Reflective Displace material

A reflective material with ray traced or environment mapped reflections and displacement using noise and/or mapping.

See also: Materials , Texture

This reflective material can be used for any polished material. There is an option for mapping the specular color. There are options for both ray traced or environment mapped reflections, as well as an option for masking parts of the reflections.

Parameters

Surface

Ambient Intensity

A multiplier for the ambient contribution to the material. The ambient lighting model only looks at the ambient lights in the scene. If there are no ambient light, this slider will have no affect.

Lambert Intensity

A multiplier for the diffuse contribution to the material. Typically highly reflective materials have very little diffuse, so this value should be low. Most of the color comes from the specular and/or the reflections.

Use Base Color

If this box is not checked, the Base Color is ignored. Defaults to on. If Use Base Color, Use Point Color and Use Color Map are all off, the surface color will be white.

Base Color

This is the main surface color for the material. Defaults to white.

Use Point Color

If this box is checked, the point color, (Cd), if defined, is multiplied with the Base Color. Defaults to on. If Use Base Color, Use Point Color and Use Color Map are all off, the surface color will be white.

Opacity

The opacity color for this material.

Use Point Alpha

If set, the Alpha attributes will be multiplied into the final Opacity. If no Alpha Attribute exists, Opacity is unaffected.

Color Map

Use Color Map

If this box is checked the Base Color is multiplied by the specified texture map. Defaults to off. If Use Base Color, Use Point Color and Use Color Map are all off, the surface color will be white.

Base Color Map

This the name of the texture file. The icon to the right opens a file browser.

Color Map Wrap

Determines what the texture looks like when the texture coordinates are larger or less than 0 to 1. The options are:

  • Repeat means the texture will repeat (tile).

  • Streak means the texture color at the edges is clamped and streaks outside the map.

  • Decal sets the color outside the texture map to the Border Color.

See texture for more information.

Color Map Filter

Type of anti-aliasing filter used. See texture for more information.

Color Map Width

This is the width in pixels used by the filter in both u and v directions. See texture for more information.

Color Map Border

The color used when Decal wrapping is selected.

Specular

Specular Intensity

A multiplier for the specular contribution to the material.

Specular Color

The specular highlight color. Traditionally highly reflective shaders have the same color for the specular highlight as the Base Color, maybe a little less saturated.

U Roughness

This value controls the size or spread of the specular highlight. If Anisotropic is selected, this value controls the specular highlight in only the U direction.

V Roughness

When Anisotropic is selected, this value controls the specular highlight in only the V direction. It is ignored with any other specular function.

Sharpness

This value controls the sharpness of the edge of the specular highlight. It is used only if Glossy specular is selected.

Specular Type

A selector for the specular function. Glossy is typically used for reflective materials to get the sharp highlight common to highly polished surfaces. See specular for more information.

Specular Map

Use Specular Map

If this box is checked, the specular color is multiplied by the texture in Specular Map. Defaults to off.

Specular Map

This the name of the texture file. The icon to the right opens a file browser.

Spec Map Wrap

Determines what the texture looks like when the texture coordinates are larger or less than 0 to 1. The options are:

  • Repeat means the texture will repeat (tile).

  • Streak means the texture color at the edges is clamped and streaks outside the map.

  • Decal sets the color outside the texture map to the Border Color.

See texture for more information.

Spec Map Filter

Type of anti-aliasing filter used. See texture for more information.

Spec Map Width

This is the width in pixels used by the filter in both u and v directions. See texture for more information.

Spec Map Border

The color used when Decal wrapping is selected. See texture for more information.

Reflections

Reflection Intensity

A multiplier to lower or brighten the reflections' contribution to the material.

Reflection Color

The tint for the reflections. Traditionally the reflections in reflective surfaces are tinted with the same color as the Base Color.

Ray Trace

Use Ray Trace

If this box is checked, ray tracing is used to calculate the reflection contribution.

Defaults to on.

Use Index of Refraction

If this box is checked, the index of refection is taken in account in the ray tracing calculation. Defaults to on.

Index of Refraction

This value is the ratio of the speed of light in one medium, such as air, to that of another medium. This determines how much the ray bends as it passes from air into another material. Higher values tend to "push" the reflections towards the edges.

Ray Bias

This is typically a small number used to help solve self-intersection issues.

Jitter Amount

This is a value between 0, no jitter and 1, maximum jitter. It controls how randomly the samples are distributed.

Cone Angle

The size of the cone (in degrees) over which samples are distributed.

Samples

The number samples to calculate. The more samples, the better the quality, the slower the render.

Background Color

This color is returned when the ray does not hit anything and there is no environment map specified.

Environment Map

Environment Map

If there is the path to a texture here and ray trace is turned off, then this map is used to calculate the reflection contribution. If ray trace is on and there is a texture, then the texture color is returned, when the ray does not hit anything. Without a texture here, the Background Color is returned when the ray misses. It is recommended to have a texture path in this slot. The background image as a texture is a good choice to start.

Env Map Wrap

Determines what the texture looks like when the texture coordinates are larger or less than 0 to 1. The options are:

  • Repeat means the texture will repeat (tile).

  • Streak means the texture color at the edges is clamped and streaks outside the map.

  • Decal sets the color outside the texture map to the Border Color.

See envmap for more information.

Env Map Filter

Type of anti-aliasing filter used. See envmap for more information.

Env Map Width

This is the width in pixels used by the filter in both u and v directions. See envmap for more information.

