Documentation

Prism Preset Editor — User Manual

1. Overview

The Prism Preset Editor is a visual prism pattern editing tool provided by SuperStage. It allows you to directly drag the position and size of prism split points on a 2D canvas, preview the prism effect in real time, and save the results as a prism preset data asset (USuperPrismPreset) for use by fixtures.

Core Capabilities

  • 2D Visual Dragging — Drag prism points directly on the canvas
  • Three Independent Layers — Each prism preset supports 3 layers, with up to 48 split points per layer
  • Multi-Select Operations — Box-select or Ctrl+click for multi-select; batch move/delete
  • Preset Templates — 11 built-in templates: Circle, Line, Triangle, Square, Pentagon, Hexagon, Star, Cross, Diamond, Arc, Honeycomb
  • Precise Numeric Editing — Position (X/Y) and scale of each point can be precisely entered
  • Preset Regeneration Generator — Generate regular patterns quickly based on templates
  • 3D Preview Viewport — View the actual prism effect in lighting in real time
  • Thumbnail Rendering — Preset thumbnails displayed in the Content Browser

2. Creating a Prism Preset

Method 1: Content Browser Right-Click Creation

  1. Right-click in the Content Browser → MiscellaneousPrism Preset
  2. Name the new asset
  3. Double-click to open the Prism Preset Editor

Method 2: Using Built-in Templates

  1. After creating a blank preset, open the editor
  2. Click a template button in the preset panel (Circle / Triangle / Square, etc.)
  3. The template automatically fills the split points for the current layer

3. Editor Interface

The editor uses a left-right layout:

Left — 2D Canvas

  • Reference Circle — Circular boundary at the center of the canvas; prism points cannot exceed this range
  • Prism Points — Circular markers, draggable to reposition
  • Point Size — Reflects the Facet.Scale value

Canvas Operations

Operation Function
Mouse drag prism point Move position
Ctrl + Click Multi-select / deselect
Box-select Batch select
Delete Delete selected points

Right — Properties Panel

  • Layer Selection — Switch between Layer 0 / 1 / 2
  • Template Buttons — One-click generation from 11 preset templates
  • Point List — Precise numeric values for all split points in the current layer
  • Global Parameters — Global scale, etc.

4. Coordinate System

The Prism Preset Editor uses UV space coordinates:

Dimension Range Meaning
X -0.5 ~ +0.5 Horizontal position
Y -0.5 ~ +0.5 Vertical position
Scale 0.0 ~ 1.0 Split point size
  • The coordinate system is consistent with the shader UV coordinate system
  • Circular constraint ensures points do not exceed the reference circle boundary

5. Preset Templates

Template Point Count Description
Circle Adjustable Circular arrangement
Line Adjustable Linear arrangement
Triangle 3 Triangle
Square 4 Square
Pentagon 5 Pentagon
Hexagon 6 Hexagon
Star 5 Star shape
Cross 4 Cross shape
Diamond 4 Diamond shape
Arc Adjustable Arc arrangement
Honeycomb 7 Honeycomb structure (1 center + 6 surrounding)

6. Technical Architecture

Position Lookup Texture

Each prism preset generates a 48×1 RGBA16F position lookup texture:

Channel Meaning
R X offset
G Y offset
B Scale
A Reserved

The SuperPrismDraw material expression in the material loops through this texture to render multi-split patterns.

Data Asset

  • USuperPrismPreset inherits from UDataAsset
  • GetPositionTexture() lazy-creates/caches the texture
  • The texture updates automatically when the preset is modified

7. Using in Fixtures

  1. Create and edit a prism preset
  2. Reference the preset in the fixture Blueprint’s Prism property
  3. Select which layer to use via PrismLayerIndex (0/1/2)
  4. The corresponding prism split effect will appear in the light

8. Usage Tips

  • Each layer supports up to 48 split points (limited by the position lookup texture resolution)
  • Changes to presets update in fixtures in real time; no restart required
  • Thumbnails are automatically generated from the preset’s point distribution for easy identification in the Content Browser
  • It’s recommended to store commonly used prism presets in the project’s Content/PrismPresets/ folder