BETA
What is SceneControl?
HK SceneControl is a lighting and environment management plugin for Virt-A-Mate that transforms how you control scene atmosphere. Whether you're creating intimate lighting for romantic scenes or complex cinematic environments for dramatic storytelling, SceneControl provides intuitive tools for professional-quality lighting design.HK SceneControl must be added as a Scene Plugin (attached to the CoreControl atom). It will not function if added to any other atom.
Unity Engine Lights
Designed to be lightweight by removing the overhead of VAM Lights. Lights are created and linked to atoms or the camera giving some automation control.Current Lighting features:
- Global Light warmth with individual light color settings
- Shadow customization
Programmatic positioning
Types- Camera Lights:
- Emit from the camera
- Supports Positional and Rotational offsets
- Atom Lights:
- Tethered to atoms by default
- Spot lights will look at atoms by default
- Can be set to static placing the light at a static position in space.
- Can be set to emit from the atom, position and rotation offsets will be relevant to the linked atom.
- Global Light color (default) or Individual light colors are supported.
- Global colors are encouraged if you want a single setting to adjust scene ambiance
- Pulse
- Flicker
- Strobe
- Time Based
- Audio Linked
Quick Add
Quick Adding lights to atoms and cameras add spot lights based on preconfigured intensity, range, angle and count. The created lights will be placed around the atom or around the viewport of the camera.Available Presets:
- Three Point Studio Light
- Daylight (Sunrise, Morning, High Noon, Afternoon, Sunset)
- Moonlight
- Candlelight - With Flickering
- Cyberpunk 2 Point
Passthrough Configuration
Set a passthrough color and apply it to built in atoms. Atoms can either be hidden by hiding materials or have their materials updated to the color.Limitation: Person atoms are not fully supported for render replacement as they need a custom asset. I still need to learn how to create these.
Showcase - Light Effects:
Showcase - Light Music:
Guide:
Basic navigation:
The top menu is the right side of the plugin view, left side of the menu is the sub menu.The plugin organises its menus into two top-level categories:
- Lights — all lighting controls (Global Settings, Manage Lights, Add Custom Light, Add Atom Lights, Add Camera Lights, Configure Light)
- Scene Control — environment controls (Passthrough Control)
- Data Store — save, copy and load plugin data
- Settings — feature toggles and atom-dropdown filters
Data Store
Used for managing plugin data.- Save All Data
⚠️ Not available in this release- Saves all plugin data. Must be triggered before saving the scene so that any changes are included. This is by design to avoid unintended overwrites.
- Copy to Clipboard
⚠️ Not available in this release- Copies the current saved data to the clipboard. Useful for backing up a configuration or switching between setups.
- Load from Clipboard
- Restores plugin data from a previous
Copy to Clipboardoperation. Typically used after reloading the plugin to recover a saved configuration.
- Restores plugin data from a previous
Settings
Global options that apply to the whole plugin.Feature Management
- Each major component (e.g., HK Scene Control) has an on/off toggle
- Disabling a component stops it from running without removing its data
Ignore Atoms in Dropdowns
- Ignore Hidden Atoms — hidden atoms are excluded from all atom-selection dropdowns
- Ignore Camera Rig — the camera rig atom is excluded from all atom-selection dropdowns
- Ignore Core Control — the CoreControl atom is excluded from all atom-selection dropdowns
Lights Menus
Global Settings
Used to adjust the overall scene lighting baseline.- Light Warmth — sets the colour temperature (in Kelvin) applied to all lights that use the global colour (1 000 K = very warm/orange, 10 000 K = very cool/blue). Default is 6 500 K.
- Ambient Color — colour picker for Unity's ambient/environment light. Changes affect the entire scene's base illumination.
