# Manually set reflection cubemap **URL:** \ **Category:** Rendering\ **Tags:** cubemap, skylight, unreal-engine, question\ **Created:** [January 31, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/manually-set-reflection-cubemap/305591 "2015-01-31T19:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anonymous\_user\_d4012c78](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@anonymous\_user\_d4012c78](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/anonymous_user_d4012c78)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/manually-set-reflection-cubemap/305591/1 "2015-01-31T19:40:51Z")
Hey, I have a totally dynamic scene and I want the objects in my level to have some reflection. The reflections don’t need to be accurate, I have a bunch of custom cubemaps that I want to use to define my environment. I tried using a skylight, but that assigned the cubemap to every object in the scene instead of just objects near the skylight. My goal is to achieve the same effect as multiple spherical reflection capture placed around my scene, but instead of capturing the scene geometry I want to assign my own cubemaps. I hope you can help me. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Lovecraft\_K](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Lovecraft\_K](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Lovecraft_K)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/manually-set-reflection-cubemap/305591/2 "2015-02-02T19:29:31Z")
Hey Timothy - You would need to assign your Cubemaps directly in the Materials of the items themselves. You can setup a blueprint controlled volume system to change the cubemap that is used when an object is placed inside of certain volumes that you set up in your level. Here is what a basic material setup would look like: ![28719-reflections02.jpg](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/e/0/5/e05b150fce72c04e72b3dea9428ae87cd84b0bf9.jpeg) Thank You Eric Ketchum ---
**Author:** ![Motanum](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Motanum](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Motanum)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2018, 4:18pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/manually-set-reflection-cubemap/305591/3 "2018-04-03T16:18:57Z")
I want to expand on your answer, as it took quite some work to get it working with my materials. I needed to set custom cubemaps, for materials that have various metal values, and to blend with the background. Here is my final script for the reflections. [https://puu.sh/zVrS8/33308792f0.png](https://puu.sh/zVrS8/33308792f0.png) And finally, before going to the emissive channel, it adds to the emissive color I already have. [https://puu.sh/zVrT3/9c5a8611ed.png](https://puu.sh/zVrT3/9c5a8611ed.png) This is what my crate with standard ue4 reflections look like. Editor. [https://puu.sh/zVrUZ/6649b65e9d.jpg](https://puu.sh/zVrUZ/6649b65e9d.jpg) In Game ![](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/7/b/27bda5366c7e6c6191d13f1b348b93170e077e1b.jpeg) And this is what the manual cubemap looks like on the same model. Editor. [https://puu.sh/zVrVN/2d7183b576.jpg](https://puu.sh/zVrVN/2d7183b576.jpg) In Game (Sorry for the tiny screen). [https://puu.sh/zVrZk/0059ffea7b.jpg](https://puu.sh/zVrZk/0059ffea7b.jpg) It’s not perfect, but it’s way miles better than having a black reflection before due to the procedural generation. It blends quite nicely and looks natural. Before: [https://puu.sh/zVsaC/be11c860cd.jpg](https://puu.sh/zVsaC/be11c860cd.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bates](https://d3kjluh73b9h9o.cloudfront.net/original/4X/2/8/5/28502927f1d97ba1051b3b47ccfe17233bf41ef0.png) [@Bates](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Bates)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/manually-set-reflection-cubemap/305591/4 "2024-03-14T14:12:28Z")
I have encountered a similar situation in UE5 while using a Thin Translucent Material for a sequence cinematic. I have a HDRI backdrop that I wanted to use for lighting, however, I wanted a separate cubemap to be in the reflection of my glass bottle material. **Now, I am a noob, so I play around till I get something working, this very well may not be an efficient way of achieving this.** Still, I essentially have a Reflection vector multiplying with a fresnel, plugging into my emissive color. I also have a Specular parameter set to 0 (removing HDRI reflection). This setup has allowed me to control the aggressiveness of my intended reflection (with BaseReflectFractionIn Param) and also blend the HDRIbackdrop (with Specular Param) if I want.