SteamVR/Environments/Entity Guide

Entities are objects that provide all the functions in a map. The Source 2 engine used in SteamVR Home handles entities in mostly the same way as the original Source engine, but with a few key differences. Most of the articles this this wiki document the original Source versions of the entities.

Point entities work the same way as in Source but with new features. The entities now contain full transforms and can be moved, rotated and scaled both with the tools in Hammer and at runtime. Note that it is up to to the individual entity classes on if they make use of the transforms.

Mesh entities replace the Source brush entities. Since Source 2 no longer use BSP brushes, entities that need to be associated with geometry are now tied to Hammer meshes instead.

Path entities are a type of entity recently added to the tools. They can be created with the currently hidden Path Tool (Shift + P).

Todo: Path entities may not be fully functional in SteamVR Home. Document which path types work.

List of Entities

The SteamVR Tools still contain a large amount of legacy Source engine entities. While many of the entities still work, some of them have been deprecated or have reduced functionality.

Most logic and math entities still work. AI related entities do not work. Many special effects entities are non-functional, but their functionality can be replicated with particle systems.

Note: This list is incomplete.

SteamVR Home specific

Entities with functions specific to SteamVR Home.

Class	Notes
prop destinations physics	A prop physics that can be resized and recolored with VR hands in-game.
prop destinations tool	Physics prop with VScript bindings. Requires a script attached to work properly.
point clientui world panel	Places a user-made Panorama panel in the world.
point clientui steamvr world panel	Places one of the three pre-made SteamVR Quick Panels.
vr teleport marker	Destination marker for teleport locomotion.
vr teleport area	Mesh entity for marking valid areas for teleport locomotion.

Lighting

Functional

Class	Notes
light_spot	Now supports both real-time and baked lighting. (Source 1 version)
light omni	Equivalent of the Source light entity, supporting both real-time and baked lighting.
light_environment	The direct sunlight portion can now be real-time with Cascaded Shadow Maps or baked. (Source 1 version)
light ortho	Orthogonal light similar to the sunlight potion of light_environment.
env_cubemap	No longer an internal entity, can now be toggled and moved. Cubemaps are now baked in Hammer along with lighting. (Source 1 version)
env cubemap box	Parallax corrected cubemap reflection probe.
env light probe volume	Diffuse lighting probe. Unlike in Source these can not be generated automatically by the compiler.
env combined light probe volume	Combines env_cubemap_box and env_light_probe_volume in one entity.
light importance volume	Sets the high quality lighting area for the photon mapping lighting baker.

Non-functional

Class	Notes
light irradvolume	Not available in the SteamVR Home renderer.

Props

Functional

Class	Notes
prop static	Static world geometry prop. Can now optionally be further baked into world geometry for batched rendering.
prop dynamic	Prop that can be animated and controlled with entity I/O. Also supports cloth physics.
prop dynamic override	Limited use as models are no longer marked as static or physics only. Health can still be set, but breakable props are not fully functional.
prop physics	Unlike prop destinations physics, this cannot be resized by the player.
prop physics multiplayer	Todo: Unknown if physics modes have any effect. All entities now have a toggle for client-side only.
prop physics override	Limited use as models are no longer marked as static or physics only. Health can still be set, but breakable props are not fully functional.

Sound

Functional

Class	Notes
snd event point	Equivalent to ambient generic, point sound source that plays sound events.
snd soundscape	New name for env soundscape. Entity for soundscapes.
snd soundscape proxy	New name for env soundscape proxy.
snd soundscape triggerable	New name for env soundscape triggerable.
point soundevent	Deprecated name for snd event point.
env soundscape	Still works but the name is deprecated in favor for the more consistently named snd soundscape.
snd event param	Todo:
snd event alignedbox	Todo:
snd opvar set	Todo:
snd opvar set aabb	Todo:
snd opvar set obb	Todo:
trigger snd sos opvar	Mesh entity Todo:
snd opvar set point	Todo:

Non-functional

Class	Notes
ambient generic	Replaced with snd event point

Mesh Functions

These are all mesh entities.