Manage Lights
Central hub for viewing and managing every light that has been added to the scene.Light Group
- Lights are grouped by the atom or camera they are linked to
- Select a group to filter the light list below it
Selected Light
- Choose an individual light within the selected group
- The chosen light becomes the target for Edit, Copy, and Remove actions
Edit Light
- Opens the Configure Light menu for the selected light
Copy Light
- Duplicates the selected light with all its current settings
- The copy is added to the scene immediately
Remove Light
- Permanently removes the selected light from the scene
- No confirmation prompt — use with care
Visualize Lights
- Renders a debug gizmo for lights directly in the scene view
- Works on all Unity lights, not just those created by this plugin
- Options: Directional Lights, Point Lights, Spot Lights, or All Lights
- When visualization is active a single Hide Light Visualization button replaces the individual options
Remove All Lights from Scene
- Removes every Unity light and every light atom from the entire scene — not just lights created by this plugin
- There is no confirmation prompt. This action cannot be undone without reloading the scene.
Add Custom Light
Create a single, fully configurable light linked to a specific atom or to the camera.Relative Object
- Dropdown list of all atoms in the scene
- The new light will be tethered to the selected atom by default
Add Custom Light
- Creates a new Spot light linked to the chosen atom
- The light is added with default settings and can be fully configured via Configure Light
- Custom lights can emit from the atom or target the atom depending on your Emit From Target setting
Add Camera Light
- Creates a new Spot light that emits from and follows the main camera
- No atom selection required — the light always tracks the player's viewpoint
Add Atom Lights
Quickly surround an atom with a set of pre-configured spot lights using one of the built-in presets, or build a custom rig from scratch.Relative Object
- Dropdown list of all atoms in the scene
- The selected atom becomes the target for all lights in the rig
Pre-sets
- 3 Point — classic three-point studio lighting (key, fill, back)
- Sunrise — warm low-angle dawn lighting
- Morning — soft cool-warm morning tone
- High Noon — harsh overhead midday lighting
- Afternoon — warm directional afternoon sun
- Sunset — deep orange low-angle sunset
- Moonlight — cool blue-white night lighting
- Candle Light — warm point light with flickering effect enabled
- Cyberpunk — two-point neon-style lighting
Place around (Custom Rig)
- Intensity — brightness of each light in the rig (0.01 – 1)
- Range — how far each light reaches (0.01 – 25, range is expandable)
- Angle — spot angle for each light (1° – 180°)
- Light Count — number of lights to place evenly around the atom (1 – 255)
Add Atom Lights
- Creates the custom rig using the values above, placing lights evenly around the selected atom
Add Camera Lights
Quickly add a rig of spot lights that emit forward from the main camera. Useful for handheld-torch, film-light effects or working lights.Intensity
- Brightness of each light in the rig (0.01 – 1)
Range
- How far each light reaches (0.01 – 25)
Angle
- Spot angle for each light (1° – 180°)
Light Count
- Number of lights to place around the camera viewport (1 – 255)
Add Camera Lights
- Creates the rig of spot lights emitting forward from the camera using the settings above
Configure Light
Light Control Configuration MenuThis menu lets you adjust and customize how a light looks and behaves in your scene. Select a light from Manage Lights first before making changes.
