13 - LED Strip Effect (Light Strip Effect)

Module: SuperStage Runtime (ASuperLightStripEffect)
Target Users: Lighting designers, LED programmers
Prerequisites: 03 - DMX Fixture Base
Last Updated: 2026-04-14

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1. Overview

SuperLightStripEffect is a DMX-controlled LED strip effect Actor. It implements multiple programmable strip effects (chase, flow, breathing, etc.) via GPU material (MI_Effect_Inst) and can batch-apply the same material effect to multiple static meshes in the scene.

Class Inheritance Chain

AActor (UE5 Engine Base Class)
  │
  └── ASuperBaseActor ·············· SuperStage Root Class (L1)
        │                           ├ SceneBase / ForwardArrow / UpArrow
        │                           └ AssetMetaData
        │
        └── ASuperDmxActorBase ····· DMX Fixture Base Class (L2)
              │                      ├ DMX Address / Fixture Library / Channel Reading
              │                      └ SuperDMXTick / Address Label
              │
              └── ASuperLightStripEffect · LED Strip Effect (L3) ← This document
                    ├ TargetMeshActors[] → Batch material application
                    ├ MI_Effect_Inst dynamic material instance
                    ├ 9-channel DMX control (Dimmer/Strobe/Effect/Speed/Width/Direction/RGB)
                    ├ 10 built-in GPU effects
                    └ MaxLightIntensity / MaterialIndex

Design Note: ASuperLightStripEffect inherits directly from ASuperDmxActorBase (not ASuperLightBase) because LED strips don’t need Pan/Tilt rotation axes. Its core function is driving GPU material parameters via DMX to produce visual effects, rather than controlling physical light head movement.

Core Features

• 10 Built-in Effects — Chase, flow, breathing, gradient and other GPU material effects
• 9-Channel DMX Control — Dimmer, Strobe, Effect selection, Speed, Width, Direction, RGB color
• Multi-Target Application — One strip Actor can simultaneously drive materials on multiple static meshes in the scene
• Material Sharing — All target meshes share the same dynamic material instance (unified control, memory saving)
• 8 Strobe Modes — Closed, On, Linear, Pulse, RampUp, RampDown, Sine, Random

Use Cases

• LED bar/strip effect control
• Building contour lights / wall washer lights
• Stage background LED decoration
• Truss light strips / floor light strips
• Any linear fixtures requiring unified material effect control

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2. Basic Principles

How SuperLightStripEffect works:

DMX Signal → Read 9 channel values → Update dynamic material parameters → GPU renders effects
                                    │
                                    ├─→ Own YStaticMeshEffect mesh
                                    └─→ TargetMeshActors[] meshes in scene

Key: All target meshes share the same dynamic material instance. This means:

• Modifying material parameters updates all targets simultaneously (unified effect)
• Only one set of DMX channels needed to control all targets
• For independent control of different strips, use multiple SuperLightStripEffect Actors

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3. Property Details

3.1 Target Settings (A.ModelTargets)

Parameter	Description	Default
TargetMeshActors	Array of StaticMeshActors in the scene to apply effects to	Empty
StaticMeshEffect	Static mesh asset used by the actor’s own mesh component	None

TargetMeshActors

This is the core configuration of the strip effect — you need to select the static meshes in the scene to be controlled by this strip:

1. In the Details panel, expand A.ModelTargets → TargetMeshActors
2. Click the + button to add elements
3. Use the eyedropper tool or dropdown menu to select StaticMeshActors in the scene
4. Can add multiple targets; they share the same effect

Tip: Target Actors must be StaticMeshActor type. Regular Actors or Blueprint Actors are not supported.

3.2 Default Parameters (B.DefaultParameter)

Parameter	Description	Range	Default
MaxLightIntensity	Maximum light intensity (material brightness cap)	0 - 1000	1.0
MaterialIndex	Material slot index (which material slot on target meshes to apply to)	0 - 255	0

MaxLightIntensity

Controls the maximum brightness value of the material. This value is set to the material’s MaxBrightness parameter during initialization:

• Larger value → higher maximum strip brightness
• Typically set to 1.0 ~ 10.0 (depending on scene needs)
• Actual brightness = MaxLightIntensity × Dimmer

MaterialIndex

Specifies which material slot on the target mesh the effect material is applied to:

• 0 (default) → Apply to the first material slot
• If the target mesh has multiple material slots, a specific slot can be specified
• System automatically checks if the index is within valid range (prevents out-of-bounds)

Parameter Tuning Suggestions

Scenario	MaxLightIntensity	Description
Close decorative strip (< 3m)	0.5 - 2.0	Avoid overexposure and glare
Stage strip (3-10m)	2.0 - 5.0	Standard brightness
Large venue (10m+)	5.0 - 15.0	Long distance needs higher brightness
Building facade wall wash	3.0 - 10.0	Needs to penetrate ambient light
Ambient background	0.3 - 1.0	Low-key soft effect

3.3 Control Parameters (C.ControlParameter)

Parameter	Description	Range	Default
Dimmer	Total brightness (dimmer)	0.0 - 1.0	0.0
Strobe	Strobe frequency	0.0 - 1.0	0.0
Effect	Effect selection	0.0 - 1.0	0.0
Speed	Effect movement speed	0.0 - 1.0	0.5
Width	Effect width/size	0.0 - 1.0	0.0
Direction	Effect movement direction	0.0 - 1.0	0.0
Color	RGB color	Per channel 0.0 - 1.0	White (1,1,1)

