shader_environment

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Environment shaders are intended for opaque and alpha-tested surfaces in BSPs. A key feature of this shader is its ability to blend between two detail maps, making it ideal for outdoor ground shaders. It also supports cubemaps, normal maps, and masked specularity which can be used for metallic surfaces like Forerunner structures.

When the "is alpha tested" flag is checked, the normal map's alpha channel can be used to mask the material. In this case, the material is either fully opaque or fully transparent depending on the alpha value. The billboard trees outside Timberland make use of this feature.

Use by gbxmodels

When a gbxmodel references this shader type it will not render correctly in Custom Edition due to renderer bugs. Some affected scenery include the teleporter base and human barricades.

It is not recommended to use this shader type for custom objects when targeting Custom Edition.

Structure and fields

This tag inherits fields from shader which are not shown here. See the parent's page for more information. The following information is unique to the shader_environment tag.

Field Type Comments
shader environment flags bitfield
Flag Mask Comments
alpha tested 0x1
bump map is specular mask 0x2
true atmospheric fog 0x4
shader environment type enum
Option Value Comments
normal 0x0
blended 0x1
blended base specular 0x2
lens flare spacing float

Determines how far apart BSP lens flares are generated, in world units, along a surface part using this shader. If set to 0, a single lens flare will be created at the center of the surface.
lens flare

TagDependency: lens_flare

References the lens flare to be rendered at the generated lens flare markers. If empty, no lens flares will be generated.
diffuse flags bitfield
Flag Mask Comments
rescale detail maps 0x1
rescale bump map 0x2
base map

TagDependency: bitmap
detail map function enum
Option Value Comments
double biased multiply 0x0
multiply 0x1
double biased add 0x2
primary detail map scale float
  • Default: 1
primary detail map

TagDependency: bitmap
secondary detail map scale float
  • Default: 1
secondary detail map

TagDependency: bitmap
micro detail map function enum?
micro detail map scale float
  • Default: 1
micro detail map

TagDependency: bitmap
material color ColorRGB
Field Type Comments
red float
green float
blue float
bump map scale float
  • Default: 1
bump map

TagDependency: bitmap
bump map scale xy Point2D
  • Cache only
Field Type Comments
x float
y float
u animation function enum
Option Value Comments
one 0x0
zero 0x1
cosine 0x2
cosine variable period 0x3
diagonal wave 0x4
diagonal wave variable period 0x5
slide 0x6
slide variable period 0x7
noise 0x8
jitter 0x9
wander 0xA
spark 0xB
u animation period float
  • Unit: seconds
  • Default: 1
u animation scale float
  • Unit: base map repeats
  • Default: 1
v animation function enum?
v animation period float
  • Unit: seconds
  • Default: 1
v animation scale float
  • Unit: base map repeats
  • Default: 1
self illumination flags bitfield
Flag Mask Comments
unfiltered 0x1
primary on color ColorRGB?
primary off color ColorRGB?
primary animation function enum?
primary animation period float
  • Unit: seconds
  • Default: 1
primary animation phase float
  • Unit: seconds
secondary on color ColorRGB?
secondary off color ColorRGB?
secondary animation function enum?
secondary animation period float
  • Unit: seconds
  • Default: 1
secondary animation phase float
  • Unit: seconds
plasma on color ColorRGB?
plasma off color ColorRGB?
plasma animation function enum?
plasma animation period float
  • Unit: seconds
  • Default: 1
plasma animation phase float
  • Unit: seconds
map scale float
  • Default: 1
map

TagDependency: bitmap
specular flags bitfield
Flag Mask Comments
overbright 0x1
extra shiny 0x2
lightmap is specular 0x4
brightness float
  • Min: 0
  • Max: 1
perpendicular color ColorRGB?
parallel color ColorRGB?
reflection flags bitfield
Flag Mask Comments
dynamic mirror 0x1
reflection type enum
Option Value Comments
bumped cube map 0x0
flat cube map 0x1
bumped radiosity 0x2
lightmap brightness scale float
  • Min: 0
  • Max: 1
perpendicular brightness float
  • Min: 0
  • Max: 1
parallel brightness float
  • Min: 0
  • Max: 1
reflection cube map

TagDependency: bitmap

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the following individuals for their research or contributions to this topic:

  • Kavawuvi (Invader tag definitions)
  • MosesOfEgypt (Tag structure research)