Watch Dogs Material Descriptors

Source: Material descriptor XML files from WD1 retail (shaders_unpack/) and Ubisoft leak (data/engine/shaders/materialdescriptors/). Confidence: HIGH — these are the actual shader parameter schema files used by the Disrupt engine.

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Overview

Material descriptors define the parameter schema for each shader type in the Disrupt engine. They tell the engine what textures, colors, floats, and other parameters a material can have, and how they map to the underlying HLSL shader. Each .material.bin file provides the actual values; the descriptor defines what values are valid.

Relationship to .material.bin

materialdescriptor.xml (schema - defines what parameters exist)
 | CompileMaterials.exe
.material.bin (runtime - stores actual parameter values)

The descriptor is like a class definition; the .material.bin is an instance. A material descriptor named DriverCarGeneric defines that car paint materials can have DiffuseTexture1, NormalTexture1, SpecularPower, etc. Each car's .material.bin stores the actual texture paths and numeric values for those parameters.

File Locations

Source	Count	Path
WD1 retail	46	engine/shaders/materialdescriptors/
Ubisoft leak	94	data/engine/shaders/materialdescriptors/

24 descriptors are shared by name between WD1 and the leak. WD1 has 22 unique descriptors not in the leak.

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XML Structure

The root element is <materialdescriptor> with attributes for name, display name, UI visibility, and a unique ID hash. It contains:

• <geometryInputs> — vertex data requirements
• <parameter> — individual parameter definitions (textures, floats, colors, bools)
• <parameterprovider> — maps parameters to HLSL shader files
• <ui> — Disrupt Editor material property panel layout

Root Attributes

Attribute	Type	Description
name	string	Shader/material type name (e.g. DriverCarGeneric)
displayname	string	Human-readable display name
showinui	bool	Whether to show in the Disrupt Editor material UI
id	string	Two u32 hashes as #(hash_lo, hash_hi) — unique material type identifier

geometryInputs

Defines what vertex data the shader expects from meshes:

Attribute	Type	Description
normal	bool	Requires vertex normals
tangent	bool	Requires vertex tangents
binormal	bool	Requires vertex binormals
color	bool	Requires vertex colors
uvChannels	int	Number of UV channels required
packedFirstUV	bool	First UV channel is packed
bonecount	int	Number of bone weights per vertex
reduceMatrixPerDrawCallBy	int	Skinning optimization
packedUChannel	int	Packed UV channel count

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Parameter Types

Type	Description	Example Default
sampler2D	2D texture (.xbt file path)	graphics/_textures/default.xbt
samplerCUBE	Cube map texture	—
samplerState	Texture sampling mode	ColorWrap
float	Single float	16
float2	Two-component vector	1,1
float3	Three-component vector	1,1,1
float4	Four-component vector	1,1,1,1
color3	RGB color (3 floats)	1,1,1
color4	RGBA color (4 floats)	0.5,0.5,0.5,0
int	Integer enum value	0
bool	Boolean flag	0 or 1

Texture Parameter Attributes

Attribute	Description
tilingName	Name of the associated tiling parameter
UvName	Name of the UV channel parameter
uvTilingName	Name of the UV tiling parameter
normalmap	Marks this as a normal map texture
optional	Whether the texture is optional (0 = required)
maxdisplayname	Display name in the editor UI
platform	Platform restriction (e.g. PC,DURANGO,ORBIS)

Numeric Parameter Attributes

Attribute	Description
defaultvalue	Default value as comma-separated floats
provideronly	If 1, computed by the parameter provider (not user-editable)
ignore	If 1, ignored by the engine
op_z	Expression for z-component (e.g. x/8192)
op_w	Expression for w-component (e.g. y/8192)
div	Division factor for packed values
use_if	Conditional parameter (e.g. parameter="ReflectionType" value="2")

samplerState Values

Value	Description
ColorWrap	Wrap/repeat sampling
ColorClamp	Clamp to edge
ColorMirror	Mirror repeat
ColorWrapAniso	Anisotropic filtering (expensive)

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Parameter Provider

The <parameterprovider> maps descriptor parameters to the HLSL shader file:

• parametersfilename = the HLSL shader file that consumes these parameters
• <alias> = alternate parameter name for the shader (e.g. point-sampled variant)
• platform attribute restricts parameters to specific platforms

UI Section

The <ui> section defines the Disrupt Editor material property panel. Uses <xi:include> for shared UI components (DataClasses, ReflectanceGroup, SpecularPowerGroup).

