ReflectionProbe

Inherits: VisualInstance < CullInstance < Spatial < Node < Object Captures its surroundings to create fast, accurate reflections from a given point.

Description

Capture its surroundings as a dual paraboloid image, and stores versions of it with increasing levels of blur to simulate different material roughnesses. ReflectionProbe is used to create high-quality reflections at a low performance cost (when update_mode is UPDATE_ONCE). ReflectionProbes can be blended together and with the rest of the scene smoothly. ReflectionProbes can also be combined with GIProbe and screen-space reflections (Environment.ss_reflections_enabled) to get more accurate reflections in specific areas. ReflectionProbes render all objects within their cull_mask, so updating them can be quite expensive. It is best to update them once with the important static objects and then leave them as-is. Note: Unlike GIProbe, ReflectionProbes only source their environment from a WorldEnvironment node. If you specify an Environment resource within a Camera node, it will be ignored by the ReflectionProbe. This can lead to incorrect lighting within the ReflectionProbe. Note: By default, Godot will only render 16 reflection probes. If you need more, increase the number of atlas subdivisions. This setting can be found in ProjectSettings.rendering/quality/reflections/atlas_subdiv. Note: The GLES2 backend will only display two reflection probes at the same time for a single mesh. If possible, split up large meshes that span over multiple reflection probes into smaller ones.

Tutorials

  • Reflection probes

    Properties

    Enumerations

    UpdateMode:
  • UPDATE_ONCE = 0 —- Update the probe once on the next frame (recommended for most objects). The corresponding radiance map will be generated over the following six frames. This takes more time to update than UPDATE_ALWAYS, but it has a lower performance cost and can result in higher-quality reflections. The ReflectionProbe is updated when its transform changes, but not when nearby geometry changes. You can force a ReflectionProbe update by moving the ReflectionProbe slightly in any direction.
  • UPDATE_ALWAYS = 1 —- Update the probe every frame. This provides better results for fast-moving dynamic objects (such as cars). However, it has a significant performance cost. Due to the cost, it’s recommended to only use one ReflectionProbe with UPDATE_ALWAYS at most per scene. For all other use cases, use UPDATE_ONCE.

    Property Descriptions

  • bool box_projection true, enables box projection. This makes reflections look more correct in rectangle-shaped rooms by offsetting the reflection center depending on the camera’s location. Note: To better fit rectangle-shaped rooms that are not aligned to the grid, you can rotate the ReflectionProbe node.
  • int cull_mask VisualInstance with a layer included in this cull mask will be rendered by the probe. To improve performance, it is best to only include large objects which are likely to take up a lot of space in the reflection.
  • bool enable_shadows true, computes shadows in the reflection probe. This makes the reflection probe slower to render; you may want to disable this if using the UPDATE_ALWAYS update_mode.
  • Vector3 extents The size of the reflection probe. The larger the extents the more space covered by the probe which will lower the perceived resolution. It is best to keep the extents only as large as you need them. Note: To better fit areas that are not aligned to the grid, you can rotate the ReflectionProbe node.
  • float intensity Defines the reflection intensity. Intensity modulates the strength of the reflection.
  • Color interior_ambient_color interior_enable.
  • float interior_ambient_contrib interior_enable. Useful so that ambient light matches the color of the room.
  • float interior_ambient_energy interior_enable.
  • bool interior_enable true, reflections will ignore sky contribution. Ambient lighting is then controlled by the interior_ambient_* properties.
  • float max_distance ReflectionProbe an object can be before it is culled. Decrease this to improve performance, especially when using the UPDATE_ALWAYS update_mode. Note: The maximum reflection distance is always at least equal to the extents. This means that decreasing max_distance will not always cull objects from reflections, especially if the reflection probe’s extents are already large.
  • Vector3 origin_offset ReflectionProbe is in box_projection mode. This can be set to a non-zero value to ensure a reflection fits a rectangle-shaped room, while reducing the amount of objects that “get in the way” of the reflection.
  • UpdateMode update_mode ReflectionProbe is updated. Can be UPDATE_ONCE or UPDATE_ALWAYS.