[RELEASED] Magic Lightmap Switcher - Storing, Switching and Blending Lightmaps in Real-Time

Does MLS change something global in your Unity installation? Or some global user setting across multiple projects?

I ask because a coworker who installed it in one project started having problems in another project, where it was not installed. It showed the purple dot icon in the tab of the hierarchy, and it threw a bunch of errors along the lines of
Shader error in ________________: Unexpected token '('. Expected one of: ',' ';' at MLS_Standard_Common.cginc(121)
12:32 PM

With ________________ being the name of various non-MLS shaders. The file MLS_Standard_Common.cginc is nowhere to be found in the entire project folder.

He went so far as to delete the entire folder and check it out of version control again (the same one I use), where there isn't a Magic Lightmap Switcher folder under Assets and no MLS_Standard_Common.cginc at all. Once Unity had opened the new project and re-imported everything, he got the same error.

This is in Unity 2020.3.20 LTS.

 

Use shaders patch for all projects where you use plugin

 

I feel like you might have misunderstood. We're talking about a project where he does NOT use the plugin. That's the project that is failing, with complains about MLS.

 

Yes, now I think I understand. When you patch the Standard shaders, MLS makes changes to the global shaders, but this hasn't been seen before. I will try to check it tomorrow.

 

Okay, thanks. He's switching back to his home machine, where he's not seeing the problem. If you need any other debug information just let me know.

 

I am using Unity 2020.3.20f1 version.
I created an empty URP template project as per the documentation and then set the Configurable Enter Play Mode option.
Then I opened the Magic lightmap Switcher (Built-In + SRP) through the Package Manager.
When I opened LMS URP Support 1.4.1, I checked that the same shader error as in image 1 appeared, but I did not know how to solve this, so I ignored it for now.
(The manual says that SRP is not needed, so I ignored it. When Prepare Shaders.. was pressed, a warning window like the 3rd image appeared and could be closed. At this time, the console window was in the same state as the 2nd image.)
When I opened the Quick Start scene and clicked Create New in MLS Manager - Switching/Blending, a warning window like the 3rd image kept popping up and I couldn't check the sample scene anymore.
Please help me.

 

Looks like a bug where MLS couldn't determine the path to the working folder or it's write-protected. Try moving the plugin folder to the root of the Assets folder, just to be sure. Also, before patching shaders, make sure that the URP and Core RP are not in Custom packages (this can be checked through the package manager). If they are there, then you need to remove them and reinstall them and only then perform the shader patch. If you can't solve the problem, then connect to the Discord server, where we can sort out your problem in detail and quickly.

 

I've never put the plugins folder in a path other than the Assets folder. And since it was created as a URP template when creating a project, I confirmed that both URP and Core RP were installed properly.
I think I'll have to use Discord to solve it.

 

Ok, write something in Magic Lightmap Switcher #discussion channel, or DM me

 

Hello,

I've recently bought and integrated lightmap switch for my project, and I really like it.

However, I think I found an issue.
When in switching-only mode, the light intensity doesn't get set for the additional HDRP data, so only the lightmap changes, but not the direct light intensity.

The problem is fixed for me when adding

Code (CSharp):

1. #if MT_HDRP_7_INCLUDED || MT_HDRP_8_INCLUDED || MT_HDRP_9_INCLUDED || MT_HDRP_10_INCLUDED || MT_HDRP_11_INCLUDED || MT_HDRP_12_INCLUDED
2.                     HDAdditionalLightData additionalLightData;
3.                     if ((additionalLightData = lightSources[i].gameObject.GetComponent<HDAdditionalLightData>()) != null)
4.                     {
5.                         additionalLightData.intensity = currentLightData.intensity;
6.                     }
7. #endif

At line 208 of Switching.cs.


Another small problem I found was that reflection probes were baked at the wrong settings.
I have a HDRP settings volume for each light preset (day, evening, night), and I'm using the game object presets to activate only one of them per preset. Everything works, except for the first preset, which baked the reflection probes with the wrong hdri environment.
I've seen that there are HDRP blendables, but I'm not sure how they work when switching between volumes. However, using them seemed to have fixed my problem somehow, and the reflection probes now bake correctly. Maybe I have just misunderstood how to use the HDRP blendables correctly.

It would generally be a really cool feature if I could define an active set of HDRP volumes per lighting preset (since they also contain specific tone mapping and exposure for each light setting).

 

Hi, I have an issue trying to switch the skybox texture in different presets in HDRP. While loading the preset and the skybox texture attached, skybox is not changing and there is no error in the editor. I tried no to use the volume HDRSky but it has no difference. Also the exposure value is not switching too.

