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Graphics Extensions

Graphics Extensions

May 06, 2024

This page contains information about our legacy OpenGL renderer. It does not apply if you are using our newer Vulkan renderer.
In the future, the OpenGL renderer will be removed from Vortex Studio. If you require advanced graphics features for a training simulator, we suggest looking at using a third party graphics engine such as Unity™ or Unreal™.

These are the following categories of effects that you can apply in Vortex®:

  • Particle effects: Used to simulate a large number of very small objects, such as a cloud of dust.

  • Image effects: Used to affect the look of the simulation, not the physics. Note that since they involve calculations, image effects do impact performance.

Adding an effect

  1. Select Effects in the Toolbox.

  2. Click the desired effect and drag it into the 3D View.

  3. Edit the name of the effect.

  4. If adding a particle effect, attach and/or place it using the transform controls.

Color Grading

The Color Grading extension allows you to alter and enhance the colors of your scene. It can only be added at the Scene level.

Color Grading modifies the colors represented on the screen by applying a tone mapping function (i.e., bringing high dynamic range back to low dynamic range for the monitor to render the pixels) and a color correction transformation.

This feature is meant for advanced users comfortable with color correction theory.

In the Properties panel, configure the following fields:

  • Color LUT: Color correction is implemented through a 256x16 image/color lookup table (LUT). After tone mapping is applied (see next bullet point), the LDR color from the scene is replaced by its related color from the LUT.

    To add multiple presets LUTs (including sepia and warm LUTs), right-click the Color Grading extension in the Explorer panel and select Insert Color Grading LUTs. Otherwise, another way to use this feature is to take a screenshot of a rendered image and modify it through graphics editing software, as well as modifying a neutral LUT in the same way, in order to create a mapping between the original colors and the modified ones. Add the LUT to your scene as a texture then link it to this field.

    Consider the following neutral LUT to use when applying filters:


    The following are some examples of modified LUTs:






    Thee

  • Tone Mapping: Used to map pixel colors, which are in high dynamic range (HDR) in Vortex, to the low dynamic range (LDR) used by monitors. HDR rendering allows Vortex to have a bigger light to dark ratio, making it possible to have strong lights and darker zones in the same scene.
    This extension defaults to a custom function, but the following tone mapping presets are available, each with their own adjustable settings:

    • Engine (default)

    • Hable

    • Linear

    • Dawson

    • Reinhard

  • Exposure: Value used to control the scene's color exposure, measured in time (seconds).

  • Exposure Bias: Value meant to overexpose or underexpose the colors, to better simulate the exposure effect of the human eye.

Some of the above fields require large values in order to be visibly different to the eye compared to their default levels.

Example

Consider the following images:


Image 1 : LDR causes a lighting bug on the roof of the car.


Image 2 : After HDR, the lighting bug is gone and there is a wider range of colors when combined with a tone mapping pass.


Image 3 : After applying Hable tone mapping with a high exposure level, the dark and light zones can be better seen.


Image 4 : Using a color LUT allows you to apply effects like color saturation. In this case, the image is the result of a sepia color LUT.

Decal

Placing a decal allows you to add a material on top of an object in your scene, mechanism or Graphics Gallery. After adding a decal, a box appears with an arrow inside. The decal box acts like a projector. Place the box over the object upon which you want the decal to appear, and orient the arrow to point in the desired direction using the rotation tools. The decal will be projected on a surface area inside of the decal box.

In the Properties panel, configure the following fields:

  • Local Transform: Use these fields to position, resize and orient the decal. You can also use the Transform toolbar or the manipulators in the 3D View.

  • Visible: Select this box to make the decal appear.

  • Receive Shadow: If selected, the decal will receive shadows cast by other objects.

  • Graphics Material: Click the details button in this field to select a graphics material from the Explorer panel to use as the decal.

  • Terrain Decal: Select this box to ensure the decal is only rendered on the terrain. In this way, the decal ignores non-terrain geometry, which is useful to avoid stamping terrain details on vehicles or other objects.

  • Override Normals: Select this box to make the decal override the normals beneath it, rather than blend with it. This is useful to draw details like puddles or access hole covers.

  • Directional Projection: When selected, the decal will only stamp on aligned surfaces. This is useful to avoid leaking decals on the sides of meshes, or to render snow accumulation, for example.


    Selecting this box reveals these parameters:

    • Maximum Surface Angle: Determines the maximum deviation (in degrees) of the surface upon which the decal is projected.

    • Fade Length: Sets the arc length (in degrees) of the decal fade past the maximum surface angle

Desaturate

Adding the Desaturate image effect removes color from the scene. In the Camera Name field, enter the name of a viewport in order to display it in greyscale.