Gradient shader Z fighting in Scene view only - unity3d

I have created the following gradient that takes an Image components source image and apply a two colour gradient to it. Using a toggle it can be switched to using the Source image's alpha for the gradient alpha, or set the alpha per gradient colour.
Properties
{
[PerRendererData] _MainTex ("Texture", 2D) = "white" {}
[Header(Colours)]
_Color1("Color 1", Color) = (0,0,0,1)
_Color2("Color 2", Color) = (1,1,1,1)
[Toggle]_UseImageAlpha("Use Image alpha", float) = 0
[Header(Cull mode)]
[Enum(UnityEngine.Rendering.CullMode)] _CullMode("Cull mode", float) = 2
[Header(ZTest)]
[Enum(UnityEngine.Rendering.CompareFunction)] _ZTest("ZTest", float) = 4
[Toggle(UNITY_UI_ALPHACLIP)] _UseUIAlphaClip("Use Alpha Clip", Float) = 1
}
SubShader
{
Tags {"Queue" = "Transparent" "RenderType"="Transparent"}
LOD 100
Blend SrcAlpha OneMinusSrcAlpha
ZTest [_ZTest]
Cull [_CullMode]
Pass
{
CGPROGRAM
#pragma vertex vert
#pragma fragment frag
#pragma multi_compile_local _ UNITY_UI_ALPHACLIP
#include "UnityCG.cginc"
struct appdata
{
float4 vertex : POSITION;
float2 uv : TEXCOORD0;
fixed4 col : COLOR;
};
struct v2f
{
float2 uv : TEXCOORD0;
float4 vertex : SV_POSITION;
fixed4 col : COLOR;
};
sampler2D _MainTex;
float4 _MainTex_ST;
fixed4 _Color1;
fixed4 _Color2;
bool _UseImageAlpha;
v2f vert (appdata v)
{
v2f o;
o.vertex = UnityObjectToClipPos(v.vertex);
o.uv = TRANSFORM_TEX(v.uv, _MainTex);
o.col = v.col;
return o;
}
fixed4 frag (v2f i) : SV_Target
{
if (_UseImageAlpha) {
_Color1.a = i.col.a;
_Color2.a = i.col.a;
}
fixed4 col = tex2D(_MainTex, i.uv);
col *= lerp(_Color1, _Color2, i.uv.y);
col.a = clamp(col.a, 0, 1);
#ifdef UNITY_UI_ALPHACLIP
clip(col.a - .001);
#endif
return col;
}
ENDCG
}
}
This shader works fine and shows the gradient as expected, however once I start adding multiple layers of Images (in example a blue square behind it, and a green quare in front of it) it starts having issues with Z fighting in the scene view only based on the angle of the scene camera with the object that comes next in the hierachy (in this example the green square). In the Game view and on builds the Z fighting doesn't occur.
I am using the default LessEqual ZTest option, with back culling and render queue set to 3000 (which is the same as the render queue for the image in front and behind of it). As per Unity's documentation having it set to LessEqual should make it so Objects in front get drawn on top, and objects behind get hidden:
How should depth testing be performed. Default is LEqual (draw objects in from or at the distance as existing objects; hide objects behind them).
Setting the ZTest to any of the other options (off, always, greaterEqual etc) doens't yield a better result.
If I set the Render queue higher (3001) it will always draw the gradient on top in the Scene view (no changes in the Game view) whereas setting it to 2999 will still make it z fight with the object in front of it (green square), while making the blue square behind it transparent.
When I only have the green square in front of the gradient it will z fight in some places, while cutting out the green square in other places where the source image doesn't have any pixels.
Using the alpha of the source image, or using the alpha of the two individual colours does not make a difference either.
(gyazo) Example gif of the fighting changing depending on the camera angle.
What is causing this z fighting, and why does it only occur in the scene view?
Using Unity 2019.3.13f1, same results in 2019.2, 2019.1m 2018.4 LTS, 2017 LTS on Windows.

Try adding ZWrite Off. With shaders it might be useful just to start with (or at least look at) one of Unity's built-in shaders that is close to what you want. In your case that would be UI-Default.shader.