Env Map Border

The color used when Decal wrapping is selected. See envmap for more information.

Env Map Space

The reflection ray used to do the look up in the map is transformed into this space. See envmap for more information.

Use Faux Fresnel

If the box is checked, normal falloff is used to give an inexpensive Fresnel effect to environment mapped reflections.

Faux Fresnel Bias

  • At 1 the reflections become stronger towards the edges linearly.

  • For values greater than 1, the reflections are pushed out towards the edges.

  • For values less than 1, the reflection are less visible in the middle.

  • Zero (0) will have no affect.

Reflection Mask

Use Reflection Mask

If this box is checked, the reflection intensity is multiplied by the selected channel of in Reflection Mask. Defaults to off.

Reflection Mask

This the name of the texture file. The icon to the right opens a file browser.

Refl Mask Channel

Picks which channel of the texture is used for the mask. This allows using the one map for 3 masks. The default is lum which uses the luminance of all the channels in the texture as the mask.

Refl Mask Wrap

Determines what the texture looks like when the texture coordinates are larger or less than 0 to 1. The options are:

  • Repeat means the texture will repeat (tile).

  • Streak means the texture color at the edges is clamped and streaks outside the map.

  • Decal sets the color outside the texture map to the Border Color.

See texture for more information.

Refl Mask Filter

Type of anti-aliasing filter used. See texture for more information.

Refl Mask Width

This is the width in pixels used by the filter in both u and v directions. See texture for more information.

Refl Mask Border

The color used when Decal wrapping is selected. See texture for more information.

Displacement

Overall scale

Controls the overall scale of the rough areas.

Displacement Offset

This selector chooses how the values from the map or the noise are displaced.

  • displace up:

there is no displacement where the map is black; where the map is white; the displacement is away from the surface.

  • displace up and down:

there is no displacement where the map is 0.5 gray; where the map is white; the displacement is away from the surface. where the map is black; the displacement is into the surface.

  • displace down:

there is no displacement where the map is white; where the map is black; the displacement is into the surface.

Displacement Map

Use Displace Map

If this box is checked the specified texture map used for the displacement. Defaults to on. If there is no map, there is no displacement.

Displacement Map

This the name of the texture file. The icon to the right opens a file browser.

Disp Map Wrap

Determines what the map returns when the texture coordinates are larger than 1 or less than 0. The options are:

  • Repeat means the texture will repeat (tile).

  • Streak means the texture color at the edges is clamped and streaks outside the map.

  • Decal sets the color outside the texture map to the Border Color.

See texture for more information.

Disp Map Filter

Type of anti-aliasing filter used. See texture for more information.

Disp Map Width

This is the width in pixels used by the filter in both u and v directions. See texture for more information.

Disp Map Border

The color used outside the map if Decal Wrap is selected.

Noise

Noise Frequency

The scale of the noise pattern. Larger values give smaller, but not more detailed, patterns. Smaller values will benefit from higher Turbulence numbers. See turbulent for more information.

Noise Offset

This vector positions the noise on the object in x, y and z. See turbulent for more information.

Noise Amplitude

The bounds of noise function, in the case of original Perlin noise, -1 to 1, are multiplied by this value to determine the amount of displacement. Then this value is multiplied by the Overall Scale. See turbulent for more information.

Noise Roughness

This value sharpens or softens the edges of the noise. Lower values are softer, higher values sharper. Sharper edges may cause aliasing issues in motion. See turbulent for more information.

Noise Attenuation

This value shifts the median value of the noise. Values greater than 1, will dampen the noise down, whereas values less than 1 will sharpen the contrast between the noise values. See turbulent for more information.

Noise Turbulence

This value controls the amount of details in the noise. This is the number of times the noise function is called and summed. If the Frequency is high, there is no need for much detail, 1 or 2 should be plenty. This can effects the Amplitude of the noise as well since the summing will result in higher base values. See turbulent for more information.

Limit Mask

Use Displace Mask

If this box is checked, the Overall Scale is multiplied by the texture map in Displacement Mask. Defaults to off.

Displacement Mask

This the name of the mask file. The icon to the right opens a file browser.

Mask Channel Select

Picks which channel of the texture is used for the mask. This allows using the one map for 3 masks. The default is lum which uses the luminance of all the channels in the texture as the mask.

Limit Mask Wrap

Determines what the texture looks like when the texture coordinates are larger or less than 0 to 1. The options are:

  • Repeat means the texture will repeat (tile).

  • Streak means the texture value at the edges is clamped and streaks outside the map.

  • Decal sets the color outside the texture map to the Border Color.

See texture for more information.

Limit Mask Filter

Type of anti-aliasing filter used. See texture for more information.

Limit Mask Width

This is the width in pixels used by the filter in both u and v directions. See texture for more information.

Limit Mask Border

The color used outside the map if Decal Wrap is selected. This should be selected based on the Displacement Offset.

Properties

Displacement Bounds

Usually tying this value to the displacement Overall Scale should work well. However making the displacement bounds as small as possible, without causing "rips" in the render, can lower render times. See render properties for more information.

Displacement Space

The space in which you specify displacement bounds. The default, "Bounds specified in object space" is the recommended value.

  • object Displacements occur in object space.

  • camera Displacements occur in camera space.

  • world Displacements currently an alias for camera.

True Displacements

When running displacement shaders, whether the VEX variable P is actually moved (true displacement) or whether bump mapping will be performed.