#Default Material Map Properties

The default material map uses a physically based rendering (PBR) model. If you've already worked with PBR materials before, you likely already have enough knowledge to work with the default material. If not, there are also a lot of resources available online about this.

But with that out of the way. Here's a brief overview of how the default material map properties work in the context of Renda.

#Albedo

Albedo controls the main color of your object. It essentially determines how much light is absorbed by the material. The Albedo Adjust property functions as a multiplier to the texture that you provided.

When no Albedo Texture is specified, a completely white texture is used internally. This allows you to set the exact color using the Albedo Adjust property.

#Metallic

Metallic controls how much your material looks like a metal. A value of 0 indicates that the material is not metallic at all, such as plastic, wood, or stone. And a value of 1 indicates that the material is completely metallic such as steel, iron, or gold.

It is also possible to set this value to something between 0 and 1. In the real world, particles are usually either metallic or nonmetallic. But if the particles that make up your object are small enough, and your object consists of both metallic and nonmetallic particles, you can use a value between 0 and 1.

The Metallic Adjust property also functions as a multiplier on top of the metallic texture. While it is possible to adjust the looks of your metallic texture, this property is mostly intended for when no texture has been provided.

#Roughness

Roughness controls how smooth the surface of the material is. A rough surface means more of the light rays that come in are bounced in a different direction. Whereas a more smooth surface could make the material almost look like a mirror.

#Metallic Roughness Texture

A single texture and sampler are used to control the metallic and roughness. Renda follows the glTF spec and uses the blue channel for the metallic value, and the green channel for the roughness value.

#Normal

A normal texture allows you to adjust in which direction the surface is pointing, without the need to add extra geometry to your mesh. This can be a very effective way to achieve a high level of detail while staying performant.

The 'Normal Scale' property adjusts how much of an effect the normal texture has. When no normal texture is provided this property does nothing.