Common Node Settings and Controls

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These settings and controls will not necessarily be present in every node but are common to many of them. The behaviour is the same for every node which features a given control unless otherwise noted.

Enable (check box) – Controls whether the currently selected node is enabled. Disabling a node will usually “bypass” it, allowing data to pass through unaffected so that the scene will still render properly, but without the effect of that node.

Name (text field) - Sets the display name for that node. Currently node names must be unique. Creating duplicate names will cause unpredictable behaviour.

Internal network display (button) – Click to display the node network inside the currently selected node. The internal network will be displayed in the last focused network view.

Internal network button.jpg
[Internal network display button]


Preview (button) - Click to open a preview for the node in a new window.

Preview button.jpg
[Preview button]


Blend by shader (check box) – Controls whether the blending shader is enabled. A blend shader essentially masks the output of the current node. [explain this better]

Blend shader name (text field) – Here you can enter the full name of the shader you want to use as a blend shader for the current node.

Blend shader list (button) – Click this button to display a list of shaders available for assignment to the blend function of the current node.

Shader list button.jpg
[Blend shader list button]


Fit blendshader to this (check box) – Need more info.

Invert blendshader (check box) – Inverts the input of the blend shader so that it masks areas opposite to its normal affect.

A single object or device in the node network which generates or modifies data and may accept input data or create output data or both, depending on its function. Nodes usually have their own settings which control the data they create or how they modify data passing through them. Nodes are connected together in a network to perform work in a network-based user interface. In Terragen 2 nodes are connected together to describe a scene.

A shader is a program or set of instructions used in 3D computer graphics to determine the final surface properties of an object or image. This can include arbitrarily complex descriptions of light absorption and diffusion, texture mapping, reflection and refraction, shadowing, surface displacement and post-processing effects. In Terragen 2 shaders are used to construct and modify almost every element of a scene.