Rendering Path¶
NiloToon supports all Rendering Paths in URP:
- Forward
- Forward+
- Deferred
- Deferred+ (Unity 6.2 or later)
NiloToon's recommended settings:
- Rendering Path = Forward / Forward+
- Depth Priming Mode = Disabled
Lighting Limitations¶
-
Forward+ + Depth Priming Mode = Off: Fully renders all NiloToon features, supporting 256 visible lights on screen (unlimited lights in the scene, no per-renderer light count limit)
-
Forward + Depth Priming Mode = Off: Fully renders all NiloToon features, supporting 8 additional lights per renderer (unlimited lights in the scene)
If you need to use Deferred / Deferred+ Rendering Path or enable Depth Priming Mode, review the information below to understand the limitations of these features:
- Stencil (Render Queue <= 2500)
- Alpha Blending (Render Queue <= 2500)
- ZOffset (Render Queue <= 2500)
- Shadow 2D on Face (Render Queue <= 2500)
Note
These features are typically related to semi-transparent front hair and eyebrow rendering.
Stencil¶
| Rendering Path | Supported? |
|---|---|
| Forward (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward (Depth Priming = On) | Supported |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = On) | Supported |
| Deferred | Prevented by URP |
| Deferred+ | Prevented by URP |
In URP, when using Deferred / Deferred+, opaque queue materials (Render Queue <= 2500) will ignore the material's Stencil settings and replace the actual Stencil setting with URP's own values when drawing the Opaque Color pass (LightMode = UniversalForwardOnly).
This is by URP's design and applies to all custom shaders (NiloToon, Amplify Shader Editor, custom code-based shaders, etc.). There is nothing that can be done unless URP changes this in the future.
Solution:
If you need Stencil in opaque queue materials (Render Queue <= 2500):
- Use Forward/Forward+ instead of Deferred/Deferred+
- Or try switching the material's Surface Type to Transparent/**
- Or try changing the material's Render Queue to >=2501
Alpha Blending¶
| Rendering Path | Supported? |
|---|---|
| Forward (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward (Depth Priming = On) | Prevented by URP |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = On) | Prevented by URP |
| Deferred | Supported (Unity 6.2+) |
| Deferred+ | Supported (Unity 6.2+) |
When a material has RenderQueue <= 2500, URP does not expect it to be semi-transparent and always treats it as opaque. Depth Priming rejects pixel rendering behind opaque queue materials, so there may not be a correct color to alpha blend with.
Solution:
If you need Alpha Blending in opaque queue materials (Render Queue <= 2500):
- Switch to a supported Rendering Path for your Unity version
- Or try switching the material's Surface Type to Transparent/**
- Or try changing the material's Render Queue to >=2501
ZOffset¶
| Rendering Path | Supported? |
|---|---|
| Forward (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward (Depth Priming = On) | Not supported by NiloToon yet |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = On) | Not supported by NiloToon yet |
| Deferred | Supported |
| Deferred+ | Supported |
When Depth Priming = On, materials (Render Queue <= 2500) can only draw with depth matching the Depth Priming depth buffer (ZTest is forced to Equal after Depth Priming). Enabling ZOffset makes the material unable to render if the final ZOffset is not equal to 0.
Solution:
- If you need ZOffset in opaque queue materials in Forward/Forward+, turn off Depth Priming
Shadow 2D on Face¶
| Rendering Path | Supported? |
|---|---|
| Forward (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported |
| Forward (Depth Priming = On) | Not supported by NiloToon yet |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = On) | Not supported by NiloToon yet |
| Deferred | Supported |
| Deferred+ | Supported |
When Depth Priming = On, NiloToon disables Shadow 2D on Face because this feature relies on depth offset to the Depth Texture for the face area.