Unity 2020.3.17f1c1 HDRP

 

Hi! You need to manage the skybox in HDRP through Custom Blendable, however, at the moment there is a bug because of which this does not happen properly. I'm working on this problem.

 

I wrote a Custom Blendable script, the variables appeared in the preset setting, but after loading this preset , the sky cubemap and the exposure values in the HDRI Sky hadn't change. Am I missing something ?

 

No, its s bug, Im working on it right now.

 

Hello. I have a Unity 2021.3.12f1, HDRP 12.1.7 and Magic Lightmap Switcher 1.1.1. I found that patched HDRP shader makes all the surfaces glossy. Patched shader:

Not patched shader:


It's a big problem for me. Any fixes?

[UPD] Same problem on fresh projects on 2020.3 and 2019.4 HDRPs.

 

Hello! It seems that this problem has already been fixed in the new version, which has not yet been published. As a temporary solution, change the Convolution Type in the properties of the Reflection Probes asset.

 

Thank you for the answer! I trien to switch the Convolution Type to Specular and get this:

Reflections on metals become additive or something like that, at least it's too bright )

Seems like I'm waiting for an upcoming update!

 

Hey! I purchased this yesterday and should have asked prior to buying. If I have a lightmapped bakery prefab ( using lighting volumes) and want to use the plugin to purely swap between the first generated lightmap and a second one, can this plugin be used to swap between already generated assets?

 

Hi, Bakery Lightmapped Prefab doesn't support at the moment.

 

@Eugene-B

MLS: Patch error of [EntityLighting.hlsl, GlobalIllumitation.hlsl] Unity version: 2021.3.18f1. Render Pipeline: URP 12.1.10
Show the text of this error to the developer.
UnityEngine.Debug:LogErrorFormat (string,object[])
MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifierrintPatchReport (MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifier/RenderPipelineType,System.Collections.Generic.List`1<string>) (at Assets/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Editor/MLSShaderCodeModifier.cs:591)
MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifier:CheckForSRPPatched (MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifier/RenderPipelineType,bool) (at Assets/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Editor/MLSShaderCodeModifier.cs:1275)
MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifieratchSRPShaders (MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifier/RenderPipelineType) (at Assets/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Editor/MLSShaderCodeModifier.cs:3046)
MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifier/<PrepareSRPPackage>d__74:MoveNext () (at Assets/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Editor/MLSShaderCodeModifier.cs:957)
MagicLightmapSwitcher.MLSShaderCodeModifierrepareSRPPackageSRPIteratorUpdate () (at Assets/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Editor/MLSShaderCodeModifier.cs:153)
UnityEditor.EditorApplication:Internal_CallUpdateFunctions ()

 

The problem has been solved in the new version, which has not yet been published. Connect to the Discord server please and send me your invoice in the DM. I will send you the new version directly.

 

Hello

It's a rudimentary question.

While looking at gitbook, I checked the operation with quick start.
I want to check the blend function.
4.2. In the item of Lightmap Blending
Blending Configurator UI is not displayed.

Please tell me how to display it.

Unity2021.3.9f1
Magic Lightmap Switcher (Built-In + SRP) Version 1.2.0

 

If you haven't patched the shaders or clicked "Use Switching Only" or doesn't set the "Create Lightmap Scenario" option in the "Storing" tab, no blending will be shown. Also, I found, inaccuracies in the manual. I will correct it now.

 

Hi @Eugene-B , is this asset compatible with (larger) terrains? I guess the performance will be better than Enviro realtime + terrain? Thanks in advance!

 

We are talking about different assets. Enviro uses real-time lighting, while MLS uses baked lightmaps. At the same time, Enviro allows you to get realistic lighting depending on the time of day and weather, while MLS can mix various pre-baked lighting maps.

 

I also have this problem in a project that isn't using MLS - Did you find what files were changed and how to fix them?

 

These files are located in the UnityVersionInstallFolder/Editor/Data/CGIncludes folder. All modified files are located next to their original copies, whose names end with _backup. You can restore the original files manually or open a project in which you use MLS and in which you performed a shader patch and undo it from there.

 

Hi,
I've purchased the assets and i'm trying to switch lightmaps with also lighjtprobes created with magic light probes.
After the bake of the two variants in two different scenarios, i get the switch of the lightmaps only on the scenes that are in the game view.
furhtermore if i don't have a camera in the scene the switch doesnot happens at all.

can someone help me understanding where is the problem?
thanks.

