Material and Shader Recipes

Textured Surface

Use basic shader with diffuse and normal textures:

{
  "version": 0,
  "shader": "basic",
  "color": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0],
  "normalStrength": 1.0,
  "castShadows": true,
  "textures": [
    {
      "path": "textures/asphalt/Road012B_4K-PNG_Color.png",
      "type": "diffuse"
    },
    {
      "path": "textures/asphalt/Road012B_4K-PNG_NormalDX.png",
      "type": "normal"
    }
  ]
}

This is the current asphalt.json pattern.

Unlit Texture

Use this for sky meshes, billboards, or debug visuals that should ignore lighting:

{
  "version": 0,
  "shader": "basic",
  "color": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, -1.0],
  "castShadows": false,
  "params": {
    "unlit": true,
    "receiveShadows": false
  },
  "textures": [
    {
      "path": "textures/StandardCubeMap.png",
      "type": "diffuse"
    }
  ]
}

Use canonical keys in new material edits:

unlit
receiveShadows
castShadows

Legacy ignoreLights and ignoreShadows are read for compatibility.

Emissive Material

{
  "version": 0,
  "shader": "basic",
  "color": [1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0],
  "emissionColor": [0.0, 0.8, 1.0, 1.0],
  "emissionStrength": 8.0,
  "params": {
    "receiveShadows": false
  }
}

Pair high emission with Bloom in the post-processing stack for glow.

Shader Control Metadata

Add a material block to shader JSON so NVEditor can generate controls:

{
  "version": 0,
  "pixelShader": "basic",
  "vertexShader": "basic",
  "material": {
    "parameters": [
      {
        "key": "metallic",
        "label": "Metallic",
        "target": "customData0.x",
        "type": "float",
        "default": 0.0,
        "min": 0.0,
        "max": 1.0,
        "speed": 0.01
      }
    ],
    "textures": [
      {
        "key": "diffuse",
        "label": "Diffuse",
        "type": "diffuse"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Material files can then use:

{
  "params": {
    "metallic": 0.75,
    "diffuse": "textures/metal.png"
  }
}

Target Cheatsheet

Target	Writes
`color`	Material base color vec4.
`tintColor`	Tint vec4.
`emissionColor`	Emission vec4.
`customData0.x`	First custom data component.
`uvScale`	UV scale vec2.
`uvOffset`	UV offset vec2.
`alphaCutoff`	Alpha cutoff float.
`normalStrength`	Normal map strength float.
`emissionStrength`	Emission multiplier float.
`unlit`	Ignore lighting boolean.
`receiveShadows`	Receive shadows boolean.
`castShadows`	Cast shadows boolean.

Import Workflow

When importing GLTF/GLB:

Reuse existing materials by name when possible.
Load matching material JSON if it exists.
Create placeholders only when you want editor-managed material files.
Assign material IDs per mesh slot when the imported mesh has multiple materials.

If a mesh renderer has no explicit material, the loader tries imported mesh material names. If none resolve, it falls back to basic.