Material Editor (Experimental)

• Material Graph Samples

Controls in the Material Editor generally match the controls of other tools in the UnigineEditor. For example, the material graph can be navigated as with other linked object editors, the material preview mesh can be oriented as per other mesh tools, etc.

A port defines an input (left side) or output (right side) of a node. Connecting edges to a port allows data to flow through the Material Graph node network.

Each port has a data type defining edges that can be connected to it. All data types are color-coded, meaning that each of them has an associated color used for identification.

Only one edge can be connected to any input port but you can connect multiple edges to an output port.

Each input port has a default input. This is displayed as a small field attached to the port when there is no edge connected to it.

An edge represents a connection between two ports (input and output). Edges define how data flows through the Material Graph node network. You can only connect an edge from an output port to an input port.

Each edge has a data type defining ports it can be connected to. Color coding for ports and edges is the same.

A new edge is created by dragging from a desired output port to the desired input port. Dragging an edge from the input Port creates a default input value for the corresponding parameter. To remove an edge select it with the left mouse button and hit Delete.

Port adapter is a feature giving you an ability to select data components in an arbitrary order, combine and rearrange them, providing convenient access to elements and a lot of flexibility. It is available for the following 3D related data types:

When you drag a new edge to an input port, a number of available connection options shall appear.

You can change the adapter later by selecting a port and editing the Swizzle field

In order to add a new node right-click on the background, choose Create Node and select a node type from the popup or type its name in the Search field to find it. You can also press Space or Tab key to start typing the name immediately.

Sometimes you need to perform certain actions multiple times, cloning the relevant groups of nodes will make your graph overcomplicated very quickly, even if only 10 iterations are required. In UNIGINE you can create loops for that just like in programming.

To create a loop simply hit Space or Tab on the keyboard and choose Create Loop. Two connected nodes (Loop Input and Loop Output) will be created. The Output node has the break input and output ports by default (the default break condition is 1)

To add a new port, select the Input or Output node, depending on the type of the port you want to add, then right-click and choose Add Slot from the popup menu. Then in the dialog that opens specify a Name and a Type for the new port to be added, and click Add.

So, you add ports for all necessary input and output parameters of your loop and build a loop graph implementing the functionality of a single iteration, then you add break condition, implement loop variable management (increment, decrement, etc.), initialize necessary ports and your loop becomes functional!

No matter how advanced the materials system is, you might want something specific, maybe too complicated to be implemented via basic nodes. Or sometimes it might be quicker to write several lines of code for mathematical operations instead of spawning a bunch of nodes and connecting them. The solution is simple - create an Inline Source Function node and wrap any shader function into it. Input and output ports for the node shall be automatically generated according to the function's signature.

To add or edit code to the node right-click on the node and choose Edit, the Code Editor window will open:

Sometimes, especially in complex material graphs, there are too many crisscrossing edges making the whole graph look like a spiderweb, and the data flow very hard to understand. A portal is a set of special nodes including a single input and one or more outputs, all having the same name. Portals serve to reduce the number of edges and make the graph more 'readable'.

You can quickly find all the points connected by a portal:

• To select portal's input right-click on one of its output nodes and choose Select input.
• To select portal's outputs right-click on its input node and choose Select outputs.

To add a new port, select the Input or Output node, depending on the type of the port you want to add, and right-click anywhere in the Node Editor and choose Add Slot from the popup menu. Then in the dialog that opens specify a Name and a Type for the new port to be added, and click Add.

You can modify existing ports, change their names and types at any time, in the Selection Properties panel, when the Input or Output node is selected. To remove a port simply click Remove above its name.

To add a subgraph to your material graph currently opened in the Editor, simply drag the subgraph asset from the Asset Browser directly to the Material Editor and connect necessary edges to input and output ports of the subgraph.

There is a set of core subgraphs implementing basic functionality (like contrast, refract, object_triplanar, etc.) stored in the core/nodes folder. All of these subgraphs are automatically added to the palette on loading the UnigineEditor, so if your start typing a name of such a subgraph in the search field of the node creation menu, it will be displayed in the list.