Self-illumination
(Redirected from Self-illuminated)
Self-illumination on the Cheater's Lament.
See the VDC on $selfillum for how glowing is implemented in materials.
Self-illumination, also known as selfillum or simply as glowing, is a feature of the Source Engine that causes certain textures to appear to glow when in areas with little light. This effect is used to add to the appearance, tone and/or artstyle of certain items in Team Fortress 2. As with other graphical features like jiggle bones, self-illumination is purely cosmetic with no gameplay consequence.
Objects that glow in the dark
- Note: This list is incomplete and does not display self-illumination of all applicable items.
| List of items with Self-illumination | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | Slot | Item | Notes | ||
| Weapons | Melee |
| |||
| Sun-on-a-Stick | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Bolt Boy | |||||
| |||||
| Cross-Comm Express | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Cross-Comm Crash Helmet | |||||
| |||||
| Infernal Impaler | |||||
| |||||
| Lieutenant Bites | |||||
| |||||
| Lieutenant Bites the Dust | |||||
| |||||
| Racc Mann | |||||
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| Semi-Tame Trapper's Hat | |||||
| |||||
| Shortness of Breath | |||||
| |||||
| Soldier's Stogie | |||||
| Weapons | Melee |
| |||
| Neon Annihilator | |||||
| |||||
| Sharpened Volcano Fragment | |||||
| |||||
| Third Degree | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Arthropod's Aspect | |||||
| |||||
| Apparition's Aspect | |||||
| |||||
| Blazing Bull | |||||
| |||||
| Carrion Companion | |||||
| |||||
| Creature from the Heap | |||||
| |||||
| Dead Heat | |||||
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| Electric Escorter | |||||
| |||||
| Fallen Angel | |||||
| |||||
| Fiercesome Fluorescence | |||||
| |||||
| Filamental | |||||
| |||||
| Fire Breather | |||||
| |||||
| Googol Glass Eyes | |||||
| |||||
| Gothic Guise | |||||
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| Hellscape | |||||
| |||||
| Mucous Membrain | |||||
| |||||
| Person in the Iron Mask | |||||
| |||||
| Phobos Filter | |||||
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| Portable Smissmas Spirit Dispenser | |||||
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| Propaniac | |||||
| |||||
| PY-40 Incinibot | |||||
| |||||
| Pyr'o Lantern | |||||
| |||||
| Pyro in Chinatown | |||||
| |||||
| Seared Sorcerer | |||||
| |||||
| Spectralnaut | |||||
| |||||
| Tail from the Crypt | |||||
| |||||
| Triclops | |||||
| |||||
| Vicious Visage | |||||
| |||||
| Waxy Wayfinder | |||||
| Weapons | Primary |
| |||
| Grenade Launcher | |||||
| |||||
| Iron Bomber | |||||
| |||||
| Loose Cannon | |||||
| Secondary |
| ||||
| Quickiebomb Launcher | |||||
| |||||
| Stickybomb Launcher | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Alcoholic Automaton | |||||
| |||||
| Cap'n Calamari | |||||
| |||||
| Eyeborg | |||||
| |||||
| Forgotten King's Restless Head | |||||
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| HDMI Patch | |||||
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| Mannhattan Project | |||||
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| Polly Putrid | |||||
| |||||
| Scottish Snarl | |||||
| Taunt |
| ||||
| Spent Well Spirits | |||||
| Weapons | Secondary |
| |||
| Robo-Sandvich | |||||
| Melee |
| ||||
| Apoco-Fists | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Bunsen Brave | |||||
| |||||
| Can Opener | |||||
| |||||
| Cold War Luchador | |||||
| |||||
| Hellish Overlord | |||||
| |||||
| Ivan the Inedible | |||||
| |||||
| Soviet Stitch-Up | |||||
| |||||
| Storm Spirit's Jolly Hat | |||||
| |||||
| U-Clank-A | |||||
| Weapons | Primary |
| |||
| Rescue Ranger | |||||
| Secondary |
| ||||
| Giger Counter | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Arctic Mole | |||||
| |||||
| Big Star | |||||
| |||||
| Brain Interface | |||||
| |||||
| Cabinet Mann | |||||
| |||||
| Clockwerk's Helm | |||||
| |||||
| Data Mining Light | |||||
| |||||
| Delldozer | |||||
| |||||
| Dustbowl Devil | |||||
| |||||
| Face Full of Festive | |||||
| |||||
| Ghoul Box | |||||
| |||||
| Head Mounted Double Observatory | |||||
