Environment Settings · PlanetX Docs

EnvironmentSettings on the Planet Asset is a reusable planet-wide authoring profile. A Level's PlanetX Environment Manager applies that profile or supplies a Level-only override. Ratios are relative to the canonical Planet Radius; names ending in Km use kilometers.

#Planet Asset: Atmosphere Profile

Setting	Default / range	Purpose
`bEnabled`	true	Enables the PlanetX-managed Sky Atmosphere profile.
`GroundAlbedo`	(0.4,0.4,0.4,1)	Linear ground reflectance used by multi-scattering.
`MultiScatteringFactor`	1.0	Atmosphere multi-scattering multiplier.
`bAutoScaleAtmosphereHeight`	true	Derives atmosphere-shell height from Planet Radius.
`AutoHeightRatio`	0.01	Planet Radius ratio used by automatic height.
`MinAutoHeightKm` / `MaxAutoHeightKm`	6 / 100 km	Minimum and maximum automatically resolved height.
`HeightRatio`	0.06	Atmosphere-height/Planet-Radius ratio used when automatic height is disabled.
`bAutoScaleDensityProfile`	true	Adapts density falloff to the authored atmosphere shell.
`RayleighDensityHeightRatio`	0.133333	Rayleigh density falloff height as a shell ratio.
`MieDensityHeightRatio`	0.02	Mie density falloff height as a shell ratio.
`RayleighScatteringScale`	0.0331	Overall Rayleigh scattering intensity.
`RayleighScattering`	(0.175287,0.409607,1)	Rayleigh spectral color.
`RayleighExponentialDistributionKm`	8 km	Altitude where Rayleigh density falls to approximately 40 percent.
`MieScatteringScale`	0.003996	Mie scattering intensity.
`MieScattering`	White	Mie scattering color.
`MieAbsorptionScale`	0.000444	Mie absorption intensity.
`MieAbsorption`	White	Mie absorption color.
`MieAnisotropy`	0.8	Mie forward-scattering bias.
`MieExponentialDistributionKm`	1.2 km	Altitude where Mie scattering/absorption falls to approximately 40 percent.
`OtherAbsorptionScale`	0.001881	Strength of the ozone-like absorption layer.
`OtherAbsorption`	(0.345561,1,0.045189,1)	Spectral color of the additional absorption layer.
`SkyLuminanceFactor`	White	Art-direction multiplier for sky luminance.
`SkyAndAerialPerspectiveLuminanceFactor`	White	Luminance multiplier for sky and aerial perspective.
`AerialPerspectiveViewDistanceScale`	1.0	Distance scale for aerial perspective.
`HeightFogContribution`	1.0	Sky Atmosphere contribution to Height Fog.
`TransmittanceMinLightElevationAngle`	-90°	Minimum light elevation used by transmittance calculations.

#Planet Asset: Cloud Profile

Setting	Default / range	Purpose
`bEnabled`	true	Enables the PlanetX-managed Volumetric Cloud profile.
`BottomAltitudeRatio`	0.005	Cloud-bottom altitude divided by Planet Radius.
`LayerHeightRatio`	0.01	Cloud-layer thickness divided by Planet Radius.
`NightVisibilityFloor`	0, 0–1	Minimum cloud brightness/visibility retained at night.
`TerminatorSoftness`	0.22, at least 0.001	Softness of the day/night cloud boundary.
`TerminatorOffset`	0, -1–1	Offset of the cloud terminator.
`GroundAlbedo`	(0.4,0.4,0.4,1)	Linear ground reflectance used for cloud lighting.
`bUsePerSampleAtmosphericLightTransmittance`	false	Evaluates atmosphere transmittance per cloud sample, increasing both quality and cost.
`SkyLightCloudBottomOcclusion`	0.5	Sky Light occlusion at the cloud bottom.
`AerialPerspectiveRayleighStartDistanceKm` / `AerialPerspectiveRayleighFadeDistanceKm`	0 / 0	Start/fade distances for cloud Rayleigh aerial perspective. Zero preserves engine-default behavior.
`AerialPerspectiveMieStartDistanceKm` / `AerialPerspectiveMieFadeDistanceKm`	0 / 0	Start/fade distances for cloud Mie aerial perspective.
`StopTracingTransmittanceThreshold`	0.005	Stops cloud tracing once accumulated transmittance falls below this value.

