Documentation/Tools/SCS Blender Tools/Supported shaders

With version 1.0 Blender Tools are presenting flavors in materials. Flavors are used for common passes in more shaders. Depending on each shader different flavors can be enabled on it.

Shader preset list now includes only base shader types, which can be later altered with switching different flavors on and off. That's why this page now resembles base shader types and flavors description.

Base Shader Types

building.add.env.day

Use this material if you want your building windows to reflect at day-time and be lit at night. It shall be more or less used on distant "panorama" buildings as they don't need advanced features from #window.day / #window.night.

It effectively switches two materials depending on the time of the day. During the day it uses #dif.spec.add.env material with texture for reflections and at night switches to #dif.lum.spec in order for windows to light at the night.

The texture must have alpha channel on places where it should have reflections and light at night.

building.day

Same as #building.add.env.day without reflection component.

It effectively switches two materials depending on the time of the day. During the day it uses #dif.spec material where alpha is used as specular map and at night switches to #dif.lum.spec in order for windows to light at the night.

building.lvcol.day

Same as #building.day with extra multiplication of vertex color.

During the day vertex color is multiplying specular map, on the other hand during the night vertex color is multiplying luminance.

decalshadow

Used for transparent static baked shadows. Color of surfaces is put together from the base texture multiplied with material diffuse and vertex color.

On the other hand transparency is donated by multiplication of vertex color alpha and base texture alpha channel.

dif

This is one of the most basic shader with diffuse and specular light featuring one texture. Specular light is used directly from value specified in material.

Useful Flavor Combinations

1. "dif.a" - the areas on geometries where texture has alpha value 0 will be transparent. Example usage: grills, railings and ladders on far buildings.
2. "dif.shadow" - uses geometry also as shadow caster. This type of shader shall be used only in the case of complex animated geometries, because cost of animation calculation may be greater than calculating shadows directly on high poly mesh.
3. "dif.shadow.a" - is a combination of "dif.shadow" and "dif.a" which means that areas of geometry which will be transparent also won't cast shadows. This shader may be used for fences models which shall beside begin transparent also cast shadows.
4. "dif.over" - in this case alpha map represent transparency blending of material, where alpha with value 0 means completely transparent and alpha with value 255 means non transparent.