Functional

Class	Notes
func button	Usable button that can work either as a visible object or as in invisble volume tied to a prop.
func movelinear	Mesh that moves between two points. Can be used for elevators and doors.
func platrot	Simple elevator that can move and rotate.
func rotating	Rotating mesh.
func tracktrain	Mesh that moves along a path.

Partial

Class	Notes
func physical button	Physics enabled mesh button that can be pushed in by the player. Only works when pushed with an equipped tool, since the players hands do not have collision.
func breakable	Mesh entity that can take damage and break. No gib models available. Has many non-functional legacy functions.
func brush	Mesh entity that can be moved and parented, and the solidity toggled. Has several non-functional legacy functions.
func door	Linear door with binary open/closed states. Can be operated by I/O or player use. Has several non-functional legacy functions.
func door rotating	Rotating door with binary open/closed states. Can be operated by I/O or player use. Has several non-functional legacy functions.
func illusionary	Legacy non-solid mesh. Use the mesh properties to disable collision rather than this.
func physbox	Physics enabled rigidbody that can be picked up by the player. Many features are broken. Meshes can be converted to props from Hammer, making this obsolete.
func rot button	Rotating button with binary open/closed states. Missing many features the other buttons have.
func shatterglass	Breakable glass/concrete surface. Missing hardcoded materials.
func tanktrain	Mesh that moves along a path. Todo: Shooting likely not available, use func_tracktrain instead.
func wall	Legacy entity. Use func_brush rather than this.
func wall toggle	Legacy entity. Use func_brush rather than this.

Non-functional

Class	Notes
func areaportal	Not applicable for the Source 2 renderer.
func areaportalwindow	Not applicable for the Source 2 renderer.
func lod	Non-functional, use the mesh properties instead.
func nav markup	Nav meshes are not enabled in SteamVR Home.
func occluder	Non-functional, use the mesh properties instead.
func reflective glass	Legacy entity relying on Source 1 shaders.
func traincontrols	Broken.
func viscluster	Not used by the visibility solver.

Environmental effects

Functional

Class	Notes
env cubemap fog	MIP fog using a cubemap texture. The cubemap texture is sampled for the fog color, blending between the different MIP Maps depending on distance. This can be used to generate intricate fog effects.
env gradient fog	Texture controlled fog effect documented in Fog Tutorial.
env sky	2D skyboxes are controlled by this entity instead of being defined in the map properties. Can be toggled and rotated in-game.
info particle system	Particle systems still work.
info particle target	Target entity for particle control points.
skybox reference	Allows another map to be used as a 3D skybox. Requires that the used map has the Map Type in Map Properties set to Skybox, and a sky camera entity to mark the location of the main map origin.

Partial

Class	Notes
sky camera	Culling and shadows do not work properly when used in the main map. Works properly when used in map referenced by skybox reference. Static level geometry can be extended beyond the grid now, making this entity less of a necessity.
env fog controller	Only affects the 2D skybox.

Non-functional

Class	Notes
fog volume	No observed effect.
env volumetric fog volume	Non-functional in SteamVR Home.
env volumetric fog controller	Non-functional in SteamVR Home.

Misc

Functional

Class	Notes
point workplane	Stores the current workplane in Hammer. The workplane can be recalled by using the workplane picker tool on the entity.
info player start	Aligns with the center of the playspace instead of the players actual position.
visibility hint	Used to set the grid size for the visibility solver.

Partial

Class	Notes
info world layer	Can be used to toggle sets of level geometry and entities at runtime. Not fully functional in SteamVR Home.
npc crow	Only flies with the FlyPath input with a path_track parameter.
npc seagull	Only flies with the FlyPath input with a path_track parameter.
npc pigeon	Only flies with the FlyPath input with a path_track parameter.

Non-functional

Class	Notes
infodecal	No equivalent available.
info overlay	Overlays are set directly in Hammer instead of using entities: Overlay Tutorial
info projecteddecal	No equivalent available.
post processing volume	Post processing is not available in SteamVR Home.