Volumetric Fog & Mist - AAA realistic and animated fog, dust, low clouds and mist

A selection of cool projects using Volumetric Fog & Mist. Enjoy the video!

 

Hello again. Can this package be used as an atmospheric scattering with clouds solution? We found this asset on assetstore and we are pretty interested in it. We've been using unity's Blacksmith scattering complete with custom clouds, but we don't find it to be robust and beautiful for us. Also, do I get it right that we can't cast shadows from the fog (clouds made of fog) on other objects?

 

Hi!
Volumetric Fog & Mist is a full screen image effect that adds the fog layer after all opaque objects have been rendered. It does not project shadows over other objects.
It's not a sky simulator but allows you to render nice thick cloud-like fog on any area or height position of the scene. You can also add standalone puff of cloud/fog.
It includes several demo scenes to showcase many of its features. Try it and if it's not usable for you (you even could use it along other solutions) I will refund your purchase.
Thanks.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

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How does quite thick fog look at at night, in near-darkness? Do you have any screenshots?

 

You can have many combinations. It depends. Example:

 

@Thrawn75 Thanks, that looks like what I'm trying to achieve. Can you recommend any Time of Day plugins that work well with your plugin?

 

Time of Day works fine, at least at the time I worked on the integration. Just send me an email if you find any issue and we'll sort it out. The integration works by syncing the direction of the Sun light or gameObject with the global brightness of the fog albedo color, so when the Sun is facing up (it's under the horizon) the fog color is almost pitch-black. You can configure several color options as well. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

 

I'm still having that problem with low-lying fog rendering as dots rather than solid at large distances on Windows builds. I switched to a demo scene, but had to copy the settings from the fog component in my scene in order to reproduce the setup -- which is basically, fog about -2500 vertically, and a camera far clip of about 50,000. I'm guessing the latter is probably the problem, though it's puzzling that the fog looks great on a MacBook with Nvideo 750M GPU, but not on Windows computers with much better GPUs.

Attached are screenshots of my scene (above) and demo scene (below) -- for both, Mac on left, Windows on right), and the fog settings. Any suggestions?

 

Hello gecko,
I tried to reproduce the issue following the visible settings of the component (some settings are not visible, like Fog Style).
On this test machine it worked as expected. Using Camera farclip of 50K, baseline -2800, etc.
This was tested on a build created on Windows 10 / Unity 5.6f3 / DX11 / GTX950

I noticed you're using an old version of Volumetric Fog & Mist although that should not be the problem here.
Maybe your specular highlights are too strong? Check those settings under Fog Style section.

If problem persists, please send me a sample scene by email. That will help me identifying the source of the issue you're having.

Thanks!

 

Here is fog style -- see any problems there?

 

Looks fine however many options from recent versions are missing. I'd try latest version in a new test project with same settings and if problem persists please send me that project by email.

 

Thanks! Time of Day and Volumetric fog suited my needs perfectly. Great work

 

The point lights in fog look great. Would it be possible to simulate spotlights in fog?

 

Thanks. Spotlight compatibility is something that could be added in a future release, but at this moment they're not supported.

 

Hi, Does your plugin allow for triggering the colour of fog in zones and not just alpha?

 

Could be done! Will you want to try next beta? Just register on our support forum on Kronnect.com and send me your invoice number. Thanks!

 

Hi there!

Volumetric Fog & Mist 7.3 is now available. Check out the improvements below. If you plan to update, remember to check the Build Options (small button on top of Volumetric Fog inspector) to ensure unwanted effects remain disabled.

Features:

- Improved transparency support, new BlendPass mode compatible with VR.
This update adds support for transparency fog in VR. Until now, when you checked the improve transparent objects settings, a new fog layer was rendered just over transparent geometry using a screen blit which was not working in VR. Now you have the option to choose "BlendPass" option, instead of "ScreenDirect" (previous behaviour) which will work with VR. If you are not doing VR, leave that option as ScreenDirect.

- Improved look of fog over transparent objects
New blend mode for transparent fog makes it more coherent and seamless with regard to non-transparent fog.

- Fog volumes: added option to specify custom fog colors
Specify custom fog color, specular color or light color per volume.

- Optimized shader variant count (smaller shader)
Some passes have been optimized, halving shader variant count which should reduce compilation time and build size (also depending on the features used).

- [Fix] Fixed downsampling fog regression bug
This bug was quite noticeable and was rendering the edge improve useless in 7.2. Now it works again.

It also includes some internal improvements and little cosmetic fixes like the removal of a console warning in deferred + transparency support enabled.

Enjoy!

 

Hi there, ive just update to the latest fog on the asset store and now i get this error in the editor (5.6.1.1f)

Shader error in 'VolumetricFogAndMist/VolumetricFog': failed to open source file: 'VolumetricFogOptions.cginc' at Assets/VolumetricFog/Resources/Shaders/VolumetricFog.cginc(3) (on d3d11)

Compiling Vertex program with FOG_DISTANCE_ON FOG_HAZE_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

 

Usually an import issue. As stated in the release notes, please remove previous version and then import the new one. That should prevent this error.
Thanks.

