Overlay

Overlay is for mood and focus. It can place an image or color over the stage, or clear the current overlay.

Use Insert > Scene & UI > Overlay for fades, flashes, darkening, tinted scenes, and full-screen cover images.

Properties

Node-specific properties

Field	What it does
Mode	image, color, or clear.
Image	Image asset used when mode is image. Covers and backgrounds can be used.
Color	Color used when mode is color.
Transparency	Overlay transparency from 0 to 1.

Inherited/common properties

Field	What it does
Name	Optional label used in the editor and Story Map. Leave it empty to use VNC's automatic node name.
Transition	cut or fade. Clear overlays can fade out too.
Transition Duration	Optional duration used when the selected transition is animated.
Advance	After Transition waits for animated overlay fades by default. Use Immediately when the route should continue while the overlay changes.
Next	Node that runs after this node finishes its own work.

Runtime Behavior

When Mode is image, VNC shows the selected image above the scene. When Mode is color, it shows the selected color. When Mode is clear, it removes the overlay.

Transparency is clamped between 0 and 1. Use lower values for stronger overlays and higher values for lighter overlays.

Overlay defaults to Advance After Transition, so a fade can fully cover or reveal the scene before later nodes run. Choose Immediately for effects that should overlap the next line or sprite change.

Common Uses

Use	Setup
Fade to black	Mode color, Color #000000, Transparency 0.2, Transition fade, Transition Duration 0.1, Advance After Transition, Set Next to the next node in your route.
Show curtains	Mode image, Image curtains, Transparency 0.15, Transition fade, Transition Duration 0.25, Set Next to the next node in your route.
Return to normal	Mode clear, Set Next to the next node in your route.

Overlay nodes are easiest to manage when every overlay has a matching clear later in the route.