Related

Prevent transparent areas being shaded by projection shader

I'm trying to make a decal shader to use with a projector in Unity. Here's what I've put together:
Shader "Custom/color_projector"
{
Properties {
_Color ("Tint Color", Color) = (1,1,1,1)
_MainTex ("Cookie", 2D) = "gray" {}
}
Subshader {
Tags {"Queue"="Transparent"}
Pass {
ZTest Less
ColorMask RGB
Blend One OneMinusSrcAlpha
Offset -1, -1
CGPROGRAM
#pragma vertex vert
#pragma fragment frag
#include "UnityCG.cginc"
struct v2f {
float4 uvShadow : TEXCOORD0;
float4 pos : SV_POSITION;
};
float4x4 unity_Projector;
float4x4 unity_ProjectorClip;
v2f vert (float4 vertex : POSITION)
{
v2f o;
o.pos = UnityObjectToClipPos (vertex);
o.uvShadow = mul (unity_Projector, vertex);
return o;
}
sampler2D _MainTex;
fixed4 _Color;
fixed4 frag (v2f i) : SV_Target
{
fixed4 tex = tex2Dproj (_MainTex, UNITY_PROJ_COORD(i.uvShadow));
return _Color * tex.a;
}
ENDCG
}
}
}
This works well in most situations:
However, whenever it projects onto a transparent surface (or multiple surfaces) it seems to render an extra time for each surface. Here, I've broken up the divide between the grass and the paving using grass textures with transparent areas:
I've tried numerous blending and options and all of the ZTesting options. This is the best I can get it to look.
From reading around I gather this might be because the a transparent shader does not write to the depth buffer. I tried adding ZWrite On and I tried doing a pass before the main pass:
Pass {
ZWrite On
ColorMask 0
}
But neither had any effect at all.
How can this shader be modified so that it only projects the texture once on the nearest geometries?
Desired result (photoshopped):
The problem is due to how projectors work. Basically, they render all meshes within their field of view a second time, except with a different shader. In your case, this means that both the ground and the plane with the grass will be rendered twice and layered on top of each other. I think it could be possible to fix this using two steps;
First, add the following to the tags of the transparent (grass) shader:
"IgnoreProjector"="True"
Then, change the render queue of your projector from "Transparent" to "Transparent+1". This means that the ground will render first, then the grass edges, and finally the projector will project onto the ground (except appearing on top, since it is rendered last).
As for the blending, i think you want regular alpha blending:
Blend SrcAlpha OneMinusSrcAlpha
Another option if you are using deferred rendering is to use deferred decals. These are both cheaper and usually easier to use than projectors.

how to programmatically allow Unity Shader to control which object renders in front?

