[RELEASED AND FREE!] Customizable Planet Shaders

The package is now free for anyone to use!

Recently, I made Customizable Planet Shaders and decided to post it on the asset store. The shader has been designed to be fast and high-quality, while also giving a lot of control to the artist. The shader was made in Shader Forge so it can be edited easily, and the shader is compatible with DirectX 9+ and OpenGL 2.0+, so the shader is compatible with a wide range of hardware. The shader also performs well, getting 50-60 FPS on a Moto X 2014 at 720p, and ~60 FPS on a Galaxy S7 at 1080p.

Features:
- A new mobile shader for better performance!
- Diffuse, normal, and specular maps are all here and available.
- Cloud layer is available, and the movement speed of the clouds can be changed.
- Heightmaps can be added to give the planet real depth and height.
- The atmosphere color and density is fully available for you to control.
Along with that, the package comes with a ring shader, with three different meshes. and a demo scene that includes recreations of all the planets of the solar system. (Textures for planets are protected under Creative Commons International 4.0 License, and are available for download from: https://www.solarsystemscope.com/textures/)

DEMO (Mobile-Friendly!) l ASSET STORE

Images below are available to see the shader in action:

 

Update 1.01 is out!

- Updated documentation
- Improved metadata
- Unity 5 compatibility

Get Customizable Planet Shaders today!

 

A slight bug has been discovered with update 1.0.1 where the sun direction was flipped.
An update fixing this bug has been uploaded and is being reviewed.

 

Some more images of the shader in action...

 

Update 1.1 is underway!

The update will bring a second planet shader designed specifically for lower end hardware, such as integrated graphics or mobile devices, while keeping the high-quality look of the standard shader. This shader is very similar in looks, but yields approximately 10-20% better performance.

STANDARD ON LEFT. MOBILE ON RIGHT.


You can already see the new shader in action on the demo! Click here!

Prepare for the new update and get the asset here!

 

Update 1.02 is finally out, and Update 1.1 is on it's way!

Get the asset here!

 

Update 1.1 is now submitted, and with it, a new name for the package!

Now that there's two planet shaders for use, the name has been updated to reflect such: the Customizable Planet Shaders!

Prepare for the update and get the asset today!

ASSET STORE

 

Update 1.1 is out, featuring a new mobile planet shader for better performance while still maintain a high-quality look!

Get the asset and try out the new shader!

ASSET STORE

 

Just realized there was a big issue with the demo where the UI wouldn't appear! It has been fixed.
As well the demo is WebGL and is mobile friendly!

Check out the demo here!

 

Since I can't find any way to improve the package, and I don't have the time to update the package as much as I'd like due to college, I have decided that the package is now free.

I will still try to help support the package, but for the most part, I think this package is relatively well rounded.

Feel free to try the asset today! ASSET STORE

 

Thank you! Very generous!

I will try it tonight.

 

This is so awesome! Thank you for this...

 

Do you plan to adapt it to the new render pipelines?

 

I've considered making a version 2 of this shader that's instead built upon Amplify Shader Editor, which supports HDRP and LWRP, and allows for better compatibility with different platforms. However, at the same time, I'll likely leave this version open, for people who still use Shader Forge.

It's generally something I'd consider if people have interest in it.

 

Due to a user request, a version 1.2 of the shaders is coming out.

This new version will allow for city lights on the dark side of planets. The color and intensity of the lights can be adjusted, and the lights will be blocked by clouds to make the effect appear more realistic.

 

Good work !

Interested by an update using Amplify Shader Editor !

 

Nice look. What about shadows on Saturn and it's rings?

 

Why is my planet completely black? Even in the demo scene...

 

Okay. I checked the planet shader and for whatever reason, when no albedo texture is set the shader defaults to black. That was a poor decision on my part and I apologize. I'll be shortly sending a private message to you with the newest update so you can work immediately. The update will also be getting sent to the Asset Store as well.

Very apologetic for not responding sooner. I hadn't gotten any notification for when you posted. Anyways, regarding your question, the ring shader actually does support shadows-casting them, at least. I noticed that the image of Saturn above showed the rings lacking shadows and have updated it. While casting shadows is easy, getting transparent objects to receive shadows is a very complicated task, and even if one gets it working, it typically causes very poor performance. For that reason, it has been excluded. I am sorry in that regard.

 

Thanks for reply, but there is nothing to worry about: I got ring shadow algorythm from Microsoft GalaxyExplorer

 

Hi!

I really love your work on this asset. I have a few questions:

1) I was having some issues getting it to work in a scene that only has a single point light, is there any way to get support for that?
2): I see you were considering adding support for the new rendering pipelines. I have converted my project to HDRP since my post, is that upgrade still in the cards for you?

Cheers!

 

Hi, I've been playing with this asset and its lovely, but I can't seem to get the shadows from the rings to appear on the planet - is this not enabled, what steps are needed to produce the effect seen in your shot of Saturn above?