Notch Notch Manual 0.9.23
 Light | Dark
Sky Light

Sky Light

Add a dome of light to provide lighting from every angle. Best used with an enviroment image.

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Method #

This node simulates a dome/sky light by surrounding the scene with a large number of shadow-casting spotlights positioned on the dome pointing inwards. This allows the skylight to be rendered efficiently, although it may still be too slow for real-time use in many scenes. To increase efficiency the spotlight shadow maps can be cached and only a subset updated per frame. This reduces render time significantly but reduces responsiveness to animation.

Turn on deferred rendering on the root node to enable the skylight.

All nodes connected to this node are treated as if flowing to the parent node, and inherits any transformation changes along the chain.

Parameters

These properties control the core behaviours of the node.

ParameterDetails
OmnidirectionalWhen enabled, light emits from all directions inward. When disabled, light only emits from above.
BrightnessBrightness of the skylight.
SkyDome RadiusRadius of the skylight.
Dome Vertical WeightBalances the weighting of the sides and the top of the dome - to blend between a true dome effect and a more ambient-occlusion-like look.
Shadow BiasIncreasing the shadow bias can improve the accuracy of grounding objects to their shadows.
Apply DiffuseEnable / disable diffuse lighting for a Sky Light.
Apply SpecularEnable / disable specular lighting for a Sky Light.
Apply RefractedSkylight Rays can move through translucent surfaces.
Num Sample DirectionsNumber of directions sampled for the skylight.
Shadow Map SizeSize of the shadow map for each direction sampled.
Num Sample Direction Renders Per FrameHow many directions are sampled per frame. Lower values increase efficiency, but changes in the scene may not be reflected immediately.
DynamicToggles off dynamic sampling which aids performance.
RaytraceThis will enable raytracing in the skylight. Only works with raytracing enabled in the Root node.
Raytraced SamplesHow many samples will be taken per frame for raytracing. Best used with continuous refinement enabled and the RT Refinement Node.
Translucent Raytraced ShadowsAllows translucent shadows to be generated by Glass Materials.
Visible Sky DomeGenerates a visible sky box around the light scene.

Inputs

NameDescriptionTypical Input
ObjectsSelect which objects should be affected by the skylight.3D Object
Environment MapAdd an environment map to control the colour of the skylight.Environment Map
Point CacheUse a point cache to improve the accuracy of the Lighting in your scene. Not used when Ray Tracing is enabled.Point Cache
Transform ModifiersApply the transforms of another node to this node.Null
Target NodeModifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input.Null
Local Transform OverrideApply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent.Null