I've only just started learning Unity, but because I come from a background of coding in C#, I've found the standard scripting to be very quick to learn. Unfortunately, I've now come across a problem for which I believe a custom shader is required and I'm completely lost when it comes to shaders.
Scenario:
I'm using a custom distance scaling process so that really big, far away objects are moved within a reasonable floating point precision range from the player. This works great and handles scaling of the objects based on their adjusted distance so they appear to actually be really far away. The problem occurs though when two of these objects pass close to eachother in game space (this would still be millions of units apart in real scale) because they visibly collide.
Ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFnuQg4R8NQ
Attempted Solution 1:
I've looked into flattening the objects along the player's view axis and this fixes the collision, but this affects shading and particle effects so wasn't a good option
Attempted Solution 2:
I've tried changing the RenderOrder, but because sometimes one object is inside the mesh of another (though the centre of this object is still closer to the camera) it doesn't fix the issue and particle effects are problematic again.
Attempted Solution 3:
I've tried moving the colliding objects to their own layer, spawning a new camera with a higher depth at the same position as my main camera and forcing the cameras to only see the items on their respective layers, but this caused lighting issues as some objects are lighting others and I had only a limited number of layers so this solution was quite limiting as it forced me to only have a low number of objects that could be overlapping at a time. NOTE: this solution is probably the closest I was able to come to what I need though.
Ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyFDgimJ2-8
Attempted Solution 4:
I've tried updating the Standard shader code by downloading it from Unity's downloads page and creating my own, custom shader that allows me to modify the ZWrite and ZTest properties, but because I've no real understanding of how these work, I'm not getting anywhere.
Request:
I would greatly appreciate a Shader script code example of how I can programmatically force one object who's mesh is either colliding with or completely inside another mesh to render in front of said mesh. I'm hoping I can then take that example and apply it to all the shaders that I'm currently using (Standard, Particle Additive) to achieve the effect I'm looking for. Thanks in advance for your help.
In the gif below both objects are colliding and according to the camera position the cube is in front of the sphere but I can change their visibility with the render queue:
If that's what you want you only have to add ZWrite Off in your subshader before the CGPROGRAM starts, the following is the Standard Surface Shader including the line:
Shader "Custom/Shader" {
Properties {
_Color ("Color", Color) = (1,1,1,1)
_MainTex ("Albedo (RGB)", 2D) = "white" {}
_Glossiness ("Smoothness", Range(0,1)) = 0.5
_Metallic ("Metallic", Range(0,1)) = 0.0
}
SubShader {
Tags { "RenderType"="Opaque" }
LOD 200
ZWrite Off
CGPROGRAM
// Physically based Standard lighting model, and enable shadows on all light types
#pragma surface surf Standard fullforwardshadows
// Use shader model 3.0 target, to get nicer looking lighting
#pragma target 3.0
sampler2D _MainTex;
struct Input {
float2 uv_MainTex;
};
half _Glossiness;
half _Metallic;
fixed4 _Color;
// Add instancing support for this shader. You need to check 'Enable Instancing' on materials that use the shader.
// See https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/GPUInstancing.html for more information about instancing.
// #pragma instancing_options assumeuniformscaling
UNITY_INSTANCING_BUFFER_START(Props)
// put more per-instance properties here
UNITY_INSTANCING_BUFFER_END(Props)
void surf (Input IN, inout SurfaceOutputStandard o) {
// Albedo comes from a texture tinted by color
fixed4 c = tex2D (_MainTex, IN.uv_MainTex) * _Color;
o.Albedo = c.rgb;
// Metallic and smoothness come from slider variables
o.Metallic = _Metallic;
o.Smoothness = _Glossiness;
o.Alpha = c.a;
}
ENDCG
}
FallBack "Diffuse"
}
Now sorting particles, look at the shadows and how they collide and how we can change their visibility regardless of their position.
Here's the shader for particles, I'm using the Unity Built-in shader, the only thing added is Ztest Always
Shader "Particles/Alpha Blended Premultiply Custom" {
Properties {
_MainTex ("Particle Texture", 2D) = "white" {}
_InvFade ("Soft Particles Factor", Range(0.01,3.0)) = 1.0
}
Category {
Tags { "Queue"="Transparent" "IgnoreProjector"="True" "RenderType"="Transparent" "PreviewType"="Plane" }
ZTest Always
Blend SrcAlpha OneMinusSrcAlpha
ColorMask RGB
Cull Off Lighting Off ZWrite Off
SubShader {
Pass {
CGPROGRAM
#pragma vertex vert
#pragma fragment frag
#pragma target 2.0
#pragma multi_compile_particles
#pragma multi_compile_fog
#include "UnityCG.cginc"
sampler2D _MainTex;
fixed4 _TintColor;
struct appdata_t {
float4 vertex : POSITION;
fixed4 color : COLOR;
float2 texcoord : TEXCOORD0;
UNITY_VERTEX_INPUT_INSTANCE_ID
};
struct v2f {
float4 vertex : SV_POSITION;
fixed4 color : COLOR;
float2 texcoord : TEXCOORD0;
#ifdef SOFTPARTICLES_ON
float4 projPos : TEXCOORD1;
#endif
UNITY_VERTEX_OUTPUT_STEREO
};
float4 _MainTex_ST;
v2f vert (appdata_t v)
{
v2f o;
UNITY_SETUP_INSTANCE_ID(v);
UNITY_INITIALIZE_VERTEX_OUTPUT_STEREO(o);
o.vertex = UnityObjectToClipPos(v.vertex);
#ifdef SOFTPARTICLES_ON
o.projPos = ComputeScreenPos (o.vertex);
COMPUTE_EYEDEPTH(o.projPos.z);
#endif
o.color = v.color;
o.texcoord = TRANSFORM_TEX(v.texcoord,_MainTex);
return o;
}
UNITY_DECLARE_DEPTH_TEXTURE(_CameraDepthTexture);
float _InvFade;
fixed4 frag (v2f i) : SV_Target
{
#ifdef SOFTPARTICLES_ON
float sceneZ = LinearEyeDepth (SAMPLE_DEPTH_TEXTURE_PROJ(_CameraDepthTexture, UNITY_PROJ_COORD(i.projPos)));
float partZ = i.projPos.z;
float fade = saturate (_InvFade * (sceneZ-partZ));
i.color.a *= fade;
#endif
return i.color * tex2D(_MainTex, i.texcoord) * i.color.a;
}
ENDCG
}
}
}
}

