Env projectedtexture

Source Engine

Source 2

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.

Note:Newer hardware with a good CPU can handle it better.

Note:While its still kinda supported in Alien Swarm Deferred and Lambda Wars its highly recommented that you use Light_deferred.

Note:Removed from Black Mesa in the December 24 2017 update and replaced with its new deferred rendering lighting system.

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

Caveats and Fixes

Main article:  Env_projectedtexture/fixes

Issue/Caveat	Affected games	Fix/Workarounds	Notes
The Volumetrics option in Strata Source is temporarily broken due to a missing shader	Strata Source	N/A	Note:This was fixed in . There are plans to upstream it to P2CE [1]
Valve's games only support one shadow map in the PVS at a time.	Official Source games/stock Source SDK Base 2013 code	It is possible to modify/remove this limit by following these instructions.	The following games/branches have exceptions to this: : 9 (Can be increased with -numshadowtextures #) : 8 : 4 (Can be increased with -numshadowtextures #) : 8
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.	All Source games	N/A	N/A
Shadows are only rendered when the user is running with "High" shadow detail.	All Source games except and .	If your options menu does not show the "High" shadow detail setting by default (especially all Intel graphics card), add -force_vendor_id 0x10DE -force_device_id 0x1180 to the game's launch options	dynamic shadows from Projected Textures work on "Low" settings
In multiplayer, mat_supportflashlight must be set to 1 for flashlights to work	All multiplayer Source games	N/A	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	All Source games except and	env_projectedtexture/fixes#Enabling shadow receiving on the view model
Some Nvidia graphics cards (especially with latest drivers and/or all newer Nvidia cards since around mid-late 2010s) render big/small white specks, squares or noises (and sometimes it's also flickering) on certain textures	Portal 2 and Garry's Mod, possibly all Source games[confirm].	Remove the bumpmap ($bumpmap or $ssbump) or $detail textures), or use mat_bumpmap 0 (to disable Bumpmapping), or run the game in Vulkan (-vulkan launch option).	Video of said bug. Also in GMOD (click to preview):
While running in DirectX 9 mode, some graphics cards will not render shadows from env_projectedtexture regardless of the shadow detail setting, and as a result will render the texture through brushes and props instead of properly stopping them	Portal 2	Run the game in Vulkan mode with the launch parameter -vulkan	Also affects all DX9 based mods, fixed in and
Parenting does not work with stock SDK code	Source SDK Base 2013	Env_projectedtexture/fixes#Fixing Parenting	N/A
No smooth transition between this light and env_cascade_light	CS:GO	N/A	N/A
SpotlightTexture is disabled in some branches	Portal 2 engine branch and CS:GO branch	N/A	Fixed in Strata Source
The light will cause multiple layered info_overlays to show through each other	Todo: At least in	N/A	N/A
Source 2007/2009 Bugs
Note:the way that this page was structured before made it easy to put newly discovered bugs in the wrong category, so some of the following bugs may or may not be in modern titles.
The configurable texture value from Hammer is not accepted - will always default to effects/flashlight001	Source 2007, Source 2009, Source Multiplayer	Use the SpotlightTexture input or override the actual contents of the default VTF with a new one. Env_projectedtexture/fixes#Fix_configurable_texture_value_in_Hammer	N/A
This entity cannot target another entity	Source 2007, Source 2009, Source Multiplayer [confirm]	env_projectedtexture/fixes#Fixing targeting	N/A
Models will not receive their own shadows correctly	Source 2007, Source 2009, Source Multiplayer [confirm]	Create a bumpmap for the texture. Even a flat bumpmap is sufficient, such as dev/flat_normal.vtf.	N/A
This entity will cause issues if the entity overlaps a portal in Portal	Portal	N/A	Confirm:Is this fixed in latest version of Portal?

Flags

• 1: Enabled

Bug:Always starts on in Garry's Mod.

Workaround:Use logic_auto with TurnOff input.

  [todo tested in ?]

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

Tip:If a game doesn't support this flag, you still can move projected texture. Clear parent each 0.24 seconds and set parent each 0.25 seconds, this will update the projected texture position (parent must have attachment point).

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)

Shadow Filter (shadowfilter) <integer> (only in )

Changes the Shadow Filter parameter of the light, which is responsible for smoothing the light. Works only when enabled Always update flag.

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.

Note:This entity has different brightness rules when compared to light. A good number to start at is 10000 with a Brightness scale of 5-10

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) <float> (in all games since ) !FGD

Size of the simple projection.

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

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

Scale the light color by this brightness.

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

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 )

Light View Models (lightviewmodels) <boolean> (only in )

Control whether flashlight effects view models.

Light Not PVS Culled (lightnotpvsculled) <boolean> (only in )

Disable PVS culling optimization for this light (you shouldn't do this unless it's explicitly causing problems).

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

Whether or not to use volumetrics for this projected texture.

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

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

Important:As of 31/10/23, Volumetrics are currently broken due to a missing shader. According to a dev, the shader was working in DX9 but was not ported to DX11 due it planning to be remade, however currently this has not yet been worked on. Do not enable volumetrics while this is the case!

Movie Name (moviename) <string> (only in )

.webm file used in place of the texture.

Inputs

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

TurnOn

Turns on the texture.

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.

LightOnlyTarget <booleanRedirectInput/boolean>

Sets Light Only Target.

LightWorld <integerRedirectInput/integer>

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

AlwaysUpdateOn  (in all games since ) (also in )

Turn on per frame updating (for moving lights).

AlwaysUpdateOff  (in all games since ) (also in )

Turn off per frame updating (for moving lights).

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

Change the Light Color.

SetBrightness <floatRedirectInput/float> (only in )

Sets the brightness.

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.

Ambient  (only in )

Set ambient.

Confirm:Doesn't seem to do anything

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.

See also

• Volumetric lighting
• Lighting
• Adding Light
• Intermediate Lighting
• Advanced Lighting
• Effect flags (dynamic light effects)
• Tool textures (for Block light)
• newLight_Point
• newLight_Spot
• newLight_Dir
• NewLights_settings
• env_cascade_light
• BlackMesa XenEngine: Part 4 – Lighting & Shadows (page from Black Mesa developer about new lights)