Up to date

This page is up to date for Godot 4.3. If you still find outdated information, please open an issue.

GeometryInstance3D

Inherits: VisualInstance3D < Node3D < Node < Object

Inherited By: CPUParticles3D, CSGShape3D, GPUParticles3D, Label3D, MeshInstance3D, MultiMeshInstance3D, SpriteBase3D

Base node for geometry-based visual instances.

Description

Base node for geometry-based visual instances. Shares some common functionality like visibility and custom materials.

Tutorials

Properties

ShadowCastingSetting

cast_shadow

1

AABB

custom_aabb

AABB(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)

float

extra_cull_margin

0.0

LightmapScale

gi_lightmap_scale

0

GIMode

gi_mode

1

bool

ignore_occlusion_culling

false

float

lod_bias

1.0

Material

material_overlay

Material

material_override

float

transparency

0.0

float

visibility_range_begin

0.0

float

visibility_range_begin_margin

0.0

float

visibility_range_end

0.0

float

visibility_range_end_margin

0.0

VisibilityRangeFadeMode

visibility_range_fade_mode

0

Methods

Variant

get_instance_shader_parameter(name: StringName) const

void

set_instance_shader_parameter(name: StringName, value: Variant)

Enumerations

enum ShadowCastingSetting: 🔗

ShadowCastingSetting SHADOW_CASTING_SETTING_OFF = 0

Will not cast any shadows. Use this to improve performance for small geometry that is unlikely to cast noticeable shadows (such as debris).

ShadowCastingSetting SHADOW_CASTING_SETTING_ON = 1

Will cast shadows from all visible faces in the GeometryInstance3D.

Will take culling into account, so faces not being rendered will not be taken into account when shadow casting.

ShadowCastingSetting SHADOW_CASTING_SETTING_DOUBLE_SIDED = 2

Will cast shadows from all visible faces in the GeometryInstance3D.

Will not take culling into account, so all faces will be taken into account when shadow casting.

ShadowCastingSetting SHADOW_CASTING_SETTING_SHADOWS_ONLY = 3

Will only show the shadows casted from this object.

In other words, the actual mesh will not be visible, only the shadows casted from the mesh will be.

enum GIMode: 🔗

GIMode GI_MODE_DISABLED = 0

Disabled global illumination mode. Use for dynamic objects that do not contribute to global illumination (such as characters). When using VoxelGI and SDFGI, the geometry will receive indirect lighting and reflections but the geometry will not be considered in GI baking.

GIMode GI_MODE_STATIC = 1

Baked global illumination mode. Use for static objects that contribute to global illumination (such as level geometry). This GI mode is effective when using VoxelGI, SDFGI and LightmapGI.

GIMode GI_MODE_DYNAMIC = 2

Dynamic global illumination mode. Use for dynamic objects that contribute to global illumination. This GI mode is only effective when using VoxelGI, but it has a higher performance impact than GI_MODE_STATIC. When using other GI methods, this will act the same as GI_MODE_DISABLED. When using LightmapGI, the object will receive indirect lighting using lightmap probes instead of using the baked lightmap texture.

enum LightmapScale: 🔗

LightmapScale LIGHTMAP_SCALE_1X = 0

The standard texel density for lightmapping with LightmapGI.

LightmapScale LIGHTMAP_SCALE_2X = 1

Multiplies texel density by 2× for lightmapping with LightmapGI. To ensure consistency in texel density, use this when scaling a mesh by a factor between 1.5 and 3.0.

LightmapScale LIGHTMAP_SCALE_4X = 2

Multiplies texel density by 4× for lightmapping with LightmapGI. To ensure consistency in texel density, use this when scaling a mesh by a factor between 3.0 and 6.0.

LightmapScale LIGHTMAP_SCALE_8X = 3

Multiplies texel density by 8× for lightmapping with LightmapGI. To ensure consistency in texel density, use this when scaling a mesh by a factor greater than 6.0.

