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:most expensive light entity in Source.

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.
• 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.

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 ?]

Entity specifics for CS:GO

• Limited to only 1 active env_projectedtexture on the map.
• Shadows from env_projectedtexture work on "Low" video settings.
• With "Always Update" flag enabled you can parent env_projectedtexture to a moving entity to make light and shadows more dynamic.

Bug:No light or shadows work on viewmodels so far. As a workaround you can try to place dim light_spot or light_dynamic near env_projectedtexture with "Light World" keyvalue disabled to mimic the light coming from the projectedtexture entity.  [todo tested in ?]

Bug:No smooth transition between projectedtexture light and other type of lights on models. Enter thirdperson in the console and as a player move into env_projectedtexture lighting area placed under the sun with working env_cascade_light. By entering and leaving lighting area you will notice how light and shadows on player model will instantly switch between sun and projectedtexture. Same bug applies for props, for example if you place a prop_static in the water and try to move env_projectedtexture parented with func_movelinear back and forth, you will notice this bug on a prop model. You need to adjust "FOV" and "FarZ" keyvalues to achieve desirable effect or some kind of compromise.  [todo tested in ?]

Warning: Place your env_projectedtexture very carefully, especially if you're going to move it. It's rather unstable, so make sure to test it for visual problems.

Flags

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

Keyvalues

Target (target) ([todo internal name (i)]) <targetname>

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

FOV (lightfov) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float>

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

Confirm:This keyvalue does not work in Alien Swarm.

NearZ (nearz) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float>

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

FarZ (farz) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float>

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

Enable Shadows (enableshadows) ([todo internal name (i)]) <boolean>

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

Shadow Quality (shadowquality) ([todo internal name (i)]) <choices>

Quality of shadows.

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

Light Only Target (lightonlytarget) ([todo internal name (i)]) <boolean>

Limit flashlight effect to only affect target entity.

Light World (lightworld) ([todo internal name (i)]) <boolean>

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

Light Color (lightcolor) ([todo internal name (i)]) <color255 + int>

RGB light color and intensity

Camera Space (cameraspace) ([todo internal name (i)]) <integer>

Angles are interpreted as being relative to camera.

Texture Name (texturename) ([todo internal name (i)]) <string> !FGD

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

Texture Frame (textureframe) ([todo internal name (i)]) <integer> !FGD

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

Simple Projection (simpleprojection) ([todo internal name (i)]) <boolean> (in all games since ) !FGD

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

Simple Projection Size (projection_size) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float> (in all games since ) !FGD

Simple Projection Rotation (projection_rotation) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float> (in all games since ) !FGD

Brightness Scale (brightnessscale) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float> (in all games since )

Scale the light color by this brightness.

Color Transition Time (colortransitiontime) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float> (in all games since )

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

Appearance (style) ([todo internal name (i)]) <choices> (in all games since )

Various Custom Appearance presets.

Note:Requires AlwaysUpdateOn to work.

Custom Appearance (pattern) ([todo internal name (i)]) <string> (in all games since )

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.

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)

Default Appearance (defaultstyle) ([todo internal name (i)]) <string> (in all games since )

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.

Target <stringRedirectInput/string>

Specify a new Target entity to point at.

CameraSpace <booleanRedirectInput/boolean>

Sets Camera Space.

LightOnlyTarget <booleanRedirectInput/boolean>

Sets Light Only Target.

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)

Bug:Non-functional.  [todo tested in ?]

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 )

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

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

Sets Custom Appearance. (see Custom Appearance keyvalue above)

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

Sets NearZ.

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

Sets FarZ.