[Best Tool Asset Store Award] Amplify Shader Editor - Node-based Shader Creation Tool

Hey guys,

Just uploaded a new build into our website.

Here are the release notes.
Release Notes v1.6.2 rev 05:

• New Shader Function:
  • Blinn Phong Light Wrap
• Fixes:
  • Fixed issue with null pointer exception when hacking selection on dynamic ports
    • Input ports which appear on p.e. 'Add' and 'Multiply' nodes when dragging wires
  • Fixed shadow issues on HD PBR samples
  • Fixed 'Billboard' node issues on HD SRP
  • Fixed D3D11 internal compiler error on Android + VR over multiple templates
  • Fixed issue with Depth Texture declaration on particles template over Android + VR
  • Fixed issue with local var declaration of custom types on 'Custom Expression' node
  • Fixed issue with 'Object To World','World To Object' and 'Transform Position' nodes
• Improvements:
  • Added the action of (de)activating ZWrite when Surface type is selected on HD Lit template
  • Added the action of selecting correct Blend RGB when Surface Type is selected on HD Lit template
  • Improved failsafe to when template creators changes order on passes, removes or add new ones
  • Depth Texture now being declared with Unity's own macro on Unity 5.6 and above to prevent issues
  • Updated HD templates and samples to v.4.9.0
    • Users can still use v4.8.0 although template shaders will present an error
    • Final compiled shader will have error removed
  • Added Refraction's Chromatic Aberration as an Inline Property on Standard Surface
    • Located on Blend Mode menu, bellow Refraction Layer option
    • Only shows when Refraction port is connected
  • 'DecodeLightmap' now working on latest SRP templates
  • 'Fetch Lightmap Value' shader function now takes SRP into account

Yes, you can definitely add more passes to our HD Templates to fit your needs. Those templates are normal shaders but using the HD library.
We've created a simple sample to share with you on which we modified the HD Lit template and added a new initial pass to create an Outline effect.

One important aspect is that you do need to keep the pass Tags in mind, as it specifies where on the Lighting stage it should be used.

Please let us know if you have further questions.


Happy shader creations!

 

Hello. I imported the latest version of ASE into the latest version of Unity. I went to the Window tab to enter ASE, but it's not in the tab.

 

Hey there, could you please specify which version of Unity and ASE you're using so that we try to replicate this on our side?

Also, did you have any errors in your project when you imported ASE?
They can sometimes cause packages to not import correctly.

 

The Unity version is 2018.3.0f2.
The version of ASE I have is 1.6.2.

I do have errors but they're from another unrelated asset package that is outdated.

 

If you right mouse click on your Project Window, do the Amplify Shader items appear on the Create menu?

Can you also try to import the ASE package into an empty project and let us know if the problem persists?
Since there are errors on you project, and although unrelated to ASE, they may be blocking its code to be correctly compiled, thus the ASE menu option not appearing on the Window menu.

Can you also confirm which latest ASE you imported? Was from the Unity Asset Store ( ASE v1.6.2 ) or from our website ( ASE v1.6.2 Rev 005 )?

 

Tested it just now and I can confirm they don't show up.
From importing into a blank project entirely by itself it works just fine. It must've conflicted with another package I had downloaded. Sorry about the problem.

I downloaded my version straight from the asset store.

 

Thank you for letting us know!

In regards to your main project, we strongly recommend that you deal with any errors present before importing ASE or any other package, in order to prevent any further issues or errors to occur that could prevent them from successfully importing.

Also, please make sure that you always check our website for the latest version of ASE, since it usually takes a few days for it to be approved on the Asset Store, and don't hesitate to let us know if you come across any further issues.

 

Hi, thank you for the example. I've tested adding more shader passes to the sub shader. I discovered that Unity will not render same LightMode Tags. If I add 10 shader passes with the same Tags { "LightMode"="Forward" } Unity will render only the first pass. The remaining 9 passes will be ignored. I'm currently using HDRP 4.6 I'm not sure if the newer version will be the same or not. I will update Amplify and try to test it again.

 

Hi I'm new to amplify shader and I'm trying to port some shaders made with it to HDRP.
I get this error:
'GetNormalWS': no matching 3 parameter function at line 1007 (on d3d11)

Compiling Vertex program with UNITY_PASS_SHADOWCASTER
Platform defines: UNITY_ENABLE_REFLECTION_BUFFERS UNITY_USE_DITHER_MASK_FOR_ALPHABLENDED_SHADOWS UNITY_PBS_USE_BRDF1 UNITY_SPECCUBE_BOX_PROJECTION UNITY_SPECCUBE_BLENDING UNITY_ENABLE_DETAIL_NORMALMAP SHADER_API_DESKTOP UNITY_LIGHT_PROBE_PROXY_VOLUME UNITY_LIGHTMAP_FULL_HDR

I'm using amplify shader rev 5, unity 2018.3.5 and HDRP 4.9, any ideas how to solve this ?