LightmapScale LIGHTMAP_SCALE_MAX = 4

Represents the size of the LightmapScale enum.

enum VisibilityRangeFadeMode: 🔗

VisibilityRangeFadeMode VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DISABLED = 0

Will not fade itself nor its visibility dependencies, hysteresis will be used instead. This is the fastest approach to manual LOD, but it can result in noticeable LOD transitions depending on how the LOD meshes are authored. See visibility_range_begin and Node3D.visibility_parent for more information.

VisibilityRangeFadeMode VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_SELF = 1

Will fade-out itself when reaching the limits of its own visibility range. This is slower than VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DISABLED, but it can provide smoother transitions. The fading range is determined by visibility_range_begin_margin and visibility_range_end_margin.

Note: Only supported when using the Forward+ rendering method. When using the Mobile or Compatibility rendering method, this mode acts like VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DISABLED but with hysteresis disabled.

VisibilityRangeFadeMode VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DEPENDENCIES = 2

Will fade-in its visibility dependencies (see Node3D.visibility_parent) when reaching the limits of its own visibility range. This is slower than VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DISABLED, but it can provide smoother transitions. The fading range is determined by visibility_range_begin_margin and visibility_range_end_margin.

Note: Only supported when using the Forward+ rendering method. When using the Mobile or Compatibility rendering method, this mode acts like VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DISABLED but with hysteresis disabled.

Property Descriptions

ShadowCastingSetting cast_shadow = 1 🔗

The selected shadow casting flag. See ShadowCastingSetting for possible values.

AABB custom_aabb = AABB(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0) 🔗

  • void set_custom_aabb(value: AABB)

  • AABB get_custom_aabb()

Overrides the bounding box of this node with a custom one. This can be used to avoid the expensive AABB recalculation that happens when a skeleton is used with a MeshInstance3D or to have precise control over the MeshInstance3D's bounding box. To use the default AABB, set value to an AABB with all fields set to 0.0. To avoid frustum culling, set custom_aabb to a very large AABB that covers your entire game world such as AABB(-10000, -10000, -10000, 20000, 20000, 20000). To disable all forms of culling (including occlusion culling), call RenderingServer.instance_set_ignore_culling on the GeometryInstance3D's RID.

float extra_cull_margin = 0.0 🔗

  • void set_extra_cull_margin(value: float)

  • float get_extra_cull_margin()

The extra distance added to the GeometryInstance3D's bounding box (AABB) to increase its cull box.

LightmapScale gi_lightmap_scale = 0 🔗

The texel density to use for lightmapping in LightmapGI. Greater scale values provide higher resolution in the lightmap, which can result in sharper shadows for lights that have both direct and indirect light baked. However, greater scale values will also increase the space taken by the mesh in the lightmap texture, which increases the memory, storage, and bake time requirements. When using a single mesh at different scales, consider adjusting this value to keep the lightmap texel density consistent across meshes.

GIMode gi_mode = 1 🔗

The global illumination mode to use for the whole geometry. To avoid inconsistent results, use a mode that matches the purpose of the mesh during gameplay (static/dynamic).

Note: Lights' bake mode will also affect the global illumination rendering. See Light3D.light_bake_mode.

bool ignore_occlusion_culling = false 🔗

  • void set_ignore_occlusion_culling(value: bool)

  • bool is_ignoring_occlusion_culling()

If true, disables occlusion culling for this instance. Useful for gizmos that must be rendered even when occlusion culling is in use.

Note: ignore_occlusion_culling does not affect frustum culling (which is what happens when an object is not visible given the camera's angle). To avoid frustum culling, set custom_aabb to a very large AABB that covers your entire game world such as AABB(-10000, -10000, -10000, 20000, 20000, 20000).

float lod_bias = 1.0 🔗

  • void set_lod_bias(value: float)

  • float get_lod_bias()

Changes how quickly the mesh transitions to a lower level of detail. A value of 0 will force the mesh to its lowest level of detail, a value of 1 will use the default settings, and larger values will keep the mesh in a higher level of detail at farther distances.

