Light dynamic

Template:Base point It is an invisible light source that changes over time. Can be turned on and off through inputs, and can aim at any object, including moving ones. Dynamic lights are calculated on the fly in the game, which means they have a higher processing cost but are much more flexible than static lighting. It is also the only entity except env_projectedtexture that can light up brushes at real-time (But it doesn't replace their original lighting).

Note:This entity actually consists of two lights, a cone model light and a spot world light. Some values may affect one and not the other.

Note:For the light to work properly the "distance" keyvalue must be greater than the distance from the entity to the surface it is supposed to light, otherwise it will not show. Also, it is recommended to set the "brightness" keyvalue to either 6 or 8 as it typically looks best. Normal brightness values do not apply. Finally, adjusting the angle using the circle tool in the top-right or by using the "point at" tool will only adjust the cone model, the angle keyvalue must be set manually to adjust the spot world light.

Note:For the 2013 SDK this is limited to 17 lights on at any one time so use wisely.

A example Light_dynamic with different colors

Keyvalues

Entity to point at (target) ([todo internal name (i)]) <targetname>

The name of an entity in the map that the dynamic light will point at.

Light color (_light) ([todo internal name (i)]) <color255>

The RGB render color of the spotlight. Colors must be between 0 and 255.

Light brightness (brightness) ([todo internal name (i)]) <integer>

The intensity of the spotlight.

Inner (bright) angle (_inner_cone) ([todo internal name (i)]) <integer>

The angles of the inner spotlight beam. 0 makes it omnidirectional.

Outer (fading) angle (_cone) ([todo internal name (i)]) <integer>

The angles of the outer spotlight beam. 0 makes it omnidirectional.

Pitch (pitch) ([todo internal name (i)]) <integer>

Used instead of Pitch Yaw Roll's value for reasons unknown.

Maximum distance (distance) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float>

This is the distance that light is allowed to cast, in inches.

Spotlight end radius (spotlight_radius) ([todo internal name (i)]) <float>

This is the radius of the light, in inches, at the object that it is hitting.

Appearance (style) ([todo internal name (i)]) <choices>

Various Custom Appearance (see below) presets.

Name (targetname) <string>[ Edit ]

The name that other entities refer to this entity by, via Inputs/Outputs or other keyvalues (e.g. parentname or target).
Also displayed in Hammer's 2D views and Entity Report.

See also:  Generic Keyvalues, Inputs and Outputs available to all entities

Parentname:

Parent (parentname) <targetname>

Specifies a movement parent. An entity will maintain its initial offset from its parent. An attachment point can be added to the end of the name, separated by a comma.

Pitch Yaw Roll (Y Z X) (angles) <QAngle>

This entity's orientation in the world. Pitch is rotation around the Y axis, yaw is the rotation around the Z axis, roll is the rotation around the X axis.

Flags

• 1 : Do not light world (better perf)
• 2 : Do not light models
• 4 : Add Displacement Alpha
• 8 : Subtract Displacement Alpha

Inputs

Color <color255RedirectInput/color32>

Set the light's render color (R G B).

brightness <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Set the light brightness.

distance <floatRedirectInput/float>

Set the maximum light distance.

_inner_cone <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Set the inner (bright) angle.

_cone <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Set the outer (fading) angle.

spotlight_radius <floatRedirectInput/float>

Set the radius of the spotlight at the end point.

style <integerRedirectInput/integer>

Change the lightstyle (see Appearance field for possible values).

TurnOn

Turn the light off.

TurnOff

Turn the light on.

Toggle

Toggle the light on/off.

Parentname:

SetParent <stringRedirectInput/string>

Move with this entity. See Entity Hierarchy (parenting).

SetParentAttachment <stringRedirectInput/string>

Change this entity to attach to a specific attachment point on its parent. The entity will teleport so that the position of its root bone matches that of the attachment. Entities must be parented before being sent this input.

SetParentAttachmentMaintainOffset <stringRedirectInput/string>

As above, but without teleporting. The entity retains its position relative to the attachment at the time of the input being received.

ClearParent

Removes this entity from the the movement hierarchy, leaving it free to move independently.

Console commands

r_dynamic <bool>

Enables dynamic lights

r_dynamiclighting <bool>

Enables toggled lights.

r_maxdlights <int>

Sets the maximum amount of dynamic lights.

See also

• Lighting
• Light entities