# This file is automatically generated. Please don't edit it manually. # To submit a bug report on the content, see # https://devforum.roblox.com/c/bug-reports/documentation-issues/72 name: SurfaceAppearance type: class memory_category: Instances summary: | An object that allows developers to override the appearance of a MeshPart with advanced graphics options. description: | **SurfaceAppearance** objects let you override the appearance of a `Class.MeshPart` with advanced graphics options. Most notably, it can apply a set of **Physically‑Based Rendering** (PBR) texture images, or maps, on a single object. Combining multiple texture maps can more accurately simulate color, roughness, and reflectivity in any lighting environment and can enhance the visual elements of your assets and environment; see [PBR Textures](../../../art/modeling/surface-appearance.md) for more details.
A realistic leafy bush A realistic mossy rock
Appearance of this object on a `Class.MeshPart` depends on the user's device and graphics quality level. For best results, you may want to preview your content with different quality level settings. Note that most `Class.SurfaceAppearance` properties cannot be modified by scripts, as the necessary pre-processing is usually too expensive during runtime. code_samples: [] inherits: - Instance descendants: [] tags: [] deprecation_message: '' properties: - name: SurfaceAppearance.AlphaMode summary: | Determines how the alpha channel of the `Class.SurfaceAppearance.ColorMap` is used. description: | This property determines how the alpha channel of the `Class.SurfaceAppearance.ColorMap` is used. When set to `Enum.AlphaMode|Transparency` and the `Class.MeshPart.Transparency` is set to `0`, opaque pixels in the `Class.SurfaceAppearance.ColorMap|ColorMap` will render as completely opaque in the 3D scene. This combination works better with depth-based effects and occlusion. When set to `Enum.AlphaMode|Transparency` and the `Class.MeshPart.Transparency` is set to at least `0.02`, a different blending method is used that can better represent smooth transparency gradients and soft edges. This combination does not support all effects and occlusion may not be perfect. See [here](../../../art/modeling/surface-appearance.md#alpha-modes) for more information. code_samples: [] type: AlphaMode tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: None thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.Color summary: | Applies a tint to your existing colormap. Set directly with color picker or programmatically with `Datatype.Color3`. description: | Applies a tint to your existing colormap. Set directly with color picker or programmatically with `Datatype.Color3`. code_samples: [] type: Color3 tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: None thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.ColorMap summary: | Determines the color and opacity of the surface. description: | This property determines the color and opacity of the surface. This texture is sometimes called the **albedo** texture. The alpha channel of this texture controls its opacity, which behaves differently based on the `Class.SurfaceAppearance.AlphaMode` setting. See [here](../../../art/modeling/surface-appearance.md#color-albedo) for more information. code_samples: [] type: ContentId tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: PluginSecurity write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.ColorMapContent summary: '' description: '' code_samples: [] type: Content tags: - Hidden deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.EmissiveMaskContent summary: | Determines the emissivity across the surface. description: | This property determines the apparent emissivity across the surface. An emissive mask is a grayscale image where black pixels correspond to no emissivity, and white pixels correspond to full emissivity. The emissive contribution gets added to total lighting contribution across the surface, and the sum gets multiplied by the albedo texture, which would be sampled from `Class.SurfaceAppearance.ColorMap|ColorMap` if provided. code_samples: [] type: Content tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.EmissiveStrength summary: | Determines the strength of emissive contribution. description: | This value is a multiplier to control how strong the emissive contribution is across the surface. If the final contribution of emissives goes beyond supported dynamic range, it will get clamped; this could result in emissive contribution appearing all white when using large emissive strength values. Since this value is a multiplier, the maximum value to prevent clamping depends on all of the other contributing values, including `Class.SurfaceAppearance.EmissiveTint|EmissiveTint`, `Class.SurfaceAppearance.ColorMap|ColorMap` and combined lighting contribution. code_samples: [] type: float tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: None thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.EmissiveTint summary: | Determines the tinting color for emissive contribution. description: | This value is an RGB color for tinting emissive contribution. code_samples: [] type: Color3 tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: None thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.MetalnessMap summary: | Determines which parts of the surface are metal or non-metal. description: | This property determines which parts of the surface are metal or non-metal. The metalness map is a grayscale image where black pixels correspond to non-metals and white pixels correspond to metals. Metals only reflect light the same color as the metal, and they reflect much more light than non-metals. Most pixels in a metalness map will be either pure black or pure white, while values in between can be used to simulate dirt or grunge on top of an underlying metal area. When `Class.Lighting.EnvironmentSpecularScale` is 0, metalness has no effect. For the most realistic reflections, it's recommended to set `Class.Lighting.EnvironmentSpecularScale` and `Class.Lighting.EnvironmentDiffuseScale` to 1, as well as `Class.Lighting.Ambient` and `Class.Lighting.OutdoorAmbient` to `(0, 0, 0)`. See [here](../../../art/modeling/surface-appearance.md#metalness) for more information. code_samples: [] type: ContentId tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: PluginSecurity write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.MetalnessMapContent summary: '' description: '' code_samples: [] type: Content tags: - Hidden deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.NormalMap summary: | Modifies the lighting of the surface by adding bumps, dents, cracks, and curves. description: | This property modifies the lighting of the surface by adding bumps, dents, cracks, and curves, without adding more polygons. The normal map is an RGB image that modifies the surface's normal vector used for lighting calculations. Its **R**, **G**, and **B** channels correspond to the **X**, **Y**, and **Z** components of the local surface vector respectively, and byte values of 0 and 255 for each channel correspond linearly to normal vector components of -1 and 1.016 respectively. This range is stretched slightly from -1 to 1 so that a byte value of 127 maps to exactly 0. The normal vector's **Z** axis is always defined as the direction of the underlying mesh's normal. A uniform `(127, 127, 255)` image translates to a completely flat normal map where the normal is everywhere perpendicular to the mesh surface; this format is referred to as a "tangent space" normal map. Note that Roblox does not support world space or object space normal maps. Incorrectly flipped normal components can make bumps appear like indents. If you import a normal map and notice the lighting looks off, you may need to invert the **G** channel of the image. The **X** and **Y** axes of the tangent space frame correspond to the **X** and **Y** directions in the image after it's transformed by the mesh UVs. If you view your normal map in an image editor as if it were displayed on a surface, normals pointing towards the right side of the screen should appear more red, and normals pointing towards the top side of your screen should appear more green. The terms "DirectX format" and "OpenGL format" are sometimes used to describe whether the **G** channel of the normal map is inverted or not (Roblox expects the OpenGL format). Roblox also expects imported meshes to include tangents. Modeling software may also refer to this as "tangent space" information. If you apply a normal map and it does not seem to make any visual difference, you may need to re-export your mesh along with its tangent information from the modeling software. See [here](../../../art/modeling/surface-appearance.md#normal) for more information. code_samples: [] type: ContentId tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: PluginSecurity write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.NormalMapContent summary: '' description: '' code_samples: [] type: Content tags: - Hidden deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.RoughnessMap summary: | Determines the apparent roughness across the surface. description: | This property determines the apparent roughness across the surface. The roughness map is a grayscale image where black pixels correspond to a maximally smooth surface, and white pixels correspond to a maximally rough surface. Note that surface roughness works on a very small scale. Reflections on smooth surfaces are sharp and concentrated, while reflections on rough surfaces are more blurry and dispersed. See [here](../../../art/modeling/surface-appearance.md#roughness) for more information. code_samples: [] type: ContentId tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: PluginSecurity write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.RoughnessMapContent summary: '' description: '' code_samples: [] type: Content tags: - Hidden deprecation_message: '' security: read: None write: PluginSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic - name: SurfaceAppearance.TexturePack summary: '' description: '' code_samples: [] type: ContentId tags: [] deprecation_message: '' security: read: RobloxEngineSecurity write: RobloxEngineSecurity thread_safety: ReadSafe category: Appearance serialization: can_load: true can_save: true capabilities: - Basic methods: [] events: [] callbacks: []