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WorldVertexTransition

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Application without and with $blendmodulatetexture.

WorldVertexTransition is a pixel shader available in all Source Source games. It is a shader functionally similar to LightmappedGeneric primarily used to perform a per-vertex linear blend between two textures on a displacement surface. Many of the parameter definitions for the secondary material are the same as the first material except with a "2" at the end. ex: $basetexture2

You can choose which texture you would like to appear on a vertex using Hammer's alpha painting tool. The blend is normally a linear gradient, but you can control the blend on a per-pixel basis by specifying $blendmodulatetexture in the material.

Icon-Important.pngImportant:In Black Mesa Black Mesa this shader was missed in the deferred renderer update. Instead, use LightmappedGeneric, which, in Black Mesa Black Mesa, has all the features of WorldVertexTransition.

Caveats

Note.pngNote:You can also use $vertexalpha to create a material that fades out. This uses the first $basetexture then fades out with the blend. Unfortunately, it is treated the same as a material with $translucent and can have sorting issues with other transparency objects.
Note.pngNote:This shader now only works on displacements. If used on a regular brush, VBSP will generate and pack a LightmappedGeneric version of the material automatically, discarding the secondary texture.
Note.pngNote:The shader LightmappedGeneric does texture blending as well and supports many of the same features as this shader.
Confirm.pngConfirm: Does WorldVertexTransition support any features that LightmappedGeneric does not?
Icon-Bug.pngBug:$blendmodulatetexture does not display in hammer despite the shader LightmappedGeneric displaying it correctly. Instead it displays a linear blend. This has been fixed in Garry's Mod
Blank image.pngTodo: This shader was significantly upgraded in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with new parameters, a new layer blending mode, drop shadows, and support for layer-specific detail textures and specular masks. Document these.

Example

WorldVertexTransition
{
	$basetexture nature/dirtfloor006a
	$surfaceprop dirt

	$basetexture2 nature/rockfloor005a
	$surfaceprop2 rock

	%tooltexture nature/blendrockgrass004a_tooltexture
}
  • Some visual effects can be selectively applied to one sub-material or the other. See the relevant articles for more details.
  • The Hammer material browser won't be able to display a preview of the material unless it's given a %tooltexture.

Supported Parameters

The first texture in the blend.
The second texture to blend to.
bumpmap for the first texture.
bumpmap for the second texture.
$blendmodulatetexture <texture> (in all games since Source 2006)
Modulate the blending between materials using a special texture.
Detail texturing. Applies the same detail texture to both materials. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, each layer can use their own detail texture.
Specular reflections. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, each layer can have their own specular mask.
Blank image.pngTodo: Might disable $blendmodulatetexture if both are used.
$lightwarptexture <texture> (in all games since Source 2006)
Per-texel color modification via a warp texture. Applies the lightwarp to both materials.
$seamless_scale <float> (in all games since Source 2007)
Mitigation for displacement texture stretching.
Self-illumination. Applies the self-illumination to both materials.
Blank image.pngTodo: Might disable $blendmodulatetexture if both are used.
$ssbump <boolean> (in all games since Source 2007)
Self-shadowing bumpmapping. If two bumpmaps are used, both must be self-shadowing bumpmaps in order for this to work properly.
Expensive and cheap transparency[Clarify]. Applies the transparency to both materials.
Causes the material to blend between the primary texture and full transparency. Automatically marks the material as $translucent. Requires $vertexcolor to be set to 1.
Adds the color of the pixels on the surface with the pixels of objects behind it.
$phong <boolean> (only in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive})
Diffuse reflections.
$layertint1 <color255> (only in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive)
SRGB tint layer 1.
$layertint2 <color255> (only in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive})
SRGB tint layer 2.
[[%detailtype|%detailtype]] <string>
Specifies what Detail props to spawn on the material. The string should be the name of a detail type outlined in "detail.vbsp" or your specified .vbsp file.
Note.pngNote:On some materials, the sprites only show up on $basetexture, but not on $basetexture2. This may also happen when you make your own blend material using rocks and grass. If rock is $basetexture, only the rock will have grass sprites, which looks odd.

See also