Brushes
Overview
Brushes are solid objects that cannot be modified or moved dynamically during gameplay, except if they have a break-point specified in the asset file, for example a breakable wooden shack.
Typically brushes are static objects placed in the world. They are one of the cheapest rendered objects in the world as they don't have any of the entity or physics overhead of other objects.
A large percentage of the visual structures in your worlds will probably be constructed using brushes.
Object Browser and Preview
The Browser pane shows the contents of the <root>\GameSDK\Objects.pak file (or more precisely, the <root>\GameSDK\Objects\*.* folder) and contains objects such as weapons, vehicles, and props.
The total number of files is listed at the bottom of the pane.
Filter
The Filter text box enables you to display objects with a selected keyword in the title. To use it, simply start typing into the filter box and the browser list will filter out any objects that don't match the current search.
The number of files matching the search will be displayed under the Filter text box.
Reload
Click Reload when you add a new object to the library, when you change an object in the DCC package and want the geometry to be updated, or to make the filter take effect.
Object Preview
A preview of the selected object will be displayed in this section.
Brush Params
Once you have placed a Brush in the level, select it to view its properties.
Brush Params are a basic set of parameters shared by all Brushes.
Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
Geometry | This option specifies the geometry that needs to be used for the object. |
NoCollision | Deprecated, see CollisionFiltering - Turn On/Off physical collision for the brush. |
CollisionFiltering Type | See Collision Classes for more information. |
CollisionFiltering Ignore | See Collision Classes for more information. |
OutdoorOnly | When this option is set, the object will not be rendered when inside a visarea. |
CastShadowMaps | When this option is set, the object will cast shadows onto other geometry/terrain/etc. |
RainOccluder | Set the brush to occlude rain, this works in conjunction with Rain Entity. |
SupportSecondVisarea | Normally, objects are considered to be in only one visarea. |
Hideable | When this option is set, AI will use this object as a hiding spot, using the specified hide point type. |
LodRatio | Defines how far from the current camera position, the different Level Of Detail models for the object are used. |
ViewDistRatio | Defines how far from the current camera position, the object can be seen. |
MeshIntegrationType | Deprecated |
NotTriangulate | Deprecated, Pre-MNM - When this option is set, this object will not be considered part of the AI triangulation system. |
AIRadius | Deprecated, Pre-MNM - This option specifies the radius that will be used for the object by the AI triangulation system. |
NoStaticDecals | When this option is set, decals will not project onto the object. |
NoAmnbShadowCaster | When this option is set, no ambient shadows will be cast. |
RecvWind | When this option is set, the object will be affected by the level wind. |
Bending | When RecvWind is checked and wind is setup in the level, this will define how much the brush is affected by wind. |
Occluder | Used for the construction of a level occlusion mesh. |
DrawLast | This function is exposed to give per-object control over alpha-sorting issues. An example can be seen below. |
DrawLast
The DrawLast checkbox gives designers per-object control over alpha-sorting issues such as particle effects in front of glass objects.
In the example seen below, the background glass dome panels use 50% opacity and are incorrectly rendered in front of the particle effect.
By setting DrawLast to true for the background dome object, the engine knows that any alpha based objects rendered between the player and itself should take ordering priority.
| DrawLast False | DrawLast True |
|---|