Lighting in Unity

• These notes cover various aspects of lighting in Unity.

Default Lighting Mode

• The default lighting mode in Unity is Realtime.

Unavailable Lighting Type

• Ambient Light is not an available lighting type in Unity.

Global Illumination

• The "Global Illumination" setting controls both direct and indirect lighting in Unity.

Baking Lighting

• The Lightmapper component is responsible for baking lighting in Unity.

Simulating the Sun

• A Directional Light is used to simulate the sun in outdoor environments.

Lightmap Static

• "Lightmap Static" marks an object to receive only baked lighting.

Point Light Shadows

• A Point Light casts Omnidirectional shadows.

Street Lamp Lighting

• A Spot Light is ideal for lighting a street lamp.

Point Light Range

• The Range option controls the range of a Point Light.

Ambient Light Setting

• The "Ambient Light" setting adjusts Indirect Light color.

Light Probes

• Light Probes calculate global illumination in dynamic objects.

Shadow Softness

• Shadow Strength can be used to change the softness of a shadow.

Indirect Multiplier

• The "Indirect Multiplier" controls the intensity of indirect lighting in a light component.

Reducing Lightmap Size

• LOD (Level of Detail) reduces lightmap size by using fewer resources for distant objects.

Realtime Shadows and Reflections

• The Directional Light supports shadows and reflections in realtime.

Reflection Probe Function

• A Reflection Probe is used to calculate how lights are reflected in the scene.

Simulating Indoor Lightbulbs

• A Point Light is suitable for simulating indoor light bulbs.

Realtime Global Illumination

• The "Realtime Global Illumination" setting affects dynamic lighting based on realtime light sources.

Reducing Performance Impact

• Mixed Lighting reduces performance impact by combining baked and realtime lighting.

Adjusting Light Falloff

• The falloff of light can be adjusted through the Range setting.

Shadowmask Lighting Mode

• The "Shadowmask" lighting mode enables mixed shadows combining baked and realtime.

Bounce Intensity Purpose

• The "Bounce Intensity" setting controls how much light bounces off surfaces.

Reflections on Dynamic Objects

• A Reflection Probe is needed for creating reflections on dynamic objects.

Benefit of Baked Global Illumination

• The main benefit of Baked Global Illumination is precalculated lighting for improved performance.

Area Light Simulation

• An "Area Light" simulates a large surface emitting soft, diffuse light.

Light Probe Effects

• Light Probes do not affect static objects.

Ambient Occlusion

• "Ambient Occlusion" darkens creases, holes, and intersections in geometry.

Flashlight Effect

• A Spot Light works ideally for a flashlight effect.

Culling Mask Setting

• The "Culling Mask" setting controls which objects are affected by a light.

Mixed Lighting Feature

• "Mixed Lighting" combines baked direct light with realtime shadows.

Maximum Point Light Range

• The maximum range of a Point Light in Unity is Infinity.

Lighting Explorer Help

• Unity's "Lighting Explorer" provides an overview of all lights and their properties in the scene.

Lightmap UVs Purpose

• "Lightmap UVs" optimizes texture mapping for lighting.

Simulating Indirect Sunlight

• An Area Light is most appropriate for simulating a large area of indirect sunlight coming through a window.

Shadow Bias Effect

• Increasing "Shadow Bias" reduces shadow acne artifacts.

Combining Realtime and Baked Lighting

• Mixed lighting combines realtime lighting with baked global illumination.

Skybox and Lighting

• A Skybox adds ambient lighting to the scene.

Controlling Shadow Distance

• Shadow Distance controls how far a shadow is cast.

Light Layers in URP

• "Light Layers" in URP control which objects are affected by certain lights.

Drawback of Realtime Lights

• A drawback to realtime lights is they have a higher performance cost than baked lights.

Affecting Specific Objects

• Culling Mask allows a light source to affect only specific objects in the scene.

Increasing Indirect Intensity

• Increasing the "Indirect Intensity" increases the brightness of bounced light.

AutoGenerate Lighting

• "AutoGenerate Lighting" continuously updates baked lighting when changes are made.

"Baked" Light Mode

• If the "Mode" of a light is set to "Baked", lighting effects will be precalculated and not change during runtime.

Casting Sunlight Shadows

• A Directional Light typically casts shadows in a straight line and is used for sunlight.

Improving Lighting for Moving Objects

• Light Probes should be used to improve lighting for moving objects in baked lightmaps.

Shadow Resolution

• "Shadow Resolution" adjusts the sharpness of shadows.

Adding Reflections

• A Reflection Probe adds reflection to a reflective surface.

Light Baking Support

• Spot Lights, Area Lights and Point Lights all support light baking in Unity.

Effect of Increasing Bounce Intensity

• Increasing the "Bounce Intensity" on a light increases the intensity of indirect light reflections.

Disabling Shadows

• Setting Shadow Type to "None" disables shadows for a particular light.

