Features and Properties of Lights

An overview of the various properties and features that lights support.

Lights in Unreal Engine contain a large set of properties to work with, which are partly dependent on the Light's mobility and type.

Light properties are found in the Details panel when a light is selected in the Level. Depending on the set Mobility of Static, Stationary, or Movable determines what features and properties of the light are supported for the selected light.

directional light properties

Light properties of a Directional Light.

Things to Consider for Lights and their Properties

Before diving into the specific features and properties of Lights, you'll want to consider the following:

  • What types of lights does your scene require to light it?

  • What Mobility should your lights have?

  • Lights with different mobilities can be mixed and matched as needed to light a scene. However, considerations must be considered for what that means for the lighting, shadows, and assets it affects within the Level. Not all properties support every mobility or light type.

  • Shadowing is a broad subject with lighting. Mobilities, type of light, or even enabled lighting features in the Project Settings can affect how lighting works within the project.

  • Some types of lights complement other standalone features, such as one for Environmental Lighting.

Setting Properties for Lights

The properties and features of lights can be found in the Details panel when a light is selected in the Level.

Each light must have its Mobility set to Static, Stationary, or Movable.

light mobility selection

All properties of lights are listed no matter what selection is made, but the mobility affects some properties that are supported. For example, Lightmass settings only affect mobilities set to Static or Stationary.

Explore the topics below to learn about some of the features and properties you can use with the Lights in your scenes and projects.

General Light Features and Properties Topics

A listing of general concepts and features related to all, or most, types of lights you can use. These can be individual features of lights you can use, or properties of lights that work with larger features, like Global Illumination.

RAndG_TopicFull.png

Physical Lighting Units

An overview of using physically based lighting units with light sources.

RAndG_TopicSmall.png

Global Illumination

A collection of topics on the global illumination options available to choose from.

source-radius-example.png

Shadowing

An overview of available shadowing methods and the properties they support.

RTR_MultipleBounces.png

Reflections Environment

Systems for how reflections are captured and displayed on reflective surfaces.

LM_Topic.png

Light Types and Their Mobility

The available types of lights to choose from and how their mobility settings affect lighting in the scene.

MeshDistanceFields_Topic.png

Mesh Distance Fields

An overview of Mesh Distance Fields and its available features that you can use when developing your games.

topImage.png

Lighting Channels

An overview of using channels of a light source to light specific surfaces.

IES_topic.png

IES Light Profiles

An overview of setting up and using IES textures with lights.

light-function-topic.png

Light Functions

An overview of using materials to mask a light's projected area.

PCLS_Header.png

Precomputed Lighting Scenarios

An overview of using multiple lighting setups for a single scene.

Directional Light Features and Properties Topics

The following features work with Directional Lights.

LShaft_Topic.png

Light Shafts

An overview of using Direcitonal Light to simulate light scattering through the atmosphere.

SkylightReflectionQuality_8.png

Sky Atmosphere Component

A physically-based sky and atmosphere rendering system with time-of-day features and ground-to-space view transitions featuring aerial perspective.

CloudsHeroBanner1.png

Volumetric Cloud Component

Real-time cloud rendering using volumetric materials.

Sky Light Features and Properties Topics

The following features work with a Sky Light.

RAndG_TopicFull.png

Environmental Light with Fog, Clouds, Sky and Atmosphere

Components and tools that enable users to build immersive worlds with environment lighting from fog, clouds, sky and atmosphere.

Help shape the future of Unreal Engine documentation! Tell us how we're doing so we can serve you better.
Take our survey
Cancel