$detail
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A detail texture (noise_detail_01), and its effect when applied to a material (left).
Template:Shaderparam It specifies a texture which Source will use to add high-resolution detail to a material when it is viewed up close, by darkening or lightening the albedo appropriately, depending on the $detailblendmode. You can also use a full color (as opposed to grayscale) image and blend it using $detailblendmode 2. It is very effective for increasing the apparent resolution of a texture, and was used extensively in 
Half-Life 2: Episode Two.
Bug:$Detail textures do not work in conjunction with some parameters : [todo tested in ?]- In
on LightmappedGeneric, Does not work with $seamless_scale. - In on VertexLitGeneric. Does not work with $selfillumfresnel, if $bumpmap is used.
- In on LightmappedGeneric, Does not work with $lightwarptexture
Note: In , LightmappedGenericdoes not appear to even have$lightwarptextureas a parameter... So it 'cannot not' work.
- In on VertexLitGeneric, Does not work with $desaturatewithbasealpha
- In , Does not work with $blendmodulatetexture and $bumpmap
- Todo: Document issues from other branches of source.
- Todo: Things that don't work in, usually don't work in
either. And vice versa. But it'd be better if someone could confirm this. - Note: Previously it was stated $blendmodulatetexture would only work with $detail in . however, I investigated this, and it is false information. This does work, in at least and .
Syntax
$detail <texture>
You will probably want to use at least $detailscale (see below) as well.
Parameters and Effects
Bug:Does not currently function at all in . [todo tested in ?]$detailscale
$detailblendfactor
$detailblendmode
- There are 12 different detail blend methods that can be used.
- The blend modes are implemented in
stdshaders/common_ps_fx.h.
| Mode | Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | DecalModulate | This functions the same as the DecalModulate shader—colors below 128 darken the image, colors above lighten the image. |
| 1 | Additive | The color of the detail texture is added to the base texture. This is the same as $additive. |
| 2 | Translucent Detail | The detail texture is applied as a translucent overlay on top of the base texture. |
| 3 | Blend Factor Fade | The detail texture is applied as a translucent overlay, but ignoring its alpha channel. Instead, the blend factor is used to determine how much of the base texture shows through underneath. |
| 4 | Translucent Base | This effectively flips the normal layering of the two textures. The detail texture appears "below," with the base alpha channel controlling it as a translucent overlay. The detail alpha channel controls the overall material alpha—for translucency, masking, or other uses. |
| 5 | Unlit Additive | The color of the detail texture is added to the base texture identically to mode 1, but this color is unaffected by lighting and therefore appears to glow. |
| 6 | Unlit Additive Threshold Fade | This adds color unaffected by lighting like mode 5, but first modifies the color added in two modes, depending on if the blend factor is above or below 0.5. |
| 7 | Two-Pattern DecalModulate | Only the red and alpha channels of the detail texture are used. This operates like the DecalModulate shader or blend mode 0, but the base alpha channel fades between using the red (0) or alpha (255) detail channel as the modulation source. This effectively allows two detail materials, although both are greyscale. |
| 8 | Multiply | The color of the base channel is multiplied by that of the detail texture. |
| 9 | Base Mask via Detail Alpha | Only the detail alpha channel is used. It is multiplied with the base texture's alpha channel to produce the final alpha value. |
| 10 | Self-Shadowed Bumpmap | The detail texture is used as a (possibly additional) $ssbump bumpmap. The blend factor is ignored.Note:You can use this to get a standard bumpmap and a self-shadowing bumpmap on the same material. However, this is expensive and should be used very sparingly. |
| 11 | SSBump Albedo | Unknown function, used internally. The comment says, "shader does the magic here - no user needs to specify mode 11." |
Important:Below is listed, what blendmodes, work in which games, on what shaders. Using a non-supported Blendmode can/will result in "Missing Shader Combo" errors flooding the Console. The Material will not Render!- In LightmappedGeneric Modes 1-6 and 8 are not supported. 9 not with $bumpmap, $envmap, $selfillum.