Visualize
- Shows or hides a visual representation of your light
- Helpful for seeing exactly where your light is pointing and how it's spreading
- Turn this on to see your light while editing it
Save & Close
- Saves all your changes and exits the light editor
- Click this when you're done adjusting your light
Light Type
- Choose what kind of light you want:
- Spot: A focused beam, like a stage light or flashlight
- Directional: Light that comes from one direction, like sunlight
- Point: Light that spreads in all directions, like a light bulb
- Changing the type will show or hide other settings below
On / Off
- Turn the light on or off
- When off, the light won't contribute to your scene
Light Strength & Distance
Intensity
- How bright your light is (0 = off, 8 = very bright)
- Increase for a more powerful light, decrease to make it more subtle
- You can drag the slider to adjust or type a number
Range
- How far the light reaches before fading away (only for Spot and Point lights)
- 0 = barely reaches anything, 25 = reaches far across the scene
- Directional lights (like sunlight) don't need a range since they light everything
Spotlight Special Setting
Angle
- Only used for Spotlight types
- Controls how wide or narrow the light beam is
- 1° = very narrow beam (laser-like), 180° = very wide
More Settings Below
You'll also find sections for:
Position & Rotation
- Move your light around in 3D space
- Adjust where it points and aims
Color
- Change the color of your light
- Mix and match colors to create the mood you want
Shadows
- Control whether objects cast shadows from this light
- Make shadows softer or sharper
- (Not available for directional lights)
Effects
- Add special effects like strobing or flickering
- Sync with audio for dynamic lighting
Quick Tips
- Use Visualize while editing to see your changes in real-time
- Different light types have different settings - only relevant ones show up
- Experiment with intensity and range to get the exact mood you want
- Click Save & Close when you're satisfied with your adjustments
Position & Rotation
Rotation
- Adjust how the light is pointed and aimed using X, Y, Z, and W coordinates
- Used for Spot and Directional lights that need to aim in specific directions
- X, Y, Z values range from -6 to +6 for fine rotation adjustments
- W is the rotation quaternion component for 3D orientation
Position (Or Position Offset)
- Move your light in 3D space
- X, Y, Z sliders control horizontal, vertical, and forward/backward placement
- Range: -25 to +25 units for most flexible placement
- For Static Lights: Sets the exact position in the scene
- For Offset Lights: Sets the position relative to its linked atom or camera
Emit From Target
- Determines if the light originates from its linked atom or stays at a fixed offset
- ON = Light emits from the atom's center, follows the atom around
- OFF = Light emits from a fixed offset position relative to the atom
- Not available for Camera Lights (camera lights always emit from the camera)
Static Light
- Locks the light at a fixed position in the scene (not relative to any atom)
- Useful for setting background lighting that doesn't move
- Position values become absolute world coordinates instead of offsets
- When enabled, the position range becomes expandable for more distance control
- Enabling Static Light automatically disables Emit From Target
Color
By default, all lights use the global scene warmth setting. You can override this to give individual lights unique colors.
Overwrite Global Color
- Click to give this light its own custom color
- Opens a color picker to choose any color you want
- Useful for creating colored accent lights (red, blue, warm, cold, etc.)
Custom Color Settings
- When a custom color is active, you'll see a color picker panel
- Select the color to match your vision
- The light will immediately update to show your custom color
- Click Clear Custom Color to go back to using the global scene warmth
Quick Tips
- Use custom colors to create colored mood lighting (warm amber, cool blue, red danger light, etc.)
- Mix global color changes with individual custom colors for dynamic scenes
- Color changes are visible in real-time when Visualize is enabled
Shadows
Control how shadows look from this light. Not all light types support shadows the same way.
Shadow Type
- Hard: Crisp, sharp shadow edges (most realistic for harsh lighting)
- Soft: Blurred, gradual shadow edges (cinematic, softer look)
- None: No shadows from this light (reduces performance impact)
Shadow Resolution
- Controls the clarity and sharpness of shadows
- Higher resolution = Crisper shadows but more performance cost
- Options: 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384
- Start with 1024 and increase if you need sharper shadows
Strength
- How dark or light the shadows appear (0 = barely visible, 1 = completely black)
- Lower values create softer, lighter shadows
- Higher values create darker, more dramatic shadows
Bias
- Technical setting that fixes shadow flickering and artifacts
- If shadows look choppy or have strange patterns, increase this slightly (0.0001 to 0.001)
- Usually don't need to change this unless you see shadow artifacts
Normal Bias
- Only available for Directional lights
- Helps prevent shadows from looking warped or twisted
- Adjust if directional light shadows look distorted
Near Pane
- Technical setting for shadow distance and quality
- Controls the closest distance from which shadows are rendered
- Usually doesn't need adjustment unless you see strange shadow behavior
Effects
Add dynamic effects to your light to create animation and atmosphere.
