Distance Shadowmask is a version of the ShadowmaskA Texture that shares the same UV layout and resolution with its corresponding lightmap. More info
See in Glossary lighting mode. It is shared by all Mixed Lights in a Scene. To set Mixed lightingA Light Mode for creating indirect lighting, shadowmasks and subtractive lighting. Indirect lighting gets baked into lightmaps and light probes. Shadowmasks and light probes occlusion get generated for baked shadows. More info
See in Glossary to Distance Shadowmask:
See documentation on Mixed lighting to learn more about this lighting mode, and see documentation on Light modesA Light property that defines the use of the Light. Can be set to Realtime, Baked and Mixed. More info
See in Glossary to learn more about the other modes available.
A shadow mask is a Texture that shares the same UV layout and resolution with its corresponding light map. It stores occlusion information for up to 4 lights per texel, because Textures are limited to up to 4 channels on current GPUs.
The Distance Shadowmask mode is a version of the Shadowmask lighting mode that includes high quality shadows cast from static GameObjectsThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info
See in Glossary onto dynamic GameObjects.
Within the Shadow Distance (menu: Edit > Project Settings, then select the Quality category, and navigate to the ShadowsA UI component that adds a simple outline effect to graphic components such as Text or Image. It must be on the same GameObject as the graphic component. More info
See in Glossary section), Unity renders both dynamic and static GameObjects into the shadow map, allowing static GameObjects to cast sharp shadows onto dynamic GameObjects. For this reason, Distance Shadowmask mode has higher performance requirements than Shadowmask mode, because all static GameObjects in the scene are rendered into the shadow map.
Beyond the Shadow Distance:
A good example of when Distance Shadowmask mode might be useful is if you are building an open world Scene with shadows up to the horizon, and complex static Meshes casting real-time shadows on moving characters.
The following table shows how static and dynamic GameObjects cast and receive shadows when using Distance Shadowmask mode:
Dynamic receiverA dynamic GameObject that is receiving a shadow from another static or dynamic GameObject More info See in Glossary A dynamic GameObject that is receiving a shadow from another static or dynamic GameObject |
Static receiverA static GameObject that is receiving a shadow from another static or dynamic GameObject More info See in Glossary A static GameObject that is receiving a shadow from another static or dynamic GameObject |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|
Within Shadow Distance | Beyond Shadow Distance | Within Shadow Distance | Beyond Shadow Distance | |
Dynamic caster A dynamic GameObject that is casting a shadow |
Shadow map | - | Shadow map | - |
Static caster A static GameObject that is casting a shadow |
Shadow map | Light Probes | Shadow map | Shadow mask |
The performance requirements of Distance Shadowmask mode make it a good option for building to high-end PCs and current generation consoles. These are the most significant advantages and disadvantages of using Distance Shadowmask mode:
2017–09–18 Page published
Light Modes added in 5.6