Unity3D Custom Shader Prevent Light Addition?

I've used Unity Projectors and a custom shader to create the effect of a custom image shape coming from a projector. It works great except if the light from the projector comes into contact with the light from another copy of the project, the light colors are combined. I don't want this to happen, so if i specify green for example for both projectors, and the light comes into contact with each other, the light should overlap and remain green for both projectors. Here is a picture of what I mean:
I'm new to shaders and found this shader online. Any help on how I could modify the shader to accomplish my goal would be much appreciated. Or if there is another way to accomplish this goal would be great. I tried putting each projector into a layer and tell each to ignore that layer when projecting their light, but this had no effect. Thanks.
Shader "Custom/MyProjectorShader" {
Properties{
_Color("Tint Color", Color) = (1,1,1,1)
_Attenuation("Falloff", Range(0.0, 1.0)) = 1.0
_ShadowTex("Cookie", 2D) = "gray" {}
}
Subshader{
Tags{ "Queue" = "Transparent" }
Pass{
ZWrite Off
ColorMask RGB
Blend SrcAlpha One // Additive blending
Offset -1, -1
CGPROGRAM
#pragma vertex vert
#pragma fragment frag
#include "UnityCG.cginc"
struct v2f {
float4 uvShadow : TEXCOORD0;
float4 pos : SV_POSITION;
};
float4x4 unity_Projector;
float4x4 unity_ProjectorClip;
v2f vert(float4 vertex : POSITION)
{
v2f o;
o.pos = UnityObjectToClipPos(vertex);
o.uvShadow = mul(unity_Projector, vertex);
return o;
}
sampler2D _ShadowTex;
fixed4 _Color;
float _Attenuation;
fixed4 frag(v2f i) : SV_Target
{
// Apply alpha mask
fixed4 texCookie = tex2Dproj(_ShadowTex, UNITY_PROJ_COORD(i.uvShadow));
fixed4 outColor = _Color * texCookie.a;
// Attenuation
float depth = i.uvShadow.z; // [-1 (near), 1 (far)]
return outColor * clamp(1.0 - abs(depth) + _Attenuation, 0.0, 1.0);
}
ENDCG
}
}
}
Blend SrcAlpha OneMinusSrcAlpha
Unlike what the comment says, Blend One One is the regular Additive (Linear Dodge) blend mode. Using this new blend mode you'll need to make sure your textures have an alpha channel too.
https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/SL-Blend.html
Probably Blend One OneMinusSrcAlpha would work better in this case because it would also avoid so remaining border cutout.

custom clipping shader on top of standard shader? (unity)