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| Head of Defense | |||||
| |||||
| Industrial Festivizer | |||||
| |||||
| Mining Light | |||||
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| Pip-Boy | |||||
| |||||
| Special Eyes | |||||
| |||||
| Texas Toast | |||||
| |||||
| Tin-1000 | |||||
| |||||
| Train of Thought | |||||
| Weapons | Primary |
| |||
| Blutsauger | |||||
| Secondary |
| ||||
| Kritzkrieg | |||||
| |||||
| Quick-Fix | |||||
| |||||
| Vaccinator | |||||
| Melee |
| ||||
| Übersaw | |||||
| |||||
| Vita-Saw | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Archimedes the Undying | |||||
| |||||
| Byte'd Beak | |||||
| |||||
| Dr. Gogglestache | |||||
| |||||
| Emerald Jarate | |||||
| |||||
| Herzensbrecher | |||||
| |||||
| Power Spike | |||||
| |||||
| Quadwrangler | |||||
| |||||
| Steam Pipe | |||||
| |||||
| Templar's Spirit | |||||
| |||||
| Trepanabotomizer | |||||
| Taunt |
| ||||
| Results Are In | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Aimframe | |||||
| |||||
| Carious Chameleon | |||||
| |||||
| Corona Australis | |||||
| |||||
| Glow from Below | |||||
| |||||
| Holy Hunter | |||||
| |||||
| Marsupial Man | |||||
| |||||
| Randolph the Blood-Nosed Caribou | |||||
| |||||
| Sir Hootsalot | |||||
| |||||
| Sniper's Snipin' Glass | |||||
| Weapons | Building |
| |||
| Ap-Sap | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Backstabber's Boomslang | |||||
| |||||
| Upgrade | |||||
| Weapons | Melee |
| |||
| Crossing Guard | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Computron 5000 | |||||
| |||||
| Doublecross-Comm | |||||
| |||||
| Professor's Pineapple | |||||
| |||||
| Snaggletoothed Stetson | |||||
| Weapons | N/A | ||||
| |||||
| Australium weapons | |||||
| |||||
| Botkiller weapons | |||||
| |||||
| Decorated | |||||
| |||||
| Festive weapons | |||||
| Melee | |||||
| |||||
| Golden Frying Pan | |||||
| |||||
| Saxxy | |||||
| Cosmetics |
| ||||
| Alakablamicon | |||||
| |||||
| All Hallows' Hatte | |||||
| |||||
| A Rather Festive Tree | |||||
| |||||
| Accursed Apparition | |||||
| |||||
| Aperture Labs Hard Hat | |||||
| |||||
| Awesomenauts Badge | |||||
| |||||
| Beacon from Beyond | |||||
| |||||
| Beaten and Bruised | |||||
| |||||
| Blapature Co. Contributor | |||||
| |||||
| Bombinomicon | |||||
| |||||
| Cheater's Lament | |||||
| |||||
| Conspiracy Cap | |||||
| |||||
| Dead Little Buddy | |||||
| |||||
| Demonic Dome | |||||
| |||||
| Dueler | |||||
| |||||
| Earbuds | |||||
| |||||
| Electric Badge-aloo | |||||
| |||||
| Festive Frames | |||||
| |||||
| Festive Rack | |||||
| |||||
| Gifting Man from Gifting Land | |||||
| |||||
| Hollowed Helm | |||||
| |||||
| Hooded Haunter | |||||
| |||||
| Horseless Headless Horsemann's Head | |||||
| |||||
| Ludicrously Lunatic Lunon Fedora | |||||
| |||||
| Madness vs Machines Boundless Heart 2019 | |||||
| |||||
| Mean Captain | |||||
| |||||
| Memes vs. Machines PotatOS Server 2019 | |||||
| |||||
| Necroprancer | |||||
| |||||
| Philateler | |||||
| |||||
| Pocket Horsemann | |||||
| |||||
| Potato of Labor | |||||
| |||||
| RoBro 3000 | |||||
| |||||
| Rump-o'-Lantern | |||||
| |||||
| Sir Pumpkinton | |||||
| |||||
| Spirit of Giving | |||||
| |||||
| Towering Patch of Pumpkins | |||||
| |||||
| Unknown Monkeynaut | |||||
| |||||
| Virtual Viewfinder | |||||
| |||||
| Voodoo-Cursed Soul | |||||
| Action items |
| ||||
| Power Up Canteen | |||||
Update history
- [Undocumented] Removed self illumination on the Earbuds.
- [Undocumented] Fixed the Industrial Festivizer not glowing in the dark.
- [Undocumented] Fixed an issue with the self-illumination on the Vaccinator's backpack.
- Fixed Civilian Grade Stat Clock cancelling out ÜberCharge and self-illuminating materials on weapons using War Paints. (community fix from makaroffilya)
- Fixed self-illumination effect for the High Roller's Rocket Launcher and the High Roller's Medi Gun. (community fix from makaroffilya)
- Fixed regressed self-illum setting for the Earbuds.
October 9, 2025 Patch (Scream Fortress XVII)
- Updated Randolph the Blood-Nosed Caribou to fix missing self-illum setting for the BLU team.
Bugs
- The entire head of the Engineer Robot is self-illuminated, instead of just the eyes like with the other Robots.