Path Tracing Text?

Does anyone know how to get text to render while path tracing? Default Unity Text Mesh objects and the Text Mesh Pro UI elements seem to just be invisible while path tracing is active.

 

I'm using 3D mesh text (GlyphMeshZ on AssetStore) that outputs standard MeshRender, but there is a nuance if text generated runtime: there will be tremendous freezing for 1-5 seconds when 3D text is generated - ray tracing needs to update whole *?* "acceleration-structure-something" for it, even if this 3D text is just one symbol. But if all 3D text generated at level start it's possible to have only one freezing moment of that kind.

 

Thanks for clarifying. What is the "acceleration structure?" I am new to ray tracing but was expecting to be able to implement a path-tracing-compatible SDF shader myself if one didn't already exist. Is this not possible?

 

I'm not graphics programmer - can't really help with that, this kind of question is for serious people )

 

Can you share if there is a plan to make TMP compatible with Path Tracing?

 

Here is my solution for even moving text or movies during path tracing.

Pathtracing is started with 4096 samples. Screenshot taken at half time.

upper plane, normal rendered spout input stream.is frozen when pathtracing started and not readable because moving time.

lower plane, rendered per custom pass without TAA -> even during pathtracing the animated input stream is moving nicely (fast moving time counter here) and it is rendered sharp.



Custom Pass setup for plane. Plane is on Layer NoTAA.



also set it up Before Post Process



You can find the custom pass here.
Render Video Without TAA
https://github.com/alelievr/HDRP-Custom-Passes
There are also other Custom Passes for UI. But i checked only this one in DXR.

So you can render your text to an render texture and then inject it per custom pass like so.

Even a video stream or text animation like here is working during path tracing then nicely readable and crystal sharp. In this case i send it in via spout stream which injects a render texture into an Unlit material.

Probably it helps.

 

Thank you @keeponshading , really appreciate the breakdown. I'll be using this technique for promo videos for sure.

@chap-unity please let us know if there is anything we can do to help move TMP up in priority for enabling in path tracing. Scenes in my exhibition building app look amazing path traced, but the title cards are blank, which is sad.

 

Should we add this under "Submit a new idea" here...

https://portal.productboard.com/uni...fects/tabs/18-high-definition-render-pipeline

Then it becomes upvotable.

 

Current version of Unity 2021.2.0f1 has some improvements on Pathtracer.
But Pathtracer progress hangs after a second here!
Anyone?

 

Are there plans to support the Hair and Eye shaders?