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Graphics Azure[Sky] - Dynamic Skybox

Discussion in 'Tools In Progress' started by DenisLemos, May 1, 2015.

  1. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Hi!
    Excuse the delay to answer you.

    Well, the sky will function normally because it works directly as a skybox.

    The fog scattering effect will only affect objects in the scene that draw to the depth buffer, the operating mode of the fog scattering is similar to the "Global Fog" image effect that comes with Unity.

    Often developers make their plugins to draw to the depth buffer. So the only requirement for the fog works properly is this.

    I've had the opportunity of testing World Composer with azure[Sky] and it worked perfectly, so I think it also works with Terrain Composer.

    Horizon[On] I never tested it, but I intend to buy it today and I will do the test. If it works I will create a Web Player demo.
     
    S_Darkwell likes this.
  2. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    I bought horizon[ON] and this is the first test I did with azure[Sky]. As we can see azure[Sky] works great with horizon[ON]


    I will still make many improvements in azure[Sky] and now I have a good terrain for testings.​
     
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  3. Gibbonuk

    Gibbonuk

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    Thank you, much appreciated for testing and confirmation! Will give it a go, just before I do I am just checking that the clouds can be changed at runtime to be more cloudier or less cloudier? So The sky can be changed from clear to really overcast? Thanks Andy
     
  4. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    At the moment this is not yet possible. I'm creating a new version with a new cloud system so that it is possible to control the weather. I am analyzing a way that it is easier, simple and practical to use and configure.
     
  5. Gibbonuk

    Gibbonuk

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    Ahh that a shame, ok maybe i will wait for this feature then. I noticed in the screenshots on the asset store under clouds there is a density setting? What is this for?
     
  6. creat327

    creat327

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    still no hope for mobile support?
     
  7. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    It controls the density of the dark color of cloud, not the "coverage" that's what you want.

    This is something I want to do, but only after I add all the features and improvements that I still intend to do. So I do not want to make promises now that perhaps can not be fulfilled or take a long time to happen.
     
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  8. Polaraul

    Polaraul

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    Blocky Clouds?

    On all the scenes I have tried Azure Sky with, the clouds look very blocky and low res. Am I missing a setting somewhere?

    Untitled-1.jpg
     
  9. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Hi!

    The cloud shader needs some improvements. This seems to be associated with the dark color density of the cloud. For now try not to use high value in the "Density" and also a not very dark color.

    I'll be developing a new cloud shader for the next version.

    The Bloom image effect helps to reduce these artifacts almost completely.
     
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  10. NightmarexGR

    NightmarexGR

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    Hey , i am about to buy this asset but before that i want to know:

    When will the discount end ? I can only afford the discounted price so i want to know my deadline :p
    Will you ever release a shader or a plugin to make these clouds separately and proceduraly as gameobjects ?
    I think this last idea would be top selling :p
     
  11. Polaraul

    Polaraul

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    Hi there, and thank you for the prompt reply. I tried all the suggestions you made, and whilst it did improve the situation a lot, the clouds still look blocky around the edges and really distract from the rest of the scene. This is a great pity, since this asset really adds a lot of visual style to a scene. The clouds in version 1.5 look a lot better. Many thanks for your help though.
     
  12. NightmarexGR

    NightmarexGR

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    And also in the demo when you look straight up you can clearly see that the animated clouds are getting blurry/sharp as the animation goes and this makes it very frustrating :/
    Can i change/modify the clouds and add my textures ?
    Also can i produce somehow more clouds and have an overcast or have a clear sky ?
     
  13. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Try to change the "Alpha Saturation" in General Settings of the "Cloud Settings tab". This reduces the alpha of the cloud edge and maybe can help.

    The discount would end later this month, but as the dollar value here in my country rose sharply I can keep this value for longer. So I can not tell you an exact date for the end of the discount, but the tendency is to keep for a long period of time.