#Planet Asset: Sun and Cloud Shadow Profile

Setting	Default	Purpose
`bAtmosphereSunLight`	true	Uses the Directional Light as an Atmosphere Sun Light.
`bCastShadowsOnClouds`	true	Allows the light to cast onto clouds.
`bCastShadowsOnAtmosphere`	true	Allows the light to cast onto atmosphere.
`bCastCloudShadows`	true	Enables cloud shadow maps.
`CloudShadowExtentKm`	400 km, at least 1	Coverage of the cloud shadow map.
`CloudShadowMapResolutionScale`	4.0, at least 0.25	Cloud shadow map resolution multiplier.
`CloudShadowRaySampleCountScale`	1.0, at least 0.25	Cloud shadow ray-sample multiplier.
`CloudShadowStrength`	1.0, at least 0	Overall cloud shadow strength.
`CloudShadowOnAtmosphereStrength`	1.0, at least 0	Cloud shadow strength visible on atmosphere.
`CloudShadowOnSurfaceStrength`	1.0, at least 0	Cloud shadow strength visible on surfaces.
`CloudShadowDepthBias`	0	Cloud shadow depth bias.
`bUseSeparateGroundOverride`	false	Uses a separate Ground extent/resolution/sample profile.
`GroundCloudShadowExtentKm`	400 km	Ground-only shadow extent.
`GroundCloudShadowMapResolutionScale`	4.0	Ground-only resolution multiplier.
`GroundCloudShadowRaySampleCountScale`	1.0	Ground-only ray-sample multiplier.

#Planet Asset: Post Process and Space Background

Setting	Default	Purpose
`PostProcess.bEnabled`	true	Applies the per-planet Post Process profile.
`bUseConvolutionBloom`	true	Uses Convolution Bloom.
`bEnableLensFlare`	true	Allows lens flare for this planet. PlanetX Rendering must also enable it at project level.
`LensFlareIntensity`	0.12, at least 0	Per-planet lens-flare intensity.
`SpaceBackground.bEnabled`	true	Uses the Environment Manager's single space-background sphere.
`Material`	PlanetX default space-background Material	Material on the background sphere, stored as a soft reference.
`VisibilityMode`	`OrbitOnly`	Shows it in `OrbitOnly` or `OrbitAndGround`.

#Environment Manager: Domains and profile sources

Setting	Default	Purpose
`CloudMode`	`PlanetXManaged`	`PlanetXManaged` creates and controls PlanetX cloud presentation; `UseExistingLevel` adopts an existing Level cloud.
`CloudProfileSource`	`PlanetAssetDefaults`	Uses the Asset Cloud Profile or a `LevelOverride`.
`CloudProfileOverride`	Profile defaults	Complete Cloud Profile editable only for a Level Override.
`GroundCloudSource`	`SamePlanetXCloud`	Uses the same PlanetX cloud on Ground or selects `ExistingLevelCloud`.
`AtmosphereMode`	`PlanetXManaged`	Manages PlanetX atmosphere or uses the existing Level atmosphere.
`AtmosphereProfileSource`	`PlanetAssetDefaults`	Selects the Asset Atmosphere or a Level Override.
`AtmosphereProfileOverride`	Profile defaults	Complete Atmosphere Profile editable only for a Level Override.
`SunProfileSource`	`PlanetAssetDefaults`	Selects Asset Sun/Cloud Shadow or a Level Override.
`SunProfileOverride`	Profile defaults	Complete Sun/Shadow Profile editable only for a Level Override.
`SpaceBackgroundMode`	`PlanetXManaged`	Manages the PlanetX background or leaves existing Level presentation in place.
`SpaceBackgroundProfileSource`	`PlanetAssetDefaults`	Selects the Asset Background or a Level Override.
`SpaceBackgroundProfileOverride`	Profile defaults	Complete Background Profile editable only for a Level Override.

Resolved Profiles and resolved heights are read-only results. CloudShadow is also a runtime cache derived from the Sun Profile and must not be edited directly.