I want to draw a horizontal line on an object with shader code (hlsl).
The clipping shader simply takes the distance to a given Y-coordinate in the surface shader and checks if it is higher that a given value.
If so it will discard. The result is a shader that simply clips away all pixels that are not on a line.
void surf (Input IN, inout SurfaceOutputStandard o) {
// Albedo comes from a texture tinted by color
fixed4 c = tex2D (_MainTex, IN.uv_MainTex) * _Color;
float d = abs(_YClip - IN.worldPos.y); // _YClip is is the properties and can be changed
if (d > _LineThickness) {
discard;
}
}
Can I somehow combine this shader with the standard unity shader without changing the code?
I plan to have a gizmo shader that renders lines and all kind of stuff. It would be very practical if I could just tell unity to render this gizmo shader on top.
I believe you might be able to use or adapt this shader to your purpose.
Image showing before y axis reached.
Image showing during, where one half is above cutoff y value and other half is below. Note that the pattern it dissolves in, depends on a texture pattern you supply yourself. So it should be possible to have a strict cutoff instead of a more odd and uneven pattern.
After the object has fully passed by the cutoff y value. What I did in this case is to hide an object inside the start object that is slightly smaller than the first object you saw. But if you don't have anything inside, the object will just be invisible, or clipped.
Shader "Dissolve/Dissolve"
{
Properties
{
_MainTex ("Texture", 2D) = "white" {}
_DissolveTexture("Dissolve Texture", 2D) = "white" {}
_DissolveY("Current Y of the dissolve effect", Float) = 0
_DissolveSize("Size of the effect", Float) = 2
_StartingY("Starting point of the effect", Float) = -1 //the number is supposedly in meters. Is compared to the Y coordinate in world space I believe.
}
SubShader
{
Tags { "RenderType"="Opaque" }
LOD 100
Pass
{
CGPROGRAM
#pragma vertex vert
#pragma fragment frag
// make fog work
//#pragma multi_compile_fog
#include "UnityCG.cginc"
struct appdata
{
float4 vertex : POSITION;
float2 uv : TEXCOORD0;
};
struct v2f
{
float2 uv : TEXCOORD0;
//UNITY_FOG_COORDS(1)
float4 vertex : SV_POSITION;
float3 worldPos : TEXCOORD1;
};
sampler2D _MainTex;
float4 _MainTex_ST;
sampler2D _DissolveTexture;
float _DissolveY;
float _DissolveSize;
float _StartingY;
v2f vert (appdata v) //"The vertex shader"
{
v2f o;
o.vertex = UnityObjectToClipPos(v.vertex);
o.uv = TRANSFORM_TEX(v.uv, _MainTex);
o.worldPos = mul(unity_ObjectToWorld, v.vertex).xyz;
//UNITY_TRANSFER_FOG(o,o.vertex);
return o;
}
fixed4 frag (v2f i) : SV_Target //"For drawing the pixel on top"
{
float transition = _DissolveY - i.worldPos.y; //Cutoff value where world position is taken into account.
clip(_StartingY + (transition + (tex2D(_DissolveTexture, i.uv)) * _DissolveSize)); //Clip = cutoff if above 0.
//My understanding: If StartingY for dissolve effect + transition value and uv mapping of the texture is taken into account, clip off using the _DissolveSize.
//This happens to each individual pixel.
// sample the texture
fixed4 col = tex2D(_MainTex, i.uv);
// apply fog
//UNITY_APPLY_FOG(i.fogCoord, col);
//clip(1 - i.vertex.x % 10); //"A pixel is NOT rendered if clip is below 0."
return col;
}
ENDCG
}
}
}
Here you see the inspector fields available.
I have a similar script with the x axis.

How to make Unity glass shader only refract objects behind it?