 

Is it possible to add the attribute "no scale offset" to the Texture Array node?

Thanks in advance

 

Hello!
We are currently using Lightweight render pipeline version 5.3.1 in unity 2019.1.0b2, and we get some compiler errors when compiling our shaders, we are using custom templates also. When opening shaders amplify also gives an error say unrecognised lightweight version.

We get this one 4 times every time we compile
Assertion failed on expression: '0 == m_CurrentBuiltInBindMask'

Thanks

 

This is quite unexpected. I did the same test over my end and came across the same results.
The most weird part is even not specifying a LightMode it also does that (and it should go over each pass sequentially). I need to do some tests over my end and try to figure out what might be happening over the SRP.

Can you try to downloading the latest ASE version over our website?
You seem to be using our v.4.8.0 template.

Sure, will do!

Unfortunately we currently are only supporting Lightweight v4.9.0. Is it possible for you to share both your shader and templates to our email (support@amplify.pt) so we can take a look and see what might be happening?

 

I was using the asset store version, then switched to the website version.
The problem was that I had to reselect HD lit and recompile the shader again.
Thanks.

 

Hey guys,

Just uploaded a new build into our website.

Here are the release notes.
Release Notes v1.6.2 rev 06:

• Improvements:
  • Updated Decals code and removed warnings from HD Lit template
  • Improved behavior when loading outdated meta from shaders using modified templates
  • Added No Scale and Offset attribute to 'Texture Array' node
• Fixes:
  • Fixed instancing issues over HD Lit template

Happy shader creations!

EDIT: In the meantime, we uploaded a new version ( v1.6.2 rev 07 ) to fix a nasty issue on the template asset post-processor.

 

Can someone point me in the right direction? Here is what I have, I can set the distance on both textures and they move correctly with the parallax effect. What I want to do is keep the bottom texture where it is but offset top texture the opposite way of the top. So when looking directly at it both textures align but if you move your view the top texture moves in opposite direction. Bottom should just stay where it currently stays. Any kind of math operation I've thrown at it always keeps them aligned with movement.

What am I missing?

This is a looking through a binocular scope effect.

Thanks!

 

Hey there, do you have any visual reference for the effect you want to achieve that you could share?

 

This:

What I have above achieves the simple version of it say for the holoscope but it seems like nothing affects the tangent space to offset it based off of original position. You can offset both to whatever you want but they still stick together when you move.

I have achieved all the other stuff, it's just offsetting that black blur which is the issue.

 

Thank you for elaborating, I'd suggest that you look into Parallax Offset sample, which you can find within the AmplifyShaderEditor \ Examples \ Official \ ParallaxOffsetFakeInterior folder, that makes use of our own Parallax Mapping technique rather than Unity's and might help you achieve what you intend.

 

Working on my water, and loving what I can do with it so far, but I'm hoping there's some alternative to using Depth Fade for my edge collision calculations. As it is right now, the placement of the edge foam is dependent on the angle of the camera, and while it looks okay for the shorelines, for the most part, when I get actors and props that intersect with the surface of the water the results are strange. If there was some sort of "Distance from intersection" feature, that would be fantastic, but if there is, I'm missing it. Any pointers in the right direction are much appreciated, thanks!

 

Does the Amplify Shader Editor limitation of Scriptable Render Pipeline v4.6.0 still apply?
Since Unity 2019 requires at least Scriptable Render Pipeline 5.xx.xx, I'm not sure, if its possible to make the plugin work(Unity 2018.3 itself is a bit outdated in beta terms)

 

Hello, we don't offer such node but a possible solution that would work for this particular case has been shared in this post, which is currently being used in our own game.

Hello, at this time we support 3.0.0 through the legacy packages - LWSRPTemplates (Legacy) and HDSRPTemplates (Legacy) - as well as both 4.8.0 and 4.9.0 through the non-legacy ones - LWSRPTemplates and HDSRPTemplates.

Unity 2019 is not oficially supported as it's still in Beta stage.

 

Hi, I bought a model pack(https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/vegetation/coniferous-forest-119434) and the creator used custom amplify shaders for his assets. I want to upgrade the shaders to the HD pipeline. I own amplify. What do I have to do? Is there a guide? I tried to just use the unity "upgrade material to hd pipeline" function but I get the following error:

Graphics.CopyTexture could not find destination D3D11 texture object. Maybe it is a RenderTexture that is not created yet?