#Environment Manager: runtime and bindings

Setting	Default	Purpose
`bApplyOnConstruction`	true	Applies the current profile during editor construction.
`InitialRuntimeSpace`	`Auto`	Leaves startup space to transition state or forces `Orbit`/`Ground`. `Ground` is useful for a Level that begins directly in Ground gameplay without a Transition Endpoint.
`bUpdateEveryTick`	true	Updates sun, bindings, and transition-dependent environment each tick. Follow the external-runtime-driver contract when another service owns updates.
`ManagedPlanetActor`	None	Supplies environment center, radius, and the Planet Asset profile.
`ExistingVolumetricCloud` / `ExistingVolumetricCloudComponent`	None	Existing cloud Actor or Component to use. A Component reference is more direct.
`ExistingSkyAtmosphere` / `ExistingSkyAtmosphereComponent`	None	Existing Sky Atmosphere Actor or Component.
`ExistingSunLight`	None	Directional Light that supplies sun and cloud shadows.
`ExistingSkyLight`	None	Existing Sky Light binding.
`ExistingHeightFog`	None	Existing Exponential Height Fog binding.
`bAutoBindEnvironmentActors`	true	Searches the World for suitable environment Actors when explicit references are empty.
`AutoBindRetryIntervalSeconds`	1 s, at least 0.1	Delay after an auto-bind miss before searching again for streamed Actors.
`bDeriveSunDirectionFromDirectionalLight`	true	Resolves sun direction from the bound Directional Light.
`bUseNegativeDirectionalLightForward`	true	Treats Directional Light -Forward as the planet-to-sun direction. Change it only when the consuming Material uses the opposite convention.
`bDerivePlanetSettingsFromSkyAtmosphere`	true	Reads Planet Center/Radius from an existing Sky Atmosphere.
`bDeriveCloudLayerAltitudeFromVolumetricCloud`	true	Reads cloud-layer altitude from an existing Volumetric Cloud.

#Orbit Cloud Lighting and Existing Cloud Sync

Setting	Default	Purpose
`OrbitCloudLighting.PlanetCenter`	(0,0,0)	Fallback planet center for cloud-material lighting.
`PlanetRadius`	250,000 cm, at least 1	Fallback radius for cloud lighting.
`CloudLayerAltitude`	10,000 cm, at least 0	Cloud-layer altitude used by lighting.
`NightCloudVisibilityFloor`	0, 0–1	Minimum night cloud visibility.
`TerminatorSoftness`	0.22, at least 0.001	Cloud terminator softness.
`CloudTerminatorOffset`	0, -1–1	Cloud terminator offset.
`CloudSync.bReadExistingCloudAsGroundTruth`	true	Reads current parameters from the existing cloud as ground truth.
`CoverageParameterName`	`Coverage`	Coverage parameter name.
`DensityParameterName`	`Density`	Density parameter name.
`WindDirectionParameterName`	`WindDirection`	Wind-direction parameter name.
`WindSpeedParameterName`	`WindSpeed`	Wind-speed parameter name.
`CloudTimeParameterName`	`CloudTime`	Cloud-time parameter name.

Sync names must match the consuming Material parameters exactly, including case.

#Orbit render quality and Ground presentation

GroundEnvironmentPresentation owns the Ground-presentation setting group below.