    In my opinion the clouds are the hardest part of doing. I intend to add procedural clouds, but I still do not really know how I'm going to make them. The problem is that with procedural clouds will not be possible to achieve the same realism of pre-rendered clouds.

    You can create your own clouds, but I notice that it is a very time consuming rendering process. In post number 51 has a video tutorial teaching to create their own cloud using the Terragen.
     
  14. NightmarexGR

    NightmarexGR

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  15. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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  16. Z43D

    Z43D

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    Honestly, I think the closer you get to realistic looking clouds the better. Azure is one of the few systems on the store that looks really convincing. As you said, if you were to go to a fully procedural method, you'd lose a lot of that realism.
     
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  17. PhosphorUnity

    PhosphorUnity

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    Does this work w/ Unity VR?
     
  18. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    I do not own this device to test. In this case I can only do the tests within the Unity editor. I configured the editor by following this article and everything worked normally.

    If you want to test I can send you the sky package by private message.
     
  19. Aabel

    Aabel

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    I would love to know if this works in VR as well. If someone could report back that would be awesome!
     
  20. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Me too. I will give a gift voucher if someone want to test in a VR device.
    If you want to take the test I send you a voucher by private message.
     
  21. barcode802

    barcode802

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    I can test it out on OSVR and also Gear VR (although that would have the mobile limitations). I also have the same question about VR compatibility.

    My friend has a Rift which I could test on later this week.
     
  22. KarelA

    KarelA

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    Hi _7stars. Your work looks amazing and i have been searching for this kind of a sky system. Just one question. You mentioned that you are going to develop a new version where rotating static skies are going to change in runtime. Is this going to be a part of the current Azure sky plugin or will this be a completely new product?

    Stalker used a similar trick to create day/nigh cycle with different weathers.


    Also if VR testing option is still available i can help out. I have Oculus, GearVR and Vive. I can test with all three. Sent you a pm about details.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2016
  23. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    It will be part of the current package.

    Azure[Skybox] will also be part of the current package, but this will also be sold separately for a much lower price for those who just want something simple and fast to mobile games. Azure[Skybox] is a simple plugin that I'm developing for use in mobile gaming provisionally until I can create a dynamic sky that run on these platforms with perform well. See reply #93.


    I tried unsuccessfully to create a voucher, the Asset Store return a error message that says I have used the 12 vouchers available annually, but this year I have not used any.


    [Edited] Thanks for the video about Stalker, I hadn't seen it. That's exactly what I want to do.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2016
  24. Aabel

    Aabel

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    This asset works great in VR. Beautiful actually.
     
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  25. Revick

    Revick

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  26. Quique-Martinez

    Quique-Martinez

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    Hi,
    I just purchased this asset and I'm very happy with it. I would find helpful if I could store and recall presets. It could be potentially a great manner of sharing skyes between users as well.
     
  27. Olafson

    Olafson

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    Hi,
    this looks really nice, thank you for the asset. I am considering to purchase it.
    Anyway, I noticed on your screenshots that you have a longitude setting but no latitude.

    Is that changed? I would like ot have accurate skybox for the area we are reprsenting in our game.
    Do you think you will be able to add latitude?

    Thanks!
     
  28. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Hi!

    I apologize if I have not answered some questions. I changed my address and where I live now was not installed internet, so I was not able to check my e-mails and access the forum.

    There is still much work to be done and it is already on my to-do list.


    You have no option to change the latitude yet. The clouds are the dominant factor for this to happen. As the sunshine in the clouds are predetermined, when changing the latitude, the brightness and shadow of clouds will not be synchronized with the sun's position.

    To better understand the workings of the clouds see these topics:
    #22
    #51

    I'm trying to find a way to work around this limitation precisely in order to create a time and date system for the solar and lunar positions. But first I'll have to develop a new cloud system!
     