Useful for testing level of detail transitions in the editor.

Material material_overlay 🔗

The material overlay for the whole geometry.

If a material is assigned to this property, it will be rendered on top of any other active material for all the surfaces.

Material material_override 🔗

The material override for the whole geometry.

If a material is assigned to this property, it will be used instead of any material set in any material slot of the mesh.

float transparency = 0.0 🔗

  • void set_transparency(value: float)

  • float get_transparency()

The transparency applied to the whole geometry (as a multiplier of the materials' existing transparency). 0.0 is fully opaque, while 1.0 is fully transparent. Values greater than 0.0 (exclusive) will force the geometry's materials to go through the transparent pipeline, which is slower to render and can exhibit rendering issues due to incorrect transparency sorting. However, unlike using a transparent material, setting transparency to a value greater than 0.0 (exclusive) will not disable shadow rendering.

In spatial shaders, 1.0 - transparency is set as the default value of the ALPHA built-in.

Note: transparency is clamped between 0.0 and 1.0, so this property cannot be used to make transparent materials more opaque than they originally are.

Note: Only supported when using the Forward+ rendering method. When using the Mobile or Compatibility rendering method, transparency is ignored and is considered as always being 0.0.

float visibility_range_begin = 0.0 🔗

  • void set_visibility_range_begin(value: float)

  • float get_visibility_range_begin()

Starting distance from which the GeometryInstance3D will be visible, taking visibility_range_begin_margin into account as well. The default value of 0 is used to disable the range check.

float visibility_range_begin_margin = 0.0 🔗

  • void set_visibility_range_begin_margin(value: float)

  • float get_visibility_range_begin_margin()

Margin for the visibility_range_begin threshold. The GeometryInstance3D will only change its visibility state when it goes over or under the visibility_range_begin threshold by this amount.

If visibility_range_fade_mode is VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DISABLED, this acts as a hysteresis distance. If visibility_range_fade_mode is VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_SELF or VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DEPENDENCIES, this acts as a fade transition distance and must be set to a value greater than 0.0 for the effect to be noticeable.

float visibility_range_end = 0.0 🔗

  • void set_visibility_range_end(value: float)

  • float get_visibility_range_end()

Distance from which the GeometryInstance3D will be hidden, taking visibility_range_end_margin into account as well. The default value of 0 is used to disable the range check.

float visibility_range_end_margin = 0.0 🔗

  • void set_visibility_range_end_margin(value: float)

  • float get_visibility_range_end_margin()

Margin for the visibility_range_end threshold. The GeometryInstance3D will only change its visibility state when it goes over or under the visibility_range_end threshold by this amount.

If visibility_range_fade_mode is VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DISABLED, this acts as a hysteresis distance. If visibility_range_fade_mode is VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_SELF or VISIBILITY_RANGE_FADE_DEPENDENCIES, this acts as a fade transition distance and must be set to a value greater than 0.0 for the effect to be noticeable.

VisibilityRangeFadeMode visibility_range_fade_mode = 0 🔗

Controls which instances will be faded when approaching the limits of the visibility range. See VisibilityRangeFadeMode for possible values.

Method Descriptions

Variant get_instance_shader_parameter(name: StringName) const 🔗

Get the value of a shader parameter as set on this instance.

void set_instance_shader_parameter(name: StringName, value: Variant) 🔗

Set the value of a shader uniform for this instance only (per-instance uniform). See also ShaderMaterial.set_shader_parameter to assign a uniform on all instances using the same ShaderMaterial.

Note: For a shader uniform to be assignable on a per-instance basis, it must be defined with instance uniform ... rather than uniform ... in the shader code.

Note: name is case-sensitive and must match the name of the uniform in the code exactly (not the capitalized name in the inspector).

Note: Per-instance shader uniforms are currently only available in 3D, so there is no 2D equivalent of this method.