Simulating Surface Details

• Normal Maps simulate how light interacts with small-scale surface details.

Effect of Increasing Indirect Bounce Factor

• Increasing the "Indirect Bounce Factor" enhances the amount of light that reflects off surfaces.

Previewing Lighting Results

• Lighting Explorer is used to preview the results of lighting in the editor without running the game.

Refl Probes Option

• The "Refl Probes" option determines the strength of reflection probes.

Best Lighting Mode for Mobile

• Baked Lighting provides the best performance for mobile devices.

Shadow Cascades Use

• "Shadow Cascades" are used to split shadow rendering into multiple layers to improve quality.

Equal Light Emission

• A Point Light emits light equally in all directions.

Skybox Affect on Lighting

• The Skybox affects ambient light and reflections.

Making Shadows Softer

• You would change Shadow Strength to make shadows softer.

Primary Purpose of Light Probes

• Light Probes calculate indirect lighting for dynamic objects.

Light Mode for Baked and Realtime

• Mixed is the light mode in Unity that allows for both baked and realtime lighting to coexist.

Controlling Light Emission

• Emissive Intensity controls how much light is emitted from surfaces with emissive materials.

Function of Lightmap Resolution

• "Lightmap Resolution" determines the resolution of baked lightmaps.

Parallel Shadows

• Directional Lights cast shadows that are parallel to each other.

Unity Light Type for Indoor Bulbs

• Point Light works best for simulating indoor light bulbs.

Shadow Near Plane Adjustment

• "Shadow Near Plane" adjusts how close shadows appear to the camera.

Highest Performance Cost

• Realtime Lighting has the highest performance cost during runtime.

Light Probe Group Component

• The Light Probe Group component defines positions where Light Probes are placed.

Default Ambient Light Color

• Black is the default color of the ambient light in Unity if no Skybox is applied.

Refl Intensity Setting

• "Refl Intensity" controls the intensity of realtime reflections.

Reducing Lightmap Artifacts

• Lightmap UVs reduce lightmap artifacts on low polygon models.

Realistic Outdoor Lighting

• Use a Directional Light and set a Skybox to achieve realistic lighting for outdoor scenes in Unity.

Primary Use of Shadowmask Mode

• The primary use of "Shadowmask" mode is to blend realtime shadows with baked shadows.

Purpose of Bounce Intensity Setting

• The purpose of the "Bounce Intensity" setting is to increase the brightness of indirect light.

Simulating Car Headlights

• Spot Light is best suited for simulating the headlights of a car.

Reducing "Peter Panning" Effect

• Shadow Bias can reduce the "peter panning" effect in shadows.

Effect of Realtime Global Illumination

• Global illumination is calculated in realtime when the "Realtime Global Illumination" option is enabled.

Intensity Multiplier Control

• The "Intensity Multiplier" controls the intensity of all lights in the scene.

Purpose of Precomputed Realtime GI

• "Precomputed Realtime GI" enables realtime global illumination for dynamic lighting.

Improving Look of Dynamic Objects

• Light Probes improve the look of dynamic objects in a baked scene.

Max Cascades Available

• Four is the maximum number of cascades available in Unity shadow cascade settings.

Feature for Large Outdoor Environments

• Directional Light is essential for lighting large outdoor environments.

Sample Count Setting

• The "Sample Count" controls the number of rays cast for shadows.

Adjusting Shadow Color and Intensity

• Ambient Occlusion adjusts the color and intensity of shadows.

Meaning of HDR

• HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.

Adjusting Lightmap Padding

• "Lightmap Padding" increases the distance between baked lightmaps.

Light Explorer Window

• The "Light Explorer" provides a list of all lights and their properties.

Highest Performance Optimization

• Baked Lighting offers the highest performance optimization for static objects.

Increasing Shadow Distance

• Increasing "Shadow Distance" decreases performance by rendering shadows at greater distances.

Reducing Performance Costs

• Reflection Probes with baked mode reduces performance costs for high-quality reflections.

Use of Final Gather

• "Final Gather" improves the quality of indirect light by adding an additional raytraced pass.

Setting Light to "Auto"

• Setting a light to "Auto" in Mixed Lighting mode allows Unity to decide which lights should be baked or realtime.

Shadow Bias Adjustment

• "Shadow Bias" adjusts the distance at which shadows start appearing.

"Ambient Light" Use

• "Ambient Light" provides lighting for objects not directly illuminated by other lights.

Global Illumination Calculation

• "Global Illumination" calculates how light bounces and reflects off surfaces.

Enabling Multiple Importance Sampling

• Enabling "Multiple Importance Sampling" enhances the sampling quality for specular reflections.

Lightmapper

• Unity's "Lightmapper" bakes static lighting into textures.

Reflection Intensity

• Unity's "Reflection Intensity" affects the brightness of reflective surfaces.

Adjusting Exposure

• Adjusting the "Exposure" adjusts the overall brightness of the scene.