. Use sparingly.

In code, it is represented by theCEnvProjectedTextureclass, defined in theenv_projectedtexture.cppfile.

Caveats and Fixes

Main article:  Env_projectedtexture/fixes

• Valve's games only support one shadow map in the PVS at a time.

Fix:It is possible to modify/remove this limit by following these instructions.

• Textures used for projected textures require the flags Clamp S, Clamp T and Clamp All to avoid glitchy tiling. Also note, that VTFs are used directly and no VMT is needed.

Note:In Garry's Mod, there can be up to 9 active env_projectedtextures turned on with shadow mapping at a time. You can also increase this limit by putting -numshadowtextures # in the Steam launch parameters of Garry's Mod, where # is the number of shadow maps the game should allow.

Note: increases this limit to 8.

• Shadows are only rendered when the user is running with "High" shadow detail. If your options menu does not show the "High" shadow detail setting by default, you can add -force_vendor_id 0x10DE -force_device_id 0x1180 to the game's launch options for it to show up.
• Note:In , shadows from env_projectedtexture work on "Low" video settings.
• In multiplayer, mat_supportflashlight must be set to 1 for flashlights to work. By default these ConVars are disabled in Team Fortress 2, so this entity won't work there without special configuration.
• Viewmodels won't receive light or shadows from projected textures, with the exception of Garry's Mod. You can follow these instructions to fix this bug.

Bug:In Portal 2, some Nvidia graphics cards render white specks or squares on certain textures. To fix this, remove the bumpmap ($bumpmap or $ssbump) or $detail textures.  [todo tested in ?]

Video of said bug.

Bug:Parenting does not work with stock SDK code.  [todo tested in ?]

Code Fix:This bug is fixable by following these instructions: Env_projectedtexture/fixes#Fixing Parenting.

Bug: No smooth transition between this light and env_cascade_light.  [todo tested in ?]

Source 2007/2009 bugs

These have all been fixed in more recent engine builds.

Bug:The configurable texture value from Hammer is not accepted - will always default to the flashlight. You must use the SpotlightTexture input or you can also override the actual contents of the default VTF with a new one.  [todo tested in ?]

Code Fix:You can fix this issue by following these instructions: Env_projectedtexture/fixes#Fix_configurable_texture_value_in_Hammer.

Note:The SpotlightTexture input has been disabled in the Portal 2 and CS:GO engines, and instead shows an error message: "SetSpotlightTexture is disabled. If you need this feature reimplemented, tell a programmer."

Bug:The entity cannot target another entity.  [todo tested in ?]

Code Fix:This bug is fixable by following these instructions: env_projectedtexture/fixes#Fixing targeting.

Bug:Models will not receive their own shadows correctly unless using $bumpmap. Even a flat bump map is sufficient.  [todo tested in ?]

Bug:Causes issues if the entity overlaps a portal in Portal 1. Simply the projection overlapping a portal works fine.  [todo tested in ?]

Flags

• 1: Enabled
• 2: Always Update (moving light) Template:AS addTemplate:Mapbase also

Keyvalues

Target (target) <targetname>

The entity will rotate to point at this target. Make sure you check the Always update flag if you set this.

FOV (lightfov) <float>

The field of view cone/pyramid at which the texture is projected.

Confirm:This keyvalue does not work in Alien Swarm.

NearZ (nearz) <float>

Objects closer than this will not receive the light from the projection.

FarZ (farz) <float>

Objects beyond this distance will not receive the light from the projection.

Enable Shadows (enableshadows) <boolean>

Enables/disables shadows from this projected texture. 0 = no, 1 = yes.

Shadow Quality (shadowquality) <choices>

Quality of shadows.

• 0: Low (sharp, pixelized shadows)
• 1: High (smooth edged shadows)

Light Only Target (lightonlytarget) <boolean>

Limit flashlight effect to only affect target entity.

Light World (lightworld) <boolean>

Control whether flashlight affects static world geometry. 0 = no, 1 = yes.

Light Color (lightcolor) <color255 + int>

Light color and intensity.

Camera Space (cameraspace) <integer>

Angles are interpreted as being relative to camera.

Texture Name (texturename) <string> !FGD

The texture which this entity projects. Must be a VTF file (not VMT), relative to /materials.

Texture Frame (textureframe) <integer> !FGD

If the texture is animated, this is the frame it should begin on.

Simple Projection (simpleprojection) <boolean> (in all games since ) !FGD

Indicates if this is a simple, non-light casting texture projection.

Simple Projection Size (projection_size) <Size of the simple projection.> (in all games since ) !FGD

float

Simple Projection Rotation (projection_rotation) <float> (in all games since ) !FGD

Brightness Scale (brightnessscale) <float> (in all games since )

Scale the light color by this brightness.

Color Transition Time (colortransitiontime) <float> (in all games since )

Amount of time it takes for a color change to occur. Higher numbers cause faster transitions.

Appearance (style) <choices> (in all games since ) (also in )

Various Custom Appearance presets.

Note:Requires input AlwaysUpdateOn to work.

Custom Appearance (pattern) <string> (in all games since ) (also in )

Set a custom pattern of light brightness for this light. Pattern format is a string of characters, where a is total darkness, z fully bright. i.e. aaggnnttzz would be a steppy fade in from dark to light.

Default Appearance (defaultstyle) <string> (in all games since )

Enable Volumetrics (volumetric) <boolean> (only in )

Whether or not to use volumetrics for this projected texture.

Volumetric Intensity (volumetricintensity) <float> (only in )

Defines the intensity of the volumetrics. (Default is 1. Can go above; no strict limit)

Inputs

Note:In some FGDs, only TurnOn, TurnOff and FOV are present.

TurnOn

Turns on the texture.

Confirm:In gmod projected lights always start on even when "enabled" is not checked.

TurnOff

Turns off the texture.

FOV <floatRedirectInput/float>

Sets FOV.

EnableShadows <booleanRedirectInput/boolean>

Set the if shadows are enabled. 0 = no, 1 = yes.

SpotlightTexture <stringRedirectInput/string>

Sets the spotlight texture.

Note:Disabled in onwards. Fixed in

Target <stringRedirectInput/string>

Specify a new Target entity to point at.

CameraSpace <booleanRedirectInput/boolean>

Sets Camera Space.

{{IO|LightOnlyTarget|param=boolean|Sets Light Only Target.

LightWorld <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Sets Light World. 0 = no, 1 = yes.

AlwaysUpdateOn  (in all games since )

Turn on per frame updating (for moving lights).

AlwaysUpdateOff  (in all games since )

Turn off per frame updating (for moving lights).

LightColor <color255RedirectInput/color32> (in all games since )

Change the Light Color.

SetLightStyle <integerRedirectInput/integer> (in all games since ) (also in )

Sets an Appearance. (see Appearance keyvalue above for possible values)

SetPattern <stringRedirectInput/string> (in all games since ) (also in )

Sets Custom Appearance. (see Custom Appearance keyvalue above)

SetNearZ <floatRedirectInput/float> (in all games since ) (also in )

Sets NearZ.

SetFarZ <floatRedirectInput/float> (in all games since ) (also in )

Sets FarZ.

EnableVolumetrics <booleanRedirectInput/boolean> (only in )

Enables or disables volumetrics.

SetVolumetricIntensity <floatRedirectInput/float> (only in )

Sets the intensity of the volumetrics. (Default is 1. Can go above; no strict limit)

SetBrightnessScale <floatRedirectInput/float> (only in )

Sets the brightness.