- In WorldVertexTransition Modes 1-6, 8-9 are not supported. 7 Does not work with $blendmodulatetexture.
- In VertexLitGeneric Modes 0-9 are supported without $bumpmap, 0-7 with. However only with $phong, 5 & 6 usable. The Shader without $phong doesn't have the code to use 5 & 6.
- In Lightmapped_4WayBlend Modes 1-6 are not supported.
- In LightmappedGeneric Modes 2-9 are not supported.
- In VertexLitGeneric Modes 0-9 are supported without $bumpmap, 0-6 with. However only with $phong, 5 & 6 usable. The Shader without $phong doesn't have the code to use 5 & 6.
- In LightmappedGeneric and WorldVertexTransition Mode 6 is not supported. Additionally 7 does not work with $bumpmap2, $softedges and $blendmodulatetexture.
- In
Modes 1, 4, 6, 9, and 10 are not supported.
Bug:In On VertexLitGeneric. Does not work with $bumpmap or $phong [todo tested in ?]Bug:Does not work with $blendtintbybasealphaTodo: Verify which games this is broken in ( Works in 
and ).
[todo tested in ?] and ).$detailframe
$detail_alpha_mask_base_texture
WorldVertexTransition Parameters
Confirm:are these limited to , or are they in some/all –branch games?$detail2
$detailscale2
$detailblendfactor2
$detailframe2
$detailtint2
SolidEnergy Parameters
Todo: Confirm if all of this information is actually true for
Confirm:Is SolidEnergy available in –branch games?Note:$detail1tint and $detail2tint do not exist on this Shader, they are missing in this list intentionally!Important:$detail has very similar parameter names, but they are not the same! - There are 2 different detail blend methods that can be used.
| Mode | Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | DecalModulate | This functions the same as the DecalModulate shader—colors below 128 darken the image, colors above lighten the image. |
| 1 | Multiply | $basetexture is multiplied by $detail1, Alpha of the $basetexture controls the strength of the effect. Black parts have full multiplication, White parts have no multiplication. |
$detail1scale
$detail1blendfactor
$detail1frame
Important:s WorldVertexTransition Shader has very similar $detail2 parameter names, but they are not the same!- There are 2 different detail blend methods that can be used.
| Mode | Effect | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Additive | Adds $detail2 onto the $basetexture. Note:When using a $detail1, $detail2 will first be multiplied by $detail2! |
| 1 | Multiply | $basetexture is multiplied by $detail2. Note:There is no way to control the strength of the effect. |
$detail2scale
$detail2blendfactor
$detail2frame
Valve's Detail Textures
Valve's stock detail textures (available in OB only) are best used with the following pre-configured values:
$detail detail\noise_detail_01 // e.g. for brickwork, concrete... $detailscale 7.74 $detailblendfactor 0.8 $detailblendmode 0
$detail detail\metal_detail_01 $detailscale 4.283 $detailblendfactor .65 $detailblendmode 0
$detail detail\rock_detail_01 $detailscale 11 $detailblendfactor 1 $detailblendmode 0
$detail detail\plaster_detail_01 $detailscale 6.783 $detailblendfactor .8 $detailblendmode 0
The below parameters come from models\props_forest\LadderWood.vmt. It is the only Valve Stock texture VMT file to use this particular detail texture. Because the detail texture (detail\wood_detail_01) is a high resolution (1024×1024), the $detailscale is lower than the others, with the exception of rock_detail_01.
$detail detail\wood_detail_01 $detailscale 2.563 $detailblendfactor .8 $detailblendmode 0
Additionally, there are 2 other stock detail textures. detail\detailash001a and detail\detaildirt001a. These files were used in the "leaked" version of 
Half-Life 2 and in 
Half-Life 2: Episode One using the following parameters.
Concrete/concretefloor009a in Episode One materials:
$detail detail/detaildirt001a $detailscale 0.27
Metal/metalfloor005a in Episode One materials:
$detail detail/detailash001a $detailscale 0.50
See Also
Hiding large-scale tiling with detail textures - How to make texture repeating less noticeable using $detail