Solution:
- If you need to render Shadow 2D on face in Forward/Forward+, turn off Depth Priming
Summary Table¶
Limitations for NiloToon material features on opaque queue materials (Render Queue <= 2500):
| Rendering Path | Stencil | Alpha Blending | Shadow2D on Face | ZOffset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = Off) | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Forward (Depth Priming = On) | Supported | Prevented by URP | Supported (NiloToon 0.18.x+) | Not supported |
| Forward+ (Depth Priming = On) | Supported | Prevented by URP | Supported (NiloToon 0.18.x+) | Not supported |
| Deferred | Prevented by URP | Supported (Unity 6.2+) | Supported | Supported |
| Deferred+ | Prevented by URP | Supported (Unity 6.2+) | Supported | Supported |
Recommended Setting
Forward and Forward+ (Depth Priming = Off) support all NiloToon features and are the recommended settings.
PC Project Setting Examples¶
This section shows example settings from a Unity 6.0 PC concert demo template project. You do not need to copy these settings exactly; they are provided as reference for concert project work.
Camera¶
- TAA only (RenderScale = 2), or DLSS.NativeAA only (RenderScale = 1)
- MSAA = off (VRAM limit pressure at 4K/8K). FXAA/SMAA are not used
- Dithering may be enabled if color banding from volumetric light appears
Note
- Left image = TAA only (RenderScale = 2), suitable for 1080p, 1440p or 4K with a good GPU (RTX 4080 or higher)
- Right image = DLSS only (RenderScale = 1), for high resolutions like 4K to 8K
URP Asset¶
| Setting | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| GPU Resident Drawer | Off | High CPU base cost. Enable only with lots of instancing (e.g., total instance count >10k) |
| SRP Batcher | On | Unless you have a reason to disable it |
| HDR | On | Needed for concert-type HDR lighting + Bloom |
| MSAA | Off | VRAM limit pressure or TAA requirement |
| RenderScale | As high as possible (1-2) | Greatly improves anti-aliasing quality! When RenderScale > 1, URP performs Super Sampling (SSAA) internally. RenderScale = 2 means 2x2 = 4x GPU cost (VRAM and fragment shading) |
Caution
When DLSS is used, RenderScale is always locked at 0.3333-1 depending on DLSS's Quality option. You cannot use DLSS and RenderScale > 1 together.
Renderer¶
- Rendering Path = Forward+: Supports up to 255 visible realtime lights. Lights aiming at the character should also have Soft Shadow enabled for improved lighting quality on the character and stage ground. Non-critical lights should have shadow disabled due to CPU performance cost
- Depth Priming Mode = Disabled (for producing face 2D shadow)
- Native RenderPass = Off
Project Setting > Player¶
Important settings:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| ColorSpace | Linear |
| GraphicsAPI | DX12 |
| GPU Skinning | Batched |
| Graphics Jobs | enable + Split |
| Scripting Backend | IL2CPP |
| Incremental GC | On |
Note
DX12 is not required but is strongly recommended for the faster CPU render loop. If DX12 does not work, fall back to DX11.
Project Setting > Editor¶
| Setting | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parallel Import | Off | Enabling this may corrupt NiloToon FBX prefabs |
| Enter Play Mode Setting | Do not reload Domain or Scene | Not required, but saves significant time when entering Play Mode in the Editor. NiloToon supports this, but other assets may not, so use with caution |
Project Setting > Quality¶
- Ensure Meshes > Skin Weights is set to Unlimited. This improves character skinning results.
Project Setting > Graphic¶
- Render Graph > Compatibility Mode = On or Off both work. If NiloToon rendering results differ between them, contact the development team!
- For better performance, we recommend setting Compatibility Mode to OFF (= RenderGraph ON).
Caution
In Unity 6.4, Compatibility Mode is completely removed.
Notable Assets Used¶
| # | Purpose | Asset |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Character Shader | NiloToon (NiloToon_Character Shader) |
| 2 | Postprocess Volume | NiloToon (Bloom, Tonemapping, Cinematic RimLight control, character render control, shadow control, motion blur, etc.) |
| 3 | Lighting Style Control | NiloToon (NiloToonLightSourceModifier) |
| 4 | Realtime Motion Blur | NiloToon |
| 5 | Offline Motion Blur Baking | NiloToon |
Unity 6 Introduction¶
If you want to upgrade from Unity 2022.3 to Unity 6, the following section provides subjective opinions for your reference before spending time on the upgrade.
