What is a NULL Shader?

[mogn]

I echo mogn, I do that as well.

Care to explain how that is done for those amongst us(me) who haven't grokked this?...sounds like something I should know....

Below is show transformation which acts like the build in Rotate Y, excepts that it takes the rotation angle from an external
calculated source. The implemented tgc uses two NULLs as input and a NULL as output and a random blue node as container for
the internal Network.

This is done to show that if TG is augmented wit the following two operations:

1: " Assign input". Work in the internal Network as a NULL inserted between  an input node of the container node
      and an input of a node in the internal network.

2: "Assign output" Overrides the output function of the container node. assigned to the output of a node in the internal network.

This implements a macro function in tg.

As a complement TG could create a green macro node with a specified number of inputs, and prohibits external access to the internal nodes of the macro.

[bobbystahr]

Thanks mogn...I'm liking this going to school now that I'm all retired, hee hee hee...kinda got the education bit on both ends with 40 years of playin' music in the middle.

[Dune]

Haven't looked inside yet, but is this something that can be used to rotate a node's variables by variable input? That would be extremely useful.

[mogn]

Haven't looked inside yet, but is this something that can be used to rotate a node's variables by variable input? That would be extremely useful.

Thats it.

[Dune]

Ah! Thanks.

[bobbystahr]

Haven't looked inside yet, but is this something that can be used to rotate a node's variables by variable input? That would be extremely useful.

Thats it.

Ah Ha...good one...was wondering what utility this had...

[D.A. Bentley (SuddenPlanet)]

The Null shader under Color shaders is different than the one under Objects.  The Null shader under Atmosphere seems exactly the same as the Color shader Null.

http://www.planetside.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Null_Shader

What I am wondering is why does the Null shader as referenced above not show a correct shader preview unless something like the Color adjust shader is used downstream?

I was using those Null shaders as empty wireframe organization/rerouting nodes and discovered this.

[attach=1]

-Derek

[Matt]

Some shaders don't preview correctly when they don't generate colour themselves. I'm looking at ways to fix this now.