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4. Control Parameter Details

4.1 Dimmer

Total brightness control, multiplied by MaxLightIntensity for final brightness:

DMX Value	Material Parameter	Effect
0.0	Brightness = 0	Completely off
0.5	Brightness = 0.5	Half bright
1.0	Brightness = 1.0	Max brightness

4.2 Strobe

DMX value mapped to strobe frequency (0~255):

Material Strobe Parameter = DMX Value × 255

Strobe mode controlled by the material’s internal StrobeMode parameter:

StrobeMode	Name	Description
0	Closed	Off (always dark)
1	Open	Always on (no strobe)
2	Linear	Linear flash
3	Pulse	Pulse flash
4	RampUp	Fade-in flash
5	RampDown	Fade-out flash
6	Sine	Sine wave flash
7	Random	Random flash

4.3 Effect

DMX value mapped to 10 effects (0~10):

Material Effect Parameter = Lerp(0, 10, DMX Value)

DMX Value Range	Effect Index	Typical Effect
0.0 ~ 0.1	0 ~ 1	Static/solid color
0.1 ~ 0.2	1 ~ 2	Flow
0.2 ~ 0.3	2 ~ 3	Chase
0.3 ~ 0.4	3 ~ 4	Gradient
…	…	…
0.9 ~ 1.0	9 ~ 10	Complex combined effects

Note: Specific effect appearance depends on the MI_Effect_Inst material implementation. Visual performance of different effects is determined by the shader logic inside the material.

4.4 Speed

DMX value mapped to speed range (-10 ~ +10):

Material Speed Parameter = Lerp(-10, 10, DMX Value)

DMX Value	Speed	Effect
0.0	-10	Fastest reverse movement
0.25	-5	Medium reverse
0.5	0	Stop movement
0.75	+5	Medium forward
1.0	+10	Fastest forward movement

Tip: Speed supports negative values, which can reverse the effect’s movement direction. DMX value = 0.5 means effect is stationary.

4.5 Width

DMX value mapped to width range (0 ~ 10):

Material Width Parameter = Lerp(0, 10, DMX Value)

• Smaller value → narrower/denser effect pattern
• Larger value → wider/sparser effect pattern

4.6 Direction

Directly mapped to material’s EffectDirection parameter (0 ~ 1):

• Controls the movement direction or scanning direction of the effect
• Specific behavior depends on the selected effect

4.7 Color (RGB)

Three DMX channels independently control red, green, and blue components:

Channel	DMX Value 0.0	DMX Value 1.0
Red	No red	Max red
Green	No green	Max green
Blue	No blue	Max blue

Color values are directly set to the material’s LightColor vector parameter.

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5. Blueprint Control

5.1 Control Functions

SetLightStripDefault (Initialization)

Initializes strip material and applies to all target meshes. Must be called once before starting control.

Execution content:

1. Set StaticMeshEffect asset for own mesh
2. Create dynamic material instance (if not yet created)
3. Set MaxBrightness parameter
4. Apply material to own mesh’s MaterialIndex slot
5. Iterate through TargetMeshActors, apply material to each target’s MaterialIndex slot

SetLightStripEffect (9-Channel Control)

Main control function, called per frame in SuperDMXTick:

Input Parameter	Control
DmxDimmer	Brightness
DmxStrobe	Strobe
DmxEffect	Effect selection
DmxSpeed	Speed
DmxWidth	Width
DmxDirection	Direction
DmxRed	Red
DmxGreen	Green
DmxBlue	Blue

5.2 Typical Blueprint Implementation

Event BeginPlay
  │
  └─ SetLightStripDefault()    ← Initialize material

Event SuperDMXTick(DeltaTime)
  │
  └─ SetLightStripEffect(Dimmer, Strobe, Effect, Speed, Width, Direction, R, G, B)

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6. DMX Channel Planning

Channel	Attribute	Description
1	Dimmer	Brightness
2	Strobe	Strobe
3	Effect	Effect selection
4	Speed	Speed
5	Width	Width
6	Direction	Direction
7	Red	Red
8	Green	Green
9	Blue	Blue

Total 9 channels. If using 16-bit precision, assign Fine channels to key attributes as needed.

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7. FAQ

Q: Target mesh doesn’t show effects?

1. Confirm SetLightStripDefault has been called to initialize material
2. Check if MaterialIndex is correct (starts from 0)
3. Confirm target Actor is StaticMeshActor type
4. Confirm Dimmer DMX value > 0

Q: Can effects be seen in editor?

Yes. SetLightStripDefault is called both in OnConstruction (when placed/modified) and BeginPlay (at runtime). After configuring TargetMeshActors in the editor, the material is applied.

Q: How to change the effect material?

Default uses MI_Effect_Inst material. For custom materials, create a new material instance ensuring it contains the same parameter names (MaxBrightness, Brightness, Strobe, LightColor, Effect, Speed, Width, EffectDirection).

Q: Effect not applied after adding new target Actors?

After modifying TargetMeshActors, you need to re-trigger initialization. In the editor, moving the strip Actor triggers OnConstruction; at runtime, re-call SetLightStripDefault.

Q: Effect speed is wrong?

Speed DMX value = 0.5 means speed is 0 (stopped), not half speed. < 0.5 is reverse, > 0.5 is forward.

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Next Steps: Read 14 - Stage VFX to learn about Niagara particle effect control.