MetaShader

The MetaShader section of the SPDL file identifies the implementation of the shader for each of the renderers capable of using the shader.

This is an example of a multiple implementation shader. As of Softimage v4.0, it supersedes the Phenomenon section of the shader SPDL file.

    MetaShader "water"
    {
       Name = "<shader-name>"
       Type = texture;
       Renderer "mental ray"
       {
           Name = "water_mr";
           Options
           {
              Scanline = off;
           }
       }
       Renderer "renderman"
       {
           Name = "water_rm";

       BeginText
           color water_rm( )
           {
           return( noise( P ) );
           }
       EndText
       }

       Renderer "opengl"
       {
           Name = "water_ogl";
           FileName = "opengl";
       }
    }

Name

The name displayed in the Softimage user interface for the shader. The symbol name of the shader function is declared in the Renderer section.

Type

A comma-separated list of shader types that specifies the context in which the shader can be used. Softimage uses pre-defined types for mental ray and realtime shaders: lens, light, light photon, material, rtrendercontext, material photon, shadow, volume, volume photon, environment, output, geometry, texture and displace. Corresponds to the apply flag in a shader or phenomenon declaration in a .mi file.

The first type declared will define the preset family type, so if a shader has both the material and volume flags set, the preset will appear as a material preset in the file structure. However, the shader will still have the ability to be connected as a surface and volume shader to the material.

Type values | Description
displace | Displacement phenomenon in a material
environment | Environment phenomenon in a material or camera
geometry | Geometry phenomenon
lens | Lens phenomenon in a camera
light | Light phenomenon
light photon | Photon emitter phenomenon in a light
material | Material phenomenon in a material
material photon | Photon phenomenon in a material
output | Output phenomenon in a camera
rtrendercontext | Realtime shader
shadow | Shadow phenomenon in a material
texture | Texture phenomenon
volume | Volume phenomenon in a material or camera
volume photon | Photon phenomenon in a material or camera.

Realtime shaders use the type rtrendercontext.

Autodesk Softimage v7.5