Which Unity 6 is Better?¶
We always recommend using the latest Unity 6 LTS available through UnityHub. We do not recommend alpha/beta Unity 6 versions.
Unity 6 Stability¶
| Unity Version | Stability |
|---|---|
| Unity 2021.3 | 7/10 - Quite stable due to fewer features |
| Unity 2022.3 | 6/10 - Some early versions were 0/10 due to URP RenderTexture memory leak and crashes |
| Unity 6000.0 | 8/10 - In use since 2024 Q3, surprisingly stable |
Upgrade Difficulty¶
| Upgrade Path | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Unity 2021.3 to Unity 2022.3 | Painful - many API changes related to RTHandle and Renderer Features |
| Unity 2022.3 to Unity 6000.0 | Relatively easy - minor API changes with RenderGraph Compatibility Mode enabled. May encounter 'RenderTargetHandle' is obsolete issues requiring RTHandle API updates |
| Unity 6000.0 to Unity 6000.3 | Painful only if Renderer Features do not support Render Graph. Compatibility Mode becomes hidden and deprecated |
| Unity 6000.3 to Unity 6000.4 | Painful only if Renderer Features do not support Render Graph. Compatibility Mode is completely removed |
New Features in Unity 6¶
Useful Features¶
The most useful new features in Unity 6:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| 6-way Lighting Smoke VFX Graph | Smoke VFX lit by lights. Heavily used in concert projects |
| DX12 Split Graphics Jobs | Much better render loop CPU performance. No negative effect on visual results |
| DX12 Graphics Jobs for Editor | Much better render loop CPU performance in the Editor as well |
| Batched GPU Skinning | Better GPU performance when character models have many SkinnedMeshRenderers and Blendshapes |
| GPU Resident Drawer | May improve CPU performance when rendering large amounts (>10K) of identical MeshRenderer GameObjects. Has a fixed per-frame CPU cost, so performance decreases if GPU instancing is not heavily utilized |
| Adaptive Probe Volumes (APV) | An automatic, improved version of the old Light Probe system. No manual Light Probe placement needed. Lighting quality is per-pixel instead of per-renderer |
| Screen Space Lens Flare | Typically used for concert lighting effects |
| VFX Graph Motion Vectors | Allows opaque particles (e.g., confetti) to correctly affect Motion Blur/TAA/DLSS |
Features Not Used¶
Good for performance, but most projects target PC platforms, so higher-quality alternatives are preferred:
| Feature | Reason |
|---|---|
| URP Object Motion Blur | Fast but insufficient quality. Use when faster GPU performance is needed (e.g., mobile) |
| STP | Poor in motion. DLSS/XeSS always provides better visual results. Try on non-PC platforms (e.g., mobile) |
Unity 6 Changes¶
For NiloToon specifically, not much has changed in Unity 6. There should be no major NiloToon compatibility issues after upgrading from Unity 2022.3 to Unity 6.
NiloToon improvements exclusive to Unity 6:
- Better character Motion Vector Pass = better and more correct motion vector generation, improving DLSS/TAA/Motion Blur visual results
- New NiloToon Motion Blur Volume
Unity 6 Upgrade Procedure¶
To upgrade to Unity 6:
- Backup the project (commit in version control / copy project files)
- Upgrade to the latest NiloToon (at least NiloToon 0.16.x latest)
- Play in the Editor and confirm everything works as expected
- Reopen the project with the latest Unity 6 LTS
- If visual issues occur, try enabling/disabling RenderGraph Compatibility Mode to check for differences
- Check error logs - some assets/tools in your project may be too old for Unity 6 and need updating
- Check for remaining error logs - Unity 6 has breaking C# API changes, but they are few and should not be difficult to fix
- Play in the Editor and check for remaining error logs
- Try building the application