 

Version 7.3.1 is now available

- Added option Lighting Model under Fog Colors section

This is a new dropdown option located in Fog Colors section:


The default value "Legacy" maintains the behaviour of color computation so far. So if you upgrade (remember to remove previous version before) you should not see any change in your existing configurations.

The "Natural" mode will blend between ambient and ambient + sun/light color based on the Light intensity parameter.

The "Single Light" mode will ignore ambient color and just use the Light color parameter multiplied bu the Light intensity.

Note that this is only for the light contribution color. The final fog color also depends on the albedo and specular color settings in the same section.


- Sun Shadows: extended tree compatibility

In this update, shadows will be correctly computed for Unity standard trees (SpeedTree was already supported).

- Some fixes and improvements with transparency pass. Added debug toggle into inspector.

Like with Sun Shadows, when you enable the transparency support, more transparent shader types are now supported, including the Unity standard tree, so this option works better now. The debug toggle will show the transparent fog contribution to the scene which may help identify any issue.

Cheers

 

Hello everyone! I'm the creator of the LushLOD Trees package on the asset store. Just wanted to drop in to say that I've spent a number of days working to make my trees work specifically with Volumetric Fog and Mist by Kronnect. So far in Unity 6.5+ I've managed to get the trees working with the fog on certain settings, and I think it looks pretty cool.



More screenshots: http://imgur.com/gallery/HoXE6

For now, there are still some LushLOD Tree settings that aren't working 100% with the fog, so more work is still needed. But a lot of progress has been made.

 

@Thrawn75 Eyeing this asset, but I'm unsure how the fog will adjust to non-planar surfaces. Obviously, real fog slopes with the curvature of the underlying surface, but this asset seems to be based on a global height parameter, so I would expect it to intersect with geometry, rather than develop with it.

 

Awesome. I bought LushLOD Trees recently and I'd love to see it work with Volumetric Fog & Mist. Keep up the good work.

 

@buttmatrix Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it.

@Hitch42 sure! @AaronBrownLM is doing a great job here. Thanks !

 

Haha, I apologize, that was actually a question: Can this fog effect take into account the shape of underlying geometry, or will the fog always intersect geometry that is not coincident with the image plane?

 

@buttmatrix you define a baseline height and a height extent which is affected by noise, then it raymarchs the volume taking into account the depth buffer. With proper scaling and noise values, you should not see hard cutting edges on your geometry.

 

Hi,
would it possible to have different areas of fog or mist? perhaps defined by a mesh cube or sphere.
the reason is, id like to have fog only in some tree areas, not everywhere.

This example is only a fix set of transparency particles.

Thank you.

 

@Quatum1000 Yes, you can use CreateFogArea API to dynamically create box or sphere shaped fog areas around any point of world. This method returns a VolumetricFog reference so you can customize its property just after the call.

Code (CSharp):

1. VolumetricFog.CreateFogArea(...)

 

Hi everyone,

Volumetric Fog & Mist 5.4 is now available:

- Fog of war: clear methods now allows specifying duration of clearance to produce a smoother effect
- Added Shadow Cancellation parameter to simulate volumetric lighting effect. This option attenuates or hides shadowed fog. New demo scene 15:



- Exposed internal Sun Shadows Bias parameter which helps avoid self-shadowing
- Some shader optimizations, also removed jitter parameter as banding artifacts have been reduced

Enjoy!

 

I never really considered using this indoors. Is there (or could there be) a setting that gives sort of a dust particles effect?

 

Sure, this is something that will be considered in this new area of exploration.

 

Perhaps its possible to blur the scene and fog by screen depth?
Like this:

https://forum.unity3d.com/threads/se-natural-bloom-dirty-lens.243430/page-8#post-2857374

 

Hi! Try the Depth Blur option, it’s there.

 

Here's an example for the Depth Blur option:

 

Cool!

 

Yes, that's possible - the shadow cancellation parameter is a float value in the range 0..1.

And good news for VR users! V4.7.1 beta is now available on our support forum on kronnect.com with full Single Pass Stereo Rendering compatibility for Unity 2017.1!

 

Hi!
I am really considering buying this asset, but I have some questions.
1. Does it work with the PlayWay water asset? I'm on Unity 5.6 (don't dare to update since PlayWay is pretty unstable).
2. Does it work with VR? I'm using an HTC Vive
3. Does it replace the standard Unity fog or can it be used together with it?
4. Does it move like mist usually does? And can this speed be adjusted?

Cheers!
M.

 

1. Can't say, I don't own such system but it can render nice over other water systems, like Suimono and Aquas. Let me know if you have any issue with PlayWay.

2. Yes, however in Unity 5.6 the downsampling option along with Single Pass Stereo does not work due to an issue with temporary render textures. Single Pass Stereo works fine in Unity 5.5 and Unity 2017.1 (also in Unity 5.6 but without downsampling).