 

Hi!
I have already added disabling this behavior in the new version, however it has not been published yet. You can just comment out a line in the code to ignore it.
Blending.cs

 

also commenting this lines the problem of the switch persists.
If I try to swap the scenarios, or just the presets inside the same scenario in editor the swap of lightmaps happens only to the objects that are visible in scene view, and at runtime i only get swap for the objects that are viewed in the camera frustum.

I've tryed on another project and the problem is not there, so the problem is in my project.
Can you help me understand what is happening?
This is quite a big project, so i cannot change project.
Maybe there is something that i could do?

 

Connect to the Discord server, we will discuss the problem in more detail. In a nutshell, what you're talking about shouldn't happen, at least I handled this situation in the code separately.

 

Does it support the new API moving light probe at runtime? https://portal.productboard.com/unity/1-unity-platform-rendering-visual-effects/c/2144-api-to-move-positions-of-light-probes-at-runtime

 

It seems that we are talking about the alpha version of the engine. I will deal with this when it is released, there may be too many changes up to that point.

 

The documentation states "If you are using or intending to use the NGSS (Next Gen Soft Shadows) plugin, then you first need to follow the steps to install NGSS. Since NGSS patches the original CGIncludes files. This will undo the changes made by the MLS."

I'm confused, do I use the cginc files from NGSS or the ones from MLS?

 

The following error keeps popping up when trying to switch between lightmaps at runtime. It seems as though the light probes are missing, do they need to be referenced somewhere?

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
MagicLightmapSwitcher.Switching.LoadLightProbesData (MagicLightmapSwitcher.StoredLightmapData lightmapData) (at Assets/Extras/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Switching.cs:299)
MagicLightmapSwitcher.Switching+<LoadLightingDataAsync>d__4.MoveNext () (at Assets/Extras/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Switching.cs:85)
MagicLightmapSwitcher.Switching.LoadLightingDataIteratorUpdate () (at Assets/Extras/Magic Lightmap Switcher/Switching.cs:26)
UnityEditor.EditorApplication.Internal_CallUpdateFunctions () (at <06837d428b6d46f581d93f9597703696>:0)
fdgdf

 

First you need to install NGSS, then patch the shaders through the MLS menu.

Which version of MLS are you using?

 

So the UnityShadowLibrary.cginc that get's installed by NGSS is overwritten by MLS?
I'm using the latest version 1.96.3 of MLS.

 

The UnityShadowLibrary.cginc that get's installed by NGSS is overwritten by MLS, and NGSS will still work 100%?

 

MLS does not replace the file completely, it only finds the necessary lines in the file and replaces them. Try to do as indicated in the instructions, if there are problems, then come to the Discord server, I will prepare these files for you individually. At the same time, I'll check if something has changed in the new version of NGS and if it still works.

 

I imported the plug-in into the hdrp project and threw this error, I did not find any classes or data structures related to "EnviroSky" in the plug-in, may I ask if there is missing code or this definition does not exist? The pipeline is hdrp, thank you！

 

I met a problem, I baked lightmap in hdrp scene, but after I baked it once, this popup window would pop up to me. This popup window is a plugin, because lightingmap does not have data, it will always clear my lightData, I would like to ask if anyone has encountered the same problem or knows the solution, thank you

 

This only happens if the lightmaps have not been baked.

Possible reasons:
1) There are no light sources in Baked or Mixed mode
2) There are no static objects on the scene

 

Hello, does this plug-in support the baking of light probe?
I put the objects' Lightings->Light Probes, set them all to static, and started baking, but I couldn't find the baking map, was it not supported by the plugin or was my setup wrong?
Thanks!!!

 

Do you have static objects on scene and light sources in Mixed or Baked mode?

 

When I'm baking, the object is set to static, and I have a light source in my scene, but it's not static

 

Do you need light sources in Baked or Mixed mode to bake lightmaps

 

Thank you. My purpose is that I want to switch between tiles by Lighting Probes, but at present, I am told that no bakes lightmaps found int the project, what can I do to solve it

 

Actually, I don't quite understand what it's about. What is "tiles"? Maybe you can record a short video of the demonstration? In any case, lightmaps will be baked only if there are static objects on the scene on which they can be baked. Try baking lighting without using MLS and see if anything changes. In the end, MLS just calls the standard Unity lighting baking process, then waits until it's over, and then copies the generated files to the right places.

 

You can provide a specific contact information and then we can talk about it. Thank you

 

Hello. I purchased the asset today and I am getting the following compilation errors when opening the asset in Unity 2023.2:


When can I expect the errors to be fixed?