render all the particles with same transparency

Hey
Is it possible to render all the particles transparent but not have their transparency overlap? It should look like they're one single (smoke) object.
Check the attached screenshot for reference.

 

You can achieve what you want using two different methods.



1) Only with Visual Effect Graph, you can render your effect using two outputs, a first that will write only depth but not alter color. In order to do that you can use an additive blend mode, write 0,0,0 so you don't alter color, but instead enable depth write. In the other one, you render the exact same particles, as alpha blend and make them revealed by the depth. This is a two-pass that would look the same as render them as opaque, but it enables you setting a constant opacity. I have attached this graph (SingleSpheres.zip) so you can take a look at it.

2) Another more technical solution that could help you achieve something interesting in your screenshot: I can see that you give your particles a metaball-like blending. You could use a HDRP Custom Pass in order to blit radial gradient sprites into an offscreen render target, then resolve this render target using a threshold (see screenshot below) and render it fullscreen at a given opacity.

 

Hey thanks for your answer. It works perfectly
I would like to try out the metaballs approach, do you think it would be possible in URP?

 

Another question:
What's going on in the first solution, why does it work? I've tried to wrap my head around it, and my best guess is that by writing black into the depth (buffer?) it somehow cancels out the effect. Maybe because it is though there's no depth difference between the different particles.. Is that correct at all?