Setting	Default / range	Purpose
`bOverrideVolumetricRenderTargetQuality`	true	Overrides Volumetric Render Target mode/scale in Orbit.
`bOverrideVolumetricRenderTargetEnabled`	true	Overrides use of the Volumetric Render Target for Orbit cloud.
`VolumetricRenderTargetMode`	1, 0–3	Unreal Volumetric Render Target mode. Verify project quality and compatibility.
`VolumetricRenderTargetScale`	1.0, 0.1–1	Render-target resolution scale.
`bEnableReprojectionBoxConstraint`	true	Constrains volumetric reprojection to its valid box.
`OrbitCloudRenderQuality.OrbitOverrideActivationThreshold`	0.5, 0–1	Transition Alpha at which the Orbit cloud-quality override activates.
`bOverrideAerialPerspectiveLUTDepth`	true	Overrides Aerial Perspective LUT depth in Orbit.
`AerialPerspectiveLUTDepthKm`	512 km, at least 1	Atmosphere depth represented by the LUT.
`OrbitAtmosphereRenderQuality.OrbitOverrideActivationThreshold`	0.5, 0–1	Activation threshold for atmosphere-quality override.
`bEnableGroundPresentation`	true	Uses a fixed, nearly flat atmosphere presentation on Ground.
`bUseAdaptiveGroundRadius`	true	Derives a practical Ground radius from the baked Level footprint.
`MinimumGroundRadiusKm`	6,360 km, 1–10,000	Fallback Ground radius when adaptive bounds are unavailable.
`MaximumGroundSurfaceDropKm`	2.5 km, 0.01–100	Maximum allowed surface drop below the tangent plane at the Level edge.
`GroundSurfaceClearanceKm`	0.1 km, 0–10	Keeps the virtual atmosphere surface below the lowest Ground geometry.
`TransitionBlendStartAlpha`	0.75, 0–0.99	Alpha at which atmosphere begins moving into its Ground presentation frame.
`bPreviewInEditor`	true	Applies the same Ground presentation in PlanetX Mode's Level view.

#Orbit Cloud Tracing

Setting	Default / range	Purpose
`bOverrideVolumetricCloudTracing`	true	Overrides cloud-tracing distances in Orbit.
`TracingStartMaxDistanceKm`	10,000 km, at least 1	Maximum permitted tracing-start distance.
`TracingStartDistanceFromCameraKm`	0 km, at least 0	Distance from camera to tracing start.
`TracingMaxDistanceMode`	`DistanceFromPointOfView`	Selects how Unreal interprets maximum tracing distance.
`TracingMaxDistanceKm`	10,000 km, at least 0.1	Maximum cloud-tracing distance.
`OrbitCloudTracing.OrbitOverrideActivationThreshold`	0.5, 0–1	Alpha threshold for tracing override activation.

#Material Parameter Collection

Assign the MPC through EnvironmentParameterCollection. MpcParameters maps the names PlanetX writes.

Values	Default parameter names
`PlanetCenter`, `PlanetRadius`, `CloudLayerRadius`, `SunDirection`	`PlanetX_PlanetCenter`, `PlanetX_PlanetRadius`, `PlanetX_CloudLayerRadius`, `PlanetX_SunDirection`
`NightCloudVisibilityFloor`, `TerminatorSoftness`, `CloudTerminatorOffset`	`PlanetX_NightCloudVisibilityFloor`, `PlanetX_TerminatorSoftness`, `PlanetX_CloudTerminatorOffset`
`OrbitCloudVisibility`, `GroundCloudVisibility`, `EnvironmentTransitionAlpha`	`PlanetX_OrbitCloudVisibility`, `PlanetX_GroundCloudVisibility`, `PlanetX_EnvironmentTransitionAlpha`
`OrbitCloudShadowStrength`, `CloudShadowOnAtmosphereStrength`, `CloudShadowOnSurfaceStrength`	`PlanetX_OrbitCloudShadowStrength`, `PlanetX_CloudShadowOnAtmosphereStrength`, `PlanetX_CloudShadowOnSurfaceStrength`
`CloudShadowDepthBias`, `CloudShadowExtentKm`, `CloudShadowMapResolutionScale`, `CloudShadowRaySampleCountScale`	The same names with the default `PlanetX_` prefix

If you rename a mapping, update the MPC and every consuming Material as well. A missing parameter prevents that value from reaching the Material.

#Derived Cloud Shadow runtime cache

The Manager's CloudShadow is a cache resolved from SunProfileOverride or the Asset Sun Profile, not an authoring source. Its internal Mode defaults to PlanetXManagedOverride, with bEnableOrbitCloudShadow=true and bRestoreSourceLightWhenGroundActive=true. DesiredOrbitLightShadow serves Orbit Material Approximation, DirectionalLightOverrideShadow serves the Orbit Directional Light, and GroundDirectionalLightOverrideShadow serves Ground. When bUseSeparateGroundDirectionalLightOverride=false, Ground shares the Orbit override. Edit the Sun/Cloud Shadow Profile above instead of this cache.