Notch Reference Manual

Area Light

Method

Emit light from a rectangular area, giving a soft light across a scene. An image texture can be input to emit light from the image based on a texture.

Example
Nodegraph Example

Transform

Name Description
Position X Move its position along the x-axis in local space.
Position Y Move its position along the y-axis in local space.
Position Z Move its position along the z-axis in local space.
Rotation Heading Rotate the object about the y-axis.
Rotation Pitch Rotate the object about the x-axis.
Rotation Bank Rotate the object about the z-axis.
Scale X Scale along the x-axis.
Scale Y Scale along the y-axis.
Scale Z Scale along the z-axis.

Inherit Transform Channels

Toggle which transform channels should be inherited. By default, all are on.

Attributes

Name Description
Colour The colour of the light.
Light Cone Angle Change the size of the area the light covers.
Light Inner Cone Angle Change the inner angle of the lights focus.
Brightness How bright the light is.
Scattering Intensity How much the light is scattered in the scene, creating a bright area around the light.
Falloff Mode Change how the light falloff is calculated.
  • Inner / Outer Radius (Legacy), light falloff is calculated between the inner and outer radii.
  • Inv-Squared Distance (Physical), the light falloff is calculated based on a physically accurate system.
Inner Attenuation Distance Inner distance within which the light remains at full strength
Attenuation Distance Maximum distance the light reaches.
Falloff Power Change how strong the falloff for the light is between the Inner Attenuation Distance and the Attenuation Distance.
Double Sided Toggle whether light is emitted from both sides of the area light.
Visible Surface Toggle whether the Area Light Surface is visible to the light.
Show Light Cone Show a cone in the scene to represent the lights current position and rotation.

Shadows

Name Description
Casts Shadows Toggle whether baked shadows are applied to the objects lit by the light node.
Shadow Map Type Change how the shadow maps are calculated.
  • PCF (Standard), Generates harsher edged shadows.
  • Variance (Soft), Generates smooth, soft shadows.
  • Raytraced, Generates soft, transparent shadows.
Shadow Map Size Change the resolution of the shadow map.
Soften Shadows Toggle whether the shadows have soft edges.
Penumbra Softness Mode How the softness of the shadow penumbra is generated.
  • Constant, shadows have a constant penumbra, regardless of distance from the light.
  • Varying, the shadow penumbra is greater the further away it is from the light source.
Shadow Softness Change how much softness is applied to the shadow edges.
Apply Baked Shadows Toggle whether baked shadows are applied to the objects lit by the light node.
Z Bias How much of the shadow is displayed by the Z axis from the light
Parallel Projection Choose if the shadows are rendered parallel form each other.
Parallel Projection Area Choose if the shadows are rendered parallel form each other.

Inputs

Name Description Typical Node Input
Projection Image Add in an image to be projected by the light. Video Loader
Affected Nodes Choose which nodes are affected by the light node. by default, all are affected. 3D Object
Texture Projection Node Connect a node from which to project the image from. Only functions if an image is being projected from the light. Null
Multi-Source Controller Depreciated feature.
Transform Modifier Links all transform properties to the input node. Null
Target Node Always faces the x-axis towards the inputs anchor point. Null
Local Transform Override Override the transformation values of the node, relative to its parent. Null

Outputs

The outputs section for this node is currently being worked on.