I am looking for a glass shader for Unity that only refracts the objects behind it, or ideas for how to modify an existing glass shader to do that.
This screenshot shows what happens when I use FX/Glass/Stained BumpDistort on a curved plane mesh.
As you can see, the glass shader refracts both the sphere in front of the mesh and the ground behind it. I am looking for a shader that will only refract the objects behind it.
Here is the code for that shader, for reference:
// Per pixel bumped refraction.
// Uses a normal map to distort the image behind, and
// an additional texture to tint the color.
Shader "FX/Glass/Stained BumpDistort" {
Properties {
_BumpAmt ("Distortion", range (0,128)) = 10
_MainTex ("Tint Color (RGB)", 2D) = "white" {}
_BumpMap ("Normalmap", 2D) = "bump" {}
}
Category {
// We must be transparent, so other objects are drawn before this one.
Tags { "Queue"="Transparent" "RenderType"="Opaque" }
SubShader {
// This pass grabs the screen behind the object into a texture.
// We can access the result in the next pass as _GrabTexture
GrabPass {
Name "BASE"
Tags { "LightMode" = "Always" }
}
// Main pass: Take the texture grabbed above and use the bumpmap to perturb it
// on to the screen
Pass {
Name "BASE"
Tags { "LightMode" = "Always" }
CGPROGRAM
#pragma vertex vert
#pragma fragment frag
#pragma multi_compile_fog
#include "UnityCG.cginc"
struct appdata_t {
float4 vertex : POSITION;
float2 texcoord: TEXCOORD0;
};
struct v2f {
float4 vertex : SV_POSITION;
float4 uvgrab : TEXCOORD0;
float2 uvbump : TEXCOORD1;
float2 uvmain : TEXCOORD2;
UNITY_FOG_COORDS(3)
};
float _BumpAmt;
float4 _BumpMap_ST;
float4 _MainTex_ST;
v2f vert (appdata_t v)
{
v2f o;
o.vertex = mul(UNITY_MATRIX_MVP, v.vertex);
#if UNITY_UV_STARTS_AT_TOP
float scale = -1.0;
#else
float scale = 1.0;
#endif
o.uvgrab.xy = (float2(o.vertex.x, o.vertex.y*scale) + o.vertex.w) * 0.5;
o.uvgrab.zw = o.vertex.zw;
o.uvbump = TRANSFORM_TEX( v.texcoord, _BumpMap );
o.uvmain = TRANSFORM_TEX( v.texcoord, _MainTex );
UNITY_TRANSFER_FOG(o,o.vertex);
return o;
}
sampler2D _GrabTexture;
float4 _GrabTexture_TexelSize;
sampler2D _BumpMap;
sampler2D _MainTex;
half4 frag (v2f i) : SV_Target
{
// calculate perturbed coordinates
half2 bump = UnpackNormal(tex2D( _BumpMap, i.uvbump )).rg; // we could optimize this by just reading the x & y without reconstructing the Z
float2 offset = bump * _BumpAmt * _GrabTexture_TexelSize.xy;
i.uvgrab.xy = offset * i.uvgrab.z + i.uvgrab.xy;
half4 col = tex2Dproj( _GrabTexture, UNITY_PROJ_COORD(i.uvgrab));
half4 tint = tex2D(_MainTex, i.uvmain);
col *= tint;
UNITY_APPLY_FOG(i.fogCoord, col);
return col;
}
ENDCG
}
}
// ------------------------------------------------------------------
// Fallback for older cards and Unity non-Pro
SubShader {
Blend DstColor Zero
Pass {
Name "BASE"
SetTexture [_MainTex] { combine texture }
}
}
}
}
My intuition is that it has to do with the way that _GrabTexture is captured, but I'm not entirely sure. I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!
No simple answer for this.
You cannot think about refraction without thinking about the context in some way, so let's see:
Basically, it's not easy to define when an object is "behind" another one. There are different ways to even meassure a point's distance to the camera, let alone accounting for the whole geometry. There are many strange situations where geometry intersects, and the centers and bounds could be anywhere.
Refraction is usually easy to think about in raytracing algorithms (you just march a ray and calculate how it bounces/refracts to get the colors). But here in raster graphics (used for 99% of real-time graphics), the objects are rendered as a whole, and in turns.
What is going on with that image is that the background and ball are rendered first, and the glass later. The glass doesn't "refract" anything, it just draws itself as a distortion of whatever was written in the render buffer before.
"Before" is key here. You don't get "behinds" in raster graphics, everything is done by being conscious of rendering order. Let's see how some refractions are created:
Manually set render queue tags for the shaders, so you know at what point in the pipeline they are drawn
Manually set each material's render queue
Create a script that constantly marshals the scene and every frame calculates what should be drawn before or after the glass according to position or any method you want, and set up the render queues in the materials
Create a script that render the scene filtering out (through various methods) the objects that shouldn't be refracted, and use that as the texture to refract (depending on the complexity of the scene, this is sometimes necessary)
These are just some options off the top of my head, everything depends on your scene
My advice:
Select the ball's material
Right-click on the Inspector window --> Tick on "Debug" mode
Set the Custom Render Queue to 2200 (after the regular geometry is drawn)
Select the glass' material
Set the Custom Render Queue to 2100 (after most geometry, but before the ball)