UI Controls

Element	Description
<button>	Texture picker (with fill="1" to stretch)
<textbox>	Numeric input field
<checkbox>	Boolean toggle
<combobox>	Dropdown selection
<slider>	Numeric slider with min/max
<label>	Static text label
<group>	Layout container (with horizontal="1" for side-by-side)

Conditional UI

• show_if — show element when condition is true (e.g. show_if="ReflectionType==2")
• enable_if — enable element when condition is true (e.g. enable_if="EmissiveMeshLights")
• hide_if — hide element when condition is true

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WD1-Specific Descriptors

These 22 descriptors exist in WD1 but not in the leak (WD1-only features):

Name	Purpose	Notable Parameters
AloneBarrier	Water barrier shader	WaterColor, FlowTexture, OverlayTexture, LocalWetness
Character	Character skin/clothing	UseSkinSSS, SkinSSSColor, CharacterProfile
Cloth	Cloth simulation	ClothWrinkleTargetParts, ClothWind
Decal	Decal overlay	DecalTexture, BlendingType
Dots	Dot pattern effect	DotPattern, DotColor
DriverGeneric	Vehicle generic	MaskGreenChannelMode
DriverNexusMon	Nexus monitor display	ScreenTexture
DriverSpline	Road spline rendering	RoadTexture, LaneMarkings
Generic	General-purpose	Full PBR-like pipeline
Glass	Glass/transparent	ReflectionTexture, RefractionPower
Hair	Hair rendering	HairStrandTexture, AlphaTestEnabled
Leaf	Vegetation leaves	WindAnimation, DoubleSided
Rain	Rain effect	RaindropTexture, RainIntensity
RealtreeTrunk	Tree trunk bark	BarkTexture, NormalIntensity
Road	Road surface	RoadTexture, LaneMarkings
Skin	Human skin	UseSkinSSS, SkinSSSColor, SubsurfaceProfile
Starsphere	Sky/stars	StarsphereTexture
Template	Material template	Minimal parameters
UI	User interface	UITexture
Vehicle	Vehicle body	CarPaintColor, ClearCoat
VolumeAmbientOcclusion	AO volume	AOTexture
Water/WaterRiver	Water surfaces	WaterNormal, WaterDepth, FoamTexture
Weapon	Weapon rendering	MetalnessTexture, WearTexture

WD1-Specific Features

• MaskGreenChannelMode — selective colorization (DriverGeneric, Vehicle)
• UseSkinSSS — screen-space subsurface scattering (Character, Skin)
• LocalWetness system — per-pixel wetness blending (AloneBarrier, Road)
• WindAnimation — vertex shader wind displacement (Leaf, Vegetation)

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Shared Descriptors (WD1 + Leak)

24 descriptors exist in both. Key shared names: Background, Blended, DetectorVolume, DisruptCliff, DriverBuilding, DriverCarGeneric, DriverCarPaint, DriverCloth, DriverEye, DriverGlass, DriverHair, DriverMinimap, DriverVegetation, DriverWater, DriverWaterDecal, DriverWire, Error, FogVolume, Highlight, NeonSign, NetHackingBackground, NetHackingGeneric, NetHackingIntersect, NetHackingVolume, RealTreeDriverLeaf, SkinnedHologram, TerrainLayer, Unlit, VehicleLightHalo, VolumetricClouds, VolumetricCloudsControl_Layers.

Leaked Descriptors (Not in WD1)

The leak includes 48 additional descriptors for WD2/WDL: WD2AnimalFur, WD2Building, WD2CarGeneric, WD2CarPaint, WD2Character, WD2CharacterEye, WD2CharacterHair, WD2CharacterSkin, WD2Cloth, WD2Glass, WD2Ground, WD2Road, WD2Water, WDLCharacterHair, WDLCharacterSkin, and 33 more.

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How Material Descriptors Relate to .material.bin

The descriptor defines the schema; the .material.bin stores the values:

1. Descriptor: DriverCarGeneric.xml defines that car materials have DiffuseTexture1 (sampler2D), DiffuseColor1 (color3), SpecularPower (float4), etc.
2. Material .bin: Each car's body.material.bin stores the actual texture path, color values, and specular power.
3. Engine: At load time, the engine reads the descriptor to know the parameter layout, then reads the .material.bin to get the values, and binds them to the HLSL shader.

Compile Pipeline

material.xml (source - parameter values + descriptor reference)
materialdescriptor.xml (schema - parameter definitions)
 | CompileMaterials.exe
material.bin (runtime - binary packed parameter values)

The compiler reads the descriptor to know parameter types and sizes, then packs the XML values into the binary format. The descriptor's id hash is embedded in the .material.bin header so the engine can look up the correct shader.

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Related

• Material Binary Format — .material.bin binary structure
• Material Hex Editing — hex workflow for material editing
• Shader Editing Workflow — shader compilation pipeline
• Shader Addons — Parallellines' addon configuration