  29. Sabathius

    Sabathius

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    I'm sorry to be "that guy", but I'm creating a stealth game that requires the Deferred rendering path (dynamic lighting and shadows). How well does your system work with that? I can't tell you how many assets that just plain won't work (or look like crap) in Deferred.

    Thank you in advance!
     
  30. Olafson

    Olafson

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    Alright thank you for your quick response. I think we can make use of the system already, evenin without the latitude. thx!
     
  31. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Hi!
    Azure will work in all rendering paths.

    Here is some images captured with Deferred rendering path.



    The current version does not give you many lighting control options. So honestly, maybe you'd better wait for the next release that will be implemented lighting improvements.

    Currently when setting the scene for the sunset, "sometimes" ends up spoiling the scene setting at noon or vice verse. That's because is used the same values for each parameter at different times of day. This is one of the main problems that I intend to fix for the next version using configuration by curves for each parameter of the sky. Thus it will be possible to have full control and use different values in the same parameter for every time of the day.

    And before I had no good landscapes to test azure[Sky], now I have great assets and can figure out how azure[Sky] behaves in various types of environments. That way I can find out where I need to improve azure[Sky].
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2016
  32. ksam2

    ksam2

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    For sure it's the best sky on the asset store. but really needs new update
     
  33. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    I would post about it!

    I'm already working on the new version and hope people will be patient. In this new version I plan to add a whole host of improvements and resources and being honest it will take a long time because I have a huge list of things to do.

    Some items on the list:

    * Customization with curves: This will allow the User to set different values in a single parameter at different times of day. But for that I'll have to rewrite all the scripts and restructure the entire code.

    * Lighting control: I still need to improve lighting control adding the option to customize the intensity and color of directional lights of the sun and moon. Currently this is done automatically with predetermined values by me, but this is not ideal, the user must choose the setting that he deems best. The customization with curves will solve this problem.

    * New Moon System: I'm thinking of using a sphere with a custom material to simulate the moon in 3D space to be hit by the sun directional light. Thus the light of the moon will react realistically according to the direction of sunlight creating the phases of the moon automatically without having to do extra calculations in the shader.
    I have not tested this, but I'm almost sure it will work, and maybe it's also possible to create lunar eclipse projecting the shadow of the earth on the moon.

    * Solar Disk: Improving the solar disk that does not seem very realistic with the sun directly overhead.

    * Ground of the Night Sky: The ground sky color is very important for the effect of the fog and at the night the ground color turns to a medium brown color. What makes the night fog not very realistic. So I'll have to fix it.

    * Weather Control: I want to create a system to control the weather alternating between sunny day, cloudy, rainy and maybe snow. I think it will be harder to do among all the list items.

    Maybe I've forgotten some item, but seeing this little list will note that I have a hard work ahead. I already have in mind how to do almost all of this, there are some things that I'm still planning the best way to do.
     
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  34. Quique-Martinez

    Quique-Martinez

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    I definitely vote for this one
     
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  35. barcode802

    barcode802

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  36. Quique-Martinez

    Quique-Martinez

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    A nice halo surrounding moon might be cool as well
     
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  37. KarelA

    KarelA

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    There should be a setting that lets you adjust the height of the horizon. You can edit it to make an illusion that the sky is further away.
     
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  38. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    As Karel already mentioned, there is a parameter called "Horizon Altitude" located in "Sky Settings" tab. This controls the height of the horizon of the sky and also the UV mapping of cloud texture. That's another thing I will improve in the next version, I will create a parameter for each, as in your case it seems to me you want to climb just the clouds and let the horizon of the sky as it is.

    You can edit the shader to use temporarily, it is quite simple.

    If you are using the version of the shader with animated clouds, just change the line 293.
    From:
    Code (CSharp):
    1. float3 viewDir    = normalize(IN.WorldPos+float3(0.0,horizonAltitude,0.0));
    To:
    Code (CSharp):
    1. float3 viewDir    = normalize(IN.WorldPos+float3(0.0,0.0,0.0));
    If