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Sky

NGE can use ldr and hdr images to render the sky and simulate ambient lighting in a scene.

See SkyFactory Javadoc

Sky Boxes

Sky boxes can be loaded from a cube map

SkyFactory.createSky(assetManager, "path/of/cubemap-texture.dds", EnvMapType.CubeMap);

or from a set of 6 images:

Texture west = assetManager.loadTexture("path/to/posx.jpg");
Texture east = assetManager.loadTexture("path/to/negx.jpg");
Texture north = assetManager.loadTexture("path/to/posz.jpg");
Texture south = assetManager.loadTexture("path/to/negz.jpg");
Texture up = assetManager.loadTexture("path/to/posy.jpg");
Texture down = assetManager.loadTexture("path/to/negy.jpg");

SkyFactory.createSky(assetManager, west, east, north, south, up, down);

NGE supports equirectangular skies, which are a single panoramic image that can be used to create a skybox. They are often used for HDR skies, they are easier to create, widely available, provide a better quality result in some cases, but are less performant than cube maps.

They are the preferred choice expecially for HDR skies you can find many free ones online.

SkyFactory.createSky(assetManager, "path/of/sky-texture.hdr", EnvMapType.EquirectMap);

you can also use a PNG or JPG image, but it will not be HDR and will not provide the same quality as a HDR image.

Tip

When using an hdr sky you need to set the the Tone Map Filter to get the best results, otherwise the sky will look too bright or washed out.