Thank you for the help

 

have a strange bug in middle of project
when i try to use tesselation (turn on checkbox) i have this errors and material getting pink:

Shader error in 'ASESampleShaders/Tessellation': 'vertexDataFunc': output parameter 'v' not completely initialized at line 57 (on d3d11)

Compiling Domain program with UNITY_HDR_ON INSTANCING_ON
Platform defines: UNITY_ENABLE_REFLECTION_BUFFERS UNITY_USE_DITHER_MASK_FOR_ALPHABLENDED_SHADOWS UNITY_PBS_USE_BRDF1 UNITY_SPECCUBE_BOX_PROJECTION UNITY_SPECCUBE_BLENDING UNITY_ENABLE_DETAIL_NORMALMAP SHADER_API_DESKTOP UNITY_HARDWARE_TIER3 UNITY_LIGHT_PROBE_PROXY_VOLUME

--------------------------------------

Shader error in 'Custom/tess 3': 'vertexDataFunc': output parameter 'v' not completely initialized at line 41 (on d3d11)

Compiling Domain program with UNITY_HDR_ON INSTANCING_ON
Platform defines: UNITY_ENABLE_REFLECTION_BUFFERS UNITY_USE_DITHER_MASK_FOR_ALPHABLENDED_SHADOWS UNITY_PBS_USE_BRDF1 UNITY_SPECCUBE_BOX_PROJECTION UNITY_SPECCUBE_BLENDING UNITY_ENABLE_DETAIL_NORMALMAP SHADER_API_DESKTOP UNITY_LIGHT_PROBE_PROXY_VOLUME

----------------

but in clean project everithing is fine, shader works

 

Hello, you'll have manually update the ASE shaders to use the HD templates that we provide for this pipeline, and you can find more information in our wiki regarding the SRP workflow.

Hello, this is likely due to a known Unity issue that could be related to the error you're experiencing, in which tessellation does not work with GPU Instancing, causing a compile error. Could you confirm that you have GPU Instancing disabled on the material?

You can also try enabling "Force Disable Instancing" in the shader's "Rendering Options".

 

confirmed
disable instancing is fixing problem
all works fine now
thanks alot, was head pain for me =)

using it in unity 5.6.6

 

I wish one day we will have this feature in Unity. I think ASE has to do nothing with it sadly :-/

 

This looks great except for the fact that my terrain is generated procedurally, so prefabricated solutions are a no-go for me.

How about this then - is it possible to use depth fade from a different point of view than the camera's? If I could perform the depth calculations from a projection point directly overhead, that would go a long way toward fixing my shorelines.

Another thing that could help is if there was a way for me to trick the depth fade with a non-visible object. I could put an invisible skirt around my character and use it to trigger foam, but so far every method I've tried for rendering an object invisible also defeats the depth fading.

 

Another user has come with an interesting solution for a similar situation, which you can verify in our forum, that might help you achieve the desired effect. I haven't tested this myself so I'm not sure if it'll work without any sort of issue, but according to the preview it seems to generate the data you require.

 

Well that looks like it'll do a great job for my shorelines! Solves half the problem, at least.

 

After looking at some of the suggested solutions, I've come up with this

This solution is entirely shader-based and uses no additional geometry or particles. It still suffers from being limited to the angle of the camera, but it's a LOT more visually interesting and should be quite good enough for shallow shorelines. Essentially, I sampled the depth fade once, perturbed it with an animated noise function, and then I remapped the result several times to get progressively smaller shapes, adding and subtracting them on top of each other to get a series of concentric rings. Each white ring is then minimized against a different channel of my multicolored noise to get variations in gaps and brightness.

I will see if I can figure out a way to get the rings to expand, but I'm already pretty satisfied with this for shorelines. I'll likely use a particle or geometry-based solution for the characters.

 

Hey guys,

We've uploaded a new build to our website.

Here are the release notes.

Release Notes v1.6.2 rev 10:

• New Template:
  • PostProcessStack
    • Post-Processing shader based on Unity provided example
• New Sample:
  • Mosaic Effect PPS
• New Tool:
  • Post-Processing Stack Tool
    • Generates a cs script with a PPS Renderer and Settings from a given shader
• New Shader Function:
  • Decoding Directional Lightmap
• Improvements:
  • Added inline property for Alpha to Coverage option on Standard Surface Shader Type
• Fixes:
  • Fixed 'Triplanar Sample' and 'Parallax Occlusion Mapping' nodes issues with texture arrays on SRP
  • Fixed crash caused by the 'Outline' node when attempting to be used on templates
    • This node is specific to Standard Surface Shader Type
  • Fixed issue with using Lightweight PBR legacy template

On this build we added a new template, which is basically the example shader for PPS transformed into template.
We also included a build to automatically create the C# script necessary to use that shader over the PPS.
That tool is located on the same place as the Texture Array Creator tool, under Window > Amplify Shader Editor > Post-Processing Stack Tool.
Simply drag and drop your shader over there and hit the Build button.