Pulse Effect
Create a smooth, rhythmic breathing or pulsing light effect.
Speed
- How fast the light pulses (0 = no pulse, 5 = very fast)
- Lower values create slow, calm breathing effects
- Higher values create quick, energetic pulsing
- You can drag the slider for more precise control
Min Intensity
- The dimmest the light gets during the pulse
- 0 = light fades almost completely dark
- 0.5 = light stays at least half brightness
Max Intensity
- The brightest the light gets during the pulse
- Must be higher than Min Intensity
- Controls the brightest point of the pulse cycle
Flicker Effect
Create a realistic flickering effect like a candle or malfunctioning light.
Speed
- How fast the light flickers (0 = no flicker, 5 = very rapidly)
- Lower values = slow, eerie flickering
- Higher values = rapidly changing erratic flickers
Intensity Variance
- How much the flicker varies the brightness (0 = no change, 1 = extreme variance)
- Lower values = subtle, natural-looking flicker
- Higher values = dramatic, intense flickering
Strobe Effect
Create a stroboscopic blinking effect, either on a timer or synced to music.
Link to Audio
- ON = Strobe pulses to the beat of the music/audio
- OFF = Strobe uses a fixed timer for regular blinking
Time-Based Strobe (when NOT linked to audio)
- Interval: How often the light blinks (0 = continuous, 5 = very slow)
- Delay: Delays the storbe to adjust when the strobe happens. Useful if you don't want simultaneous strobing on lights
Audio-Linked Strobe
- Audio Sensitivity: When the light switches on, this is when the chosen Audio Type's value is above this value
- Audio Type:Choose what audio parameter controls the strobe
- RMS (Root Mean Square): Reacts to overall loudness
- Amplitude: Reacts to peak audio spikes (more dramatic effect)
- Amplitude Type (when using Amplitude audio):The shape of the audio response curve
- Rectangular: Sharp, hard response
- Triangle: Linear, smooth response
- Hamming/Hanning/Blackman/BlackmanHarris: Advanced smoothing algorithms for different audio reactions
- Audio Displays:Two read-only meters show current audio levels
- Root Mean Square: Current overall audio loudness (0-1)
- Max Amplitude: Current peak audio spike (0-1)
Effects Quick Tips
- Combine multiple effects for complex animations (e.g., pulse + flicker for candle)
- Use audio-linked strobe with music for synchronized light shows
- Lower speeds = more natural effects, higher speeds = more dramatic
- Adjust Min/Max intensity for pulse to avoid making the light too bright or dim
Scene Control Menus
Passthrough Control
Configure the scene background for VR passthrough mode. Assign a colour to the camera background and apply it to specific atoms so they blend with or disappear into the passthrough feed.Background Color
- Full HSV colour picker that sets the main camera's background colour
- Used as the reference colour when atoms are set to passthrough material or hidden
- Adjust this to match your real-world environment for accurate passthrough blending
Quick Color Presets
- Blue — sets the background to solid blue
- Green — sets the background to solid green (useful for green-screen workflows)
- Magenta — sets the background to solid magenta
Passthrough Atoms
- Displays a dropdown of all available atoms that have not yet been assigned a passthrough mode
- Once an atom has been added it appears in the removal list below
Update Renderers
- Re-applies the current background colour to all atoms already in the passthrough list
- Use this after changing the Background Color to refresh all assigned atoms
Add as Hidden
- Hides the selected atom by disabling its material renderers
- The atom remains in the scene but is invisible — no material replacement occurs
Change Material
- Replaces the selected atom's materials with a solid colour matching the background
- Useful when you need the geometry to passthrough when overlapping with a non-passthrough object
Removing Passthrough Atoms
- Each atom in the passthrough list shows a Remove button labelled with its name and mode (Material or Renderer)
- Removing a Material-replaced atom restores its original renderer, but a scene reload may be required for full restoration
- Removing a Renderer-hidden atom makes it visible again immediately