3. Well, more than a replacement. These are the key features:

- Rich detail: albedo, light, occlusion, specular glow effects
- Dynamic lighting with Sun synchronization
- Wind and turbulence animations
- Near/far distance nice falloffs
- Full world, boxed or spherical areas
- Any number of fog areas with auto-culling
- Follow camera option
- Vertical mode for great walls
- Orthographic/Perspective camera support
- Spherical or boxed void area
- Fog of war with restoring effect
- Point light support
- Shadow cancellation effect
- Light scattering
- Depth blur
- Transparency support
- Sky haze
- Shaders auto-tuning for best performance according to used features

It also includes Dynamic Fog & Mist which is a lightweight version.

4. Yes, wind and turbulence speed is customizable.

 

Thanks for the reply! Is there anyone in the forum who has had success with using this asset with PlayWay Water System in VR? https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/47961
I am asking, because it is a key component in my project and if this fog asset doesn't work with it, I'm screwed!

 

Hi everyone,

Yet another update is live. Version 7.5 comes with:

New light diffusion options under Light Scattering section:

Updated Dynamic Fog & Mist package (v4.2). This is a lightweight yet flexible fog renderer which can be combined with Volumetric Fog & Mist to provide a good balance of performance and quality. Yes, instead of extending Volumetric Fog & Mist to the far horizon you can blend it with Dynamic Fog & Mist variants, so you can avoid using downsampling and reach greater quality levels on huge scenes.

More exciting changes are coming along the way

Cheers!

 

One more thing... remember that every time you update the package, the shaders are replaced with new versions so you need to review your Build Options again. If you forget this, you will seat waiting a long time building it!

 

Hi there,

Happy to announce Volumetric Fog & Mist 8 is now available. Lot of useful stuff comes with this new major update!

- Fog Profiles. Create and store persistent profiles. Assign them at editor or runtime. Sample profiles inside Resources/Profiles:



Create or update fog profiles from within Volumetric Fog & Mist inspector. Old factory presets still are there, useful for cloning in new profiles:



- Fog Volumes. Previous fog volumes accepted transitions in alpha, sky haze and fog colors (albedo, specular, light colors). Now they also accept profiles to transition from one zone to another using all available parameters contained in target profile. Fog Volumes can be created dragging the prefab from the Prefabs folder into the scene and manipulating it like a normal object:



- Fog Areas. Improved rendering pipeline, reduced overhead and no more multiple script on the main camera. Improved rendering sorting order. New fog areas (boxed and spherical) prefabs inside Resources/Prefabs:



Drag and drop a fog area into the scene and modify the transform position and scale to customize it place in the scene. Fog Areas along the new Noise parameter controls allows you to create compelling cloud layers like in this video:

- Revamped transparency system with new algorithm for transparent particles.
A new and innovative technique provides better support for blending particles with the fog. Set fog to render on top of everything and enable transparency blending and customize the blending power. Make sure you put Volumetric Fog & Mist at the first image effect on your Camera stack for best results.

- Improved support for water, alphatest objects and tree billboards. Many new options and tests have been carried out to improve how fog renders over trees and water (Speedtree and standard trees).

- New options for follow mode in fog areas, allows you to create infinite cloud layers which works great with procedural terrain generators. Just assign your camera to the "Follow GameObject" slot of any fog area and restrict it to XZ plane.

And many more minor improvements!

This is another example of the new features commented above, using MapMagic for infinite terrain generation. Volumetric Fog & Mist 8 was used to render both distant fog and the cloud layer. This scene leverages use of thick fog to conceal new terrain chunks when they pop-up. Also Beautify was used for the Sun flares effect. You could espend hours and days flying over dynamically generated content!

Note: previous release, v7.5, is still included in the Extras folder as well as latest Dynamic Fog & Mist package. If you don't need those packages, just remove them.

Enjoy this update! And thanks for your support!

 

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Thanks for the great update!

I've got a switchable camera setup, and use the fog area creation method to create a fog area for each camera when the level loads, record each in a list specific to that camera, and switch them on or off as I switch between cameras. This all works really well and performance is excellent.

My issue at the moment is having the timing (for want of a better term) to be consistent between cameras. I understand the texture advances by time.delta time, which means the fog only advances when a camera is active, so the position quickly gets out of sequence. Would it be possible for a future update to allow getting/setting a float of some sort to specifically reposition the texture position as needed? I can imagine this would be useful to devs who use Volumetric Fog in a networked setting too.

I also have an origin reset system that moves everything back to world centre. The Volumetric Fog positioning jumps in this situation, any advice to improve this would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

 

@Karearea Hi, thanks for the comments, much appreciated

Next beta includes a new setting "Use Real Time" that forces the fog animation works independently of Time.deltaTime so it seems to animate even if it's not being enabled.

Regarding camera repositioning while maintaining fog animation state, should be possible although it's quite tricky to implement. Will take a look into that as well.

 

So after upgrading to the latest 2017 patch release (p2), screen is all white with the fog component enabled.