​

Please note that you'll need to have the Post-Processing package installed from the Package Manager to be able to use this tool.

We also added a new sample ( Mosaic Effect PPS ) using the latest template and being applied over the PPS.

​

Happy shader creations!

 

Well after spending all day today working on it, I got MUCH better shorelines than I was expecting, and managed to simplify my graph somewhat at the same time. The results here look very much like the geometry-based solution linked above, but are entirely shader-based. The foam expands and fades at an adjustable rate, and really I couldn't be more pleased at this point. Thanks for the great tools!

 

I have a few questions:
1) How can I have all the tiling of the textures in a shader scale with the gameObject's size?
2) How to have transparency in a UI shader? (Doesn't work in the game view with these options below).

3) I was using the Outline node and I realized that as soon as I set a value in my tree to "Instanced Property" I get no outlines on my meshes. Is that normal?
4) When I use outline I can't toggle it off with the way I usually create my node trees. The compare A = B, If, and Static switch nodes are not allowing me to toggle off the outline effect. What can I do to toggle the outline on and off?

 

Hi,

when I have some dead nodes, which are not outputing anything to output node. Are they executed? Do I optimalize shader when I remove them or does Amplify Shader Editor do it for me?

Thanks a lot!

 

Hello!

1 - You'll have to use the Object Scale node in order to manipulate the UVs according to your specific needs, here's a simple example:





2 - Please use our Default UI shader template for UI elements, and refer to our SimpleUI sample.



3 - This is due to a limitation of the Outline technique that we provide through its node as its not compatible with GPU Instancing.

4 - Due to the way that the Outline node works, you'll have to use the toggle operation on the Width input since you can't disable this specific implementation of the outline effect in runtime:

Hello, nodes that are not connected to the main output node are not included in the final shader, they simply stay referenced within the ASE metadata which doesn't affect the shader performance, so you don't need to remove them manually.

The one exception is if you've toggled on the Auto-Register parameter, which creates the property and/or global variable even if not connected to an Output node.

 

Hello,

Thanks for the Post Processing template. I think that it is a great addition.

I have a bug when trying to use the Screen Depth node with the PPS Template. A weird jagged pixelated halo appears around objects. I tried the Convert to linear option, Eye Space, the result is similar. I also tried the legacy post template and everything works fine.
Since the setup is super simple, I didn't include any sample.




Thanks!

 

Hey BOXOPHOBIC,

Thanks for reporting this issue.
We've already been able to replicate it on our end and are already looking on what is happening in order to fix it.

 

Hey guys,

We've uploaded a new build into our website which, among other things, fixes the issue previously reported by BOXOPHOBIC.

Here are the release notes:

Release Notes v1.6.2 rev 11:

• Fixes:
  • Fixed issue on ST registry on 'Parallax Occlusion Mapping' node not taking SRP name convention into account
  • 'Reconstruct World Position From Depth' shader function now compatible with HDRP
  • Fixed crash caused by the 'Outline' node when attempting to be used on nested shader functions
  • Fixed issues with 'Screen Position', 'Depth Fade' and 'Screen Depth' nodes on PPS template

@BOXOPHOBIC please let us know if you run into additional issues.

Happy shader creations!

 

Have you got a similar example like that for doing gridlines instead of using a texture?

 

So the "Weighted blend" node seems to work by reading the pure color channels and uses that as a mask.

So pure green added on top of black, should read the same as pure green added on top of blue if you're just reading the blue channel. But in my case they seem to read differently.



This is what the texture looks like, it's green added on top of blue and black. One way or another the green should read completely on it's own channel.



Here the left image is a direct pull from the green channel you don't see the "M" there. The right is the "layered Blend" result which shows a "M" coming from the color on the green channel. This tells me it's reading the green channel differently because of the black that's in it.

This is not a problem checking the channel in photoshop.


So whats happening here?

Here's the rendered result, basically I have a slider that disables that black color.

 

All I get right now is just solid color, in both PPS and PP Legacy template... I tested both Eye and 0-1 space. Unity 2018.3.3 and latest PP stack.

 

I'm having some trouble increasing/decreasing speed variables for panners/sin nodes gradually without them skipping around. Variables that are bound to Time or Time parameter nodes seem to cause the issue, I thought I'd compensate by multiplying by delta time and storing that but I keep getting infinite loop detected.

This problem is also visible in the example files if I change the speed variable on the UVdistortion example (video here) or the Energy Shield. It only skips around when I'm changing the variable, but then behaves normally after the change has been made.

Here's the node graph from the UvDistortion example with the speed variable to the far left.

I'm wondering how exactly I can set the panners/sin nodes up so they don't get affected this way as the speed variable is being changed?

 

Hi, regardless of my UV map I'd like to be able to set a texture mapped to every face on my model to simulate a wireframe shader, I've been looking around for a solution and I came across barycentric coordinates as a possible solution but not sure how I'd utilise this information for Amplify Shader Editor, is there any way to do this?

https://catlikecoding.com/unity/tutorials/advanced-rendering/flat-and-wireframe-shading/

 

Hi! Your asset the best!

Need help.

I use "Flipbook UV Animation" for spritesheet animation.

But if in game Time.timeScale = 0, animation not work!

How can I use "Unscaled time" in a Shader?

Thx.

 

Time Parameters.t "Returns the unscaled time value."

NOT WORKING!

 

Hey, apologies for the delay in our response!

Unfortunately we don't have any specific sample for that at this time.

Hey there, since the Weighted Blend returns the average of the sum of its weights, it's expected that the final output might tone down certain values. I believe that the node you're looking for is the Summed Blend, as it simply sums the value of each layer multiplied by its weights. Please let us know if this is the case, thanks!

Hello, could you please try using a lower value on the camera's Far Clipping Plane and share your results with us, as everything seems to be working on our side?

Hello, these issues are likely to occur due to precision issues that originate from using Unity's timer, since our Time nodes output Unity's internal elapsed time in seconds.

The viable and ideal solution for effects that will rely on a timer would be for you to implement your own timer through script and feed its data into the shader as a property, rather than using Unity's own generated values, which will offer you more control and avoid this specific issue.

Hello, one of our users seems to have managed to set these up through a Custom Expression node, as you can see in this post.

However, the article you've shared uses an approach that requires the creation of a Geometry Shader, which is currently not supported by ASE, as we've previously mentioned here. This is something that we're hoping to look into in the future, but we have no estimates to share at this time.

Hello, you'll likely need to implement your own timer through script and feed its data into the shader as a property as a possible solution, since our time nodes use Unity's own timer and when you set it to 0 through that parameter, it's expected that they stop passing different values.

Hello! We've ran some tests on our side and all the output ports of the Time Parameters node seem to be working as expected, could you please provide more details regarding the issue you've come across so that we might help you?

 

The far clip plane is set to 100 and I'm actually remapping it. I attached the shaders. The camera is set to deferred, so not having the depth tex shouldn't be the problem. I'm using unity 2018.3.3 and the latest unity version.

This is the result using the previous ASE version


Latest ASE version:

 

We had been uploading some builds on these last few days, and one of them we fixed a bug on which screen position was being incorrectly calculated. This affected a couple of nodes ( including screen depth ).

Is it possible for you to download the latest build from our website and let us know if the issue maintains?

The PPS template should have not been affected by this as it already calculates screen position on the template itself through a different way. This means that this template should not be used on other situations than the PPS as those screen positions would not be valid.

The shader you sent was a bit harder to see the depth values as on a 0 - 1 linear scale the values are very small, so I just made a small modification to become more noticeable. This shot was taken using the modified shader on the Mosaic PPS sample.



Again here's the latest build and also the complete release notes from all these latest uploads:

Release Notes v1.6.3 rev 02/01/00:

• Fixes:
  • Fixed issue on screen position calculation across all templates
  • Fixed issue with 'Parallax Occlusion Mapping' node
  • Fixed multiple issues with 'Triplanar Sample' node over SRP
  • Fixed issue with Mosaic Effect PPS sample not opening correctly on Unity 2018.1 and 2018.2
  • Fixed issue on Multi Pass Distortion sample not taking skybox into account
• Improvements:
  • User can now specify sub-shader tags
    • Moved RenderType tag to sub-shader level
  • Minor tweak on Post-Processing Stack template

Please let me know if you continue having issues on your end, and if so I'll continue investigating.

Hope you guys have a great weekend, and happy shader creations!

 

Both templates are working properly now. I'm not sure if it was on my side but for some reason on this project ASE was located in 3 different folders and maybe something got messed up :|

Thanks!

 

Wondering if there is a way to mark a shader function as 'hidden' so it doesn't appear in the list of shader functions. I have a utility function FunctionB that I use multiple times in some complex function FunctionA. I don't want the end user to see 'FunctionB'.