Hero material settings reference

This page lists the settings of pbr.vfx, the shader every Deadlock hero material uses. Keep it open next to the recolor and custom material guides, linked under Next steps. The data comes from Valve's own shader as of build 6779.

What you need

CSDK 12

Source 2 Viewer

A plain text editor

for hand edits

CSDK 12's Material Editor shows these settings as fields and checkboxes. Source 2 Viewer decompiles a hero material so you can compare. You only need the text editor if you edit .vmat files by hand.

Keep it fair

A recolor changes that hero for you everywhere, enemies included. So some settings can make an enemy easier to see. The tables on this page mark every setting:

Anatomy of a .vmat

A material is a short text file. It holds four kinds of lines.

Here is a small example for a custom hero body:

"Layer0"
{
	"shader" "pbr.vfx"
	"F_USE_NPR_LIGHTING" "1"
	"F_USE_STATUS_EFFECTS_PROXY" "1"
	"g_vColorTint1" "[1 1 1 0]"
	"TextureColor1" "materials/models/mymod/body_color.png"
	"TextureNormal1" "materials/models/mymod/body_normal.png"
	"TextureRoughness1" "materials/models/mymod/body_rough.png"
	"TextureMetalness1" "[0 0 0 1]"
}

When you compile, the material becomes a .vmat_c file. Each texture input then points to a compiled texture with a code in its name, such as body_color_png_63291cfb.vtex_c.

Feature flags

The Material Editor shows some flags as checkboxes. The labels we know are in bold.

Lighting and outline

Transparency

Never remove F_CLOAK or translucency from a stealth or invisibility look. Keep alpha test cutouts small, like hair strands. Large cutouts make a hero near-transparent.

Guides tell you to tick Write Depth Before Alpha Blending on every new hero material. But Valve's shader allows it only when Translucent is on. On a normal, solid material it may do nothing.

Surface and UV

Rendering tweaks

Flags that need or block each other

Some flags block each other. For example, Sheen, Glass, Cloak, and Translucent cannot be combined. Cloak and Status Effects Proxy cannot be combined either.

Texture inputs and how they are packed

The shader packs several input images into one compiled texture. You never pick the compiled format. The compiler does that.

• Type TextureNprTramsissiveColor1 with Valve's spelling. The typo is in the shader itself. This input sets the color of the hero's shadow side. If shadows look wrong, set it to a flat color.
• Use the file suffixes. The Material Editor's file picker filters by them. A color image not named *_color may not show up. Rename it, or switch the picker's filter to all images.
• Source images can be PNG, TGA, PSD, or JPG. TIF, PFM, and SVG also work.
• Keep the original size. Hero body textures seem to be 2048 x 2048, and Abrams' weapon textures 512 x 512. Check yours in Source 2 Viewer. Use sizes that are a power of two, such as 512, 1024, or 2048.
• Flat colors become tiny textures. A flat color in a texture input compiles to a small texture with _vmat_g_ in its name.
• Ship the new compiled files together. A new .vmat_c points to new .vtex_c files with new codes in their names. Pack them all. The recolor guide shows how.

Color values for recolors

These values change color without new images.

Many hero materials ship a tint mask. With g_bMaskColorTint1 on, a tint then changes only some parts of the hero.

Texture inputs can hold a flat color instead of an image. Write red, green, blue, and alpha from 0 to 1. To convert a color from 0 to 255, divide each number by 255. The gold from the briefcase guide, 255 192 47, becomes:

"TextureColor1" "[1 0.753 0.184 1]"

For shine and metal:

Settings you cannot change per material

The NPR rim light and shading steps, such as g_flNPRRimLightStrength and g_flNPRDiffuseStepSharpness, are scene settings. The game sets them for the whole scene. A material cannot change them, so adding them to your .vmat does nothing.

Settings to avoid

Leave these alone on any hero material. Each one changes how easy that hero is to see:

Common problems

More fixes are in Errors when making mods and Model and skin problems.

Next steps

Credits

This guide is based on the work of these creators. Check out their original work.

• Data: pbr shader in GameTracking-Deadlock by SteamTracking, reconstructed with Source 2 Viewer. Every flag, input, and format on this page comes from it.
• Example files: naidan-deadlock-mod by Pa1eCr0w, a real hero mod with its .vmat and .vtex sources.
• Guide: From Start to Finish (Fuji's Asset Replacement Guide) by Fuji (FellOffFuji).
• Video: (Read Desc) Deadlock - General Model Swap Steps by Pugzilla.
• Guide: How I Make Shiny Metal Materials by ShockHub.