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Most brush-based and model-based (monsters, etc) point entities allow you to set their rendering properties. These are broken into four categories - Render FX ( renderfx ), Render Mode ( rendermode ), FX Amount ( renderamt ), and FX Color ( rendercolor ).
Render FX ( renderfx )
The Render FX control the visual behavior of the object. You have the following choices available to you:
- Normal ( 0 )
- Slow Pulse ( 1 )
- Fast Pulse ( 2 )
- Slow Wide Pulse ( 3 )
- Fast Wide Pulse ( 4 )
- Slow Fade Away ( 5 )
- Fast Fade Away ( 6 )
- Slow Become Solid ( 7 )
- Fast Become Solid ( 8 )
- Slow Strobe ( 9 )
- Fast Strobe ( 10 )
- Faster Strobe ( 11 )
- Slow Flicker ( 12 )
- Fast Flicker ( 13 )
- Constant Glow ( 14 )
- Distort ( 15 )
- Hologram (Distort + fade) ( 16 )
Render Mode ( rendermode )
The Render Mode value determines how the object is displayed. There are six render modes:
Normal ( 0 )
This is the default rendering mode.
Color ( 1 )
When this is selected, the object's textured appearance will be replaced with the color specified in the FX Color field. The amount of translucency can be controlled by the FX Amount value. This is not applicable to model-based point entities (monsters, etc).
Texture ( 2 )
This mode allows you to set the translucency of an object. The level of translucency is determined by the FX Amount value.
Glow ( 3 )
In conjunction with the env_glow entity, this lets you create the lenticular halos around light effects. The value of the FX Amount determines the translucency of the halo, and the FX Color determines its color.
Solid ( 4 )
This render mode is used in conjunction with masked textures ('{FENCE' for example). A func_wall (or other entity) that uses masked textures should have this render mode set, and the FX Amount set to 255.
Additive ( 5 )
This is quite similar to the Texture render mode, except that as you are able to see successive layers of the object, they are "added" together, producing more of an opaque and brighter look.
FX Amount ( renderamt )
The FX Amount is generally used to determine the level of translucency of an object. Its value can range from 0 to 255. A value of 0 renders the object invisible, and a value of 255 will render an object solid.
FX Color ( rendercolor )
For render modes that require it (Color and Glow), the FX Color will determine the color of the rendered object.
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19 is the classic doom/quake glowing effect wrapping a model. It takes FX color as the colour of the glow, and FX amount as the offset between the model and the glow aura. Note that in some render modes FX amount is also used to adjust opacity and sadly you can't separate the two when using FX 19 + off-normal mode.