Billboards

A billboard is a rectangular flat object that always faces the camera. Billboards are used instead of fully functional objects that are barely seen from far off and slightly change their position when the camera moves along them (e.g. clouds, stars, far away forests). Using billboards helps to simplify and speed up rendering.

For example, when you are adding a tree that is hardly seen from a distance, instead of creating a complex tree mesh just put an appropriate texture onto the alpha-tested billboard and it will make no visual difference at such a range.

Billboards

To create the billboards, perform the following steps:

On the Menu bar, click Create -> Billboards -> Base.
Place the billboards object somewhere in the world.
Specify the billboards parameters.

Depth sort	Indicates that billboards should be sorted in back-to-front order according to their position. This option should be enabled, if alpha blending is used for the billboard material (except for the additive blending).

In the Billboards tab you can create new billboards and tweak their settings.

Add	Adds a new billboard. After a new billboard is created, it can be selected in the list and repositioned using a standard manipulator.
Remove	Removes a billboard selected in the list.

Position	Moves the billboard along X, Y and Z axes, respectively.
ScaleX ScaleY	Scale values scale the texture on the selected billboard along X and Y axes, for example: If ScaleX is set to 2, there will be two texture tiles widthways.
TranslateX TranslateY	Translate values offset the texture on the selected billboard along X and Y. With these parameters, an arbitrary point of the texture can be set as the top left corner of the billboard, for example: If TranslateX is set to 0.5, the texture is repositioned to the left (so that the edge of the texture is rendered in the center of billboard).
Width	Width of the rectangle for the selected billboard.
Height	Height of the rectangle for the selected billboard.
Angle	Angle to orientate the selected billboard.

Generator allows you to automatically create a specified number of billboards and randomly scatter them within an arbitrary mesh volume. After that, they will appear in the list in the Billboards tab and can be repositioned, if necessary. If a texture atlas is used, each of the created billboards will be randomly assigned one of texture slots.

Count	The number of billboards to create and scatter.
Width	If a texture atlas is used, Width specifies the number of slots horizontally. If a simple texture is used, this value should be 1.
Height	If a texture atlas is used, Height specifies the number of slots vertically. If a simple texture is used, this value should be 1.
Radius Spread	The size of the square billboards to be created. Spread defines the range for possible variation of the Radius: The higher the value, the more different size the created billboards will have. (See how it is calculated in detail here.) If set to 0, all billboards will be of equal size.
Aspect Spread	The ratio of width to height. This option is used to create rectangular billboards. If Aspect is set to 0.5, the width of the billboards will be twice their height. If Aspect is set to 2, the height of the billboards will be twice their width. Spread defines the range for possible variation of the Aspect: The higher the value, the more different aspects the created billboards will have. (See how it is calculated in detail here.) If set to 0, all billboards will be of equal (square) size.
Angle Spread	Angle of orientation. Spread defines the range for possible variation of the Angle: The higher the value, the more differently the created billboards will be oriented. (See how it is calculated in detail here.) If set to 0, all billboards will stand straight.
Bound	A mesh that determines the volume within which billboards will be generated. The mesh itself is not rendered.
Create	Create new billboards and scatter them within the mesh volume. If a texture atlas is used, each of the created billboards will be randomly assigned one of the texture slots.
Clear	Remove all billboards in the list at once.

In This Article:

Creating Billboards#

Billboards Parameters#

Billboards Options#

Generator#