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Unity 5 Transparent Terrain Shader
This shader does not appear to make the terrain transparent in Unity 5 anyone have a fix?
http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/1077032/terrain-transparency-too-many-text-interpolators.html
Answer by samrhein1 · Jul 02, 2016 at 02:44 PM
Try this:
Shader "Custom/TerrainTransparent" {
Properties {
[HideInInspector] _Control ("Control (RGBA)", 2D) = "red" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat3 ("Layer 3 (A)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat2 ("Layer 2 (B)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat1 ("Layer 1 (G)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat0 ("Layer 0 (R)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal3 ("Normal 3 (A)", 2D) = "bump" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal2 ("Normal 2 (B)", 2D) = "bump" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal1 ("Normal 1 (G)", 2D) = "bump" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal0 ("Normal 0 (R)", 2D) = "bump" {}
// used in fallback on old cards & base map
[HideInInspector] _MainTex ("BaseMap (RGB) Trans (A)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Color ("Main Color", Color) = (1,1,1,1)
}
CGINCLUDE
#pragma surface surf Lambert alpha vertex:SplatmapVert finalcolor:SplatmapFinalColor finalprepass:SplatmapFinalPrepass finalgbuffer:SplatmapFinalGBuffer
#pragma multi_compile_fog
#include "TerrainSplatmapCommon.cginc"
void surf(Input IN, inout SurfaceOutput o)
{
half4 splat_control;
half weight;
fixed4 mixedDiffuse;
SplatmapMix(IN, splat_control, weight, mixedDiffuse, o.Normal);
o.Albedo = mixedDiffuse.rgb;
o.Alpha = mixedDiffuse.a;
}
ENDCG
Category {
Tags {
"Queue" = "Transparent"
"RenderType" = "Transparent"
}
// TODO: Seems like "#pragma target 3.0 _TERRAIN_NORMAL_MAP" can't fallback correctly on less capable devices?
// Use two sub-shaders to simulate different features for different targets and still fallback correctly.
SubShader { // for sm3.0+ targets
CGPROGRAM
#pragma target 3.0
#pragma multi_compile __ _TERRAIN_NORMAL_MAP
ENDCG
}
SubShader { // for sm2.0 targets
CGPROGRAM
ENDCG
}
}
Dependency "AddPassShader" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Splatmap/Diffuse-AddPass"
Dependency "BaseMapShader" = "Diffuse"
Dependency "Details0" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Details/Vertexlit"
Dependency "Details1" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Details/WavingDoublePass"
Dependency "Details2" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Details/BillboardWavingDoublePass"
Dependency "Tree0" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/BillboardTree"
Fallback "Diffuse"
}
Hello @samrhein1 I am getting the following error when I create your shader: "Surface shader final color function 'SplatmapFinalColor not found at line 42 (on)." "Surface shader final color function 'SplatmapFinalColor' not found at line 48 (on)." Any ideas? I am using Unity 5.1.4. Thanks!
@samrhein1 thanks for the shader code! I added this and then changed the material of the terrain. I can paint the transparent texture now onto the terrain and see through it but only when i switch the lights off in the scene. As soon as my lighting comes on then the transparent texture becomes black. The same also happens in the camera view also.
Please can you help?
thanks
Answer by Buckaroo-Banzai · Jul 22, 2016 at 09:48 AM
Hi Guys,
I try this shader (thx to samrhein1) and it's the best 'open source' solution for real transparency on terrain at this point (Someone should be update the Wiki!). But now "MudRockyAlbedoSpecular" from the Enviroment Asset is partial transparent too!!!! I've tried with & without the Normal Map, change order of terrain textures, but the same result.
Someone can give a clue, because I want more focused on the gameplay and not to fiddle with shader programming at the same time?
Main using of this shader will be to hide parts of terrain inside rooms, cellar and/or cave entrance.
Thanks in advance
Banzai
Banzai - your issue is that $$anonymous$$udRockyAlbedoSpecular.bmp has an alpha channel which you can delete in Photoshop under the "channels" tab.
The above shader is very basic - I just slightly modified the Unity 5 DefaultResourcesExtra/TerrainShaders/Splats/FirstPass.shader (downloaded from https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive). Its main drawback is that it doesn't receive shadows. It would be a great benefit to the community if a more experienced shader programmer could improve it!
Thanks samrhein1 so much (and bang my head against a wall). Clearly you are right and I was too dumb to see this. I think many Unity user waiting for a buildin solution in this great framework. Think a way is to check textures for an alpha channel before using as a Terrain splat image. But your modified shader is a good and very useful for the most of the 'Cut a hole inside terrain'-Problem. Thank you against and Nest regards.
Banzai
can someone please help, i make a custom shader with the above code, i make a material based on a .png with only transparent, i created a new transparent material, i set the shader to the above shader, now what?
when i go to texture i can't select a material, only textures. and no way i can see to select the transparent shader.
thanks
You can change the terrain's material under the settings tab of the terrain component. See https://docs.unity3d.com/$$anonymous$$anual/terrain-OtherSettings.html
I was going to say -- the shader here basically overrides the built-in shader, and changes the first pass. From what I can tell, the first pass only has access to the first 4 splat textures, so if one of these textures have an alpha channel set up, it will alpha the terrain with it. $$anonymous$$y suggestion (in addition to the removal of the alpha channel) is to put any texture that has alpha in the 5+ splat slots. (Terrains can have 12 splats that I have tested...) so just move things around.
Answer by NathanJSmith · Aug 28, 2018 at 03:44 AM
shader of samrhein1 works, but when I add water (from Unity's standard asset), the water doesn't blend well with terrain. To fix this, I replaced "Queue" = "Transparent"
with "Queue" = "Transparent+1"
(or add +1 for Transparent queue). And the problem is solved Here is the full shader I used (like I said, I just added +1 for Transparent queue, the original author of the shader is samrhein1, the root original author is Unity: DefaultResourcesExtra/TerrainShaders/Splats/FirstPass.shader (downloaded from https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive))
Shader "Terrain/Transparency"
{
Properties {
[HideInInspector] _Control ("Control (RGBA)", 2D) = "red" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat3 ("Layer 3 (A)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat2 ("Layer 2 (B)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat1 ("Layer 1 (G)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Splat0 ("Layer 0 (R)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal3 ("Normal 3 (A)", 2D) = "bump" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal2 ("Normal 2 (B)", 2D) = "bump" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal1 ("Normal 1 (G)", 2D) = "bump" {}
[HideInInspector] _Normal0 ("Normal 0 (R)", 2D) = "bump" {}
// used in fallback on old cards & base map
[HideInInspector] _MainTex ("BaseMap (RGB) Trans (A)", 2D) = "white" {}
[HideInInspector] _Color ("Main Color", Color) = (1,1,1,1)
}
CGINCLUDE
#pragma surface surf Lambert alpha vertex:SplatmapVert finalcolor:SplatmapFinalColor finalprepass:SplatmapFinalPrepass finalgbuffer:SplatmapFinalGBuffer
#pragma multi_compile_fog
#include "TerrainSplatmapCommon.cginc"
void surf(Input IN, inout SurfaceOutput o)
{
half4 splat_control;
half weight;
fixed4 mixedDiffuse;
SplatmapMix(IN, splat_control, weight, mixedDiffuse, o.Normal);
o.Albedo = mixedDiffuse.rgb;
o.Alpha = mixedDiffuse.a;
}
ENDCG
Category {
Tags {
"Queue" = "Transparent+1"
"RenderType" = "Transparent"
}
// TODO: Seems like "#pragma target 3.0 _TERRAIN_NORMAL_MAP" can't fallback correctly on less capable devices?
// Use two sub-shaders to simulate different features for different targets and still fallback correctly.
SubShader { // for sm3.0+ targets
CGPROGRAM
#pragma target 3.0
#pragma multi_compile __ _TERRAIN_NORMAL_MAP
ENDCG
}
SubShader { // for sm2.0 targets
CGPROGRAM
ENDCG
}
}
Dependency "AddPassShader" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Splatmap/Diffuse-AddPass"
Dependency "BaseMapShader" = "Diffuse"
Dependency "Details0" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Details/Vertexlit"
Dependency "Details1" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Details/WavingDoublePass"
Dependency "Details2" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/Details/BillboardWavingDoublePass"
Dependency "Tree0" = "Hidden/TerrainEngine/BillboardTree"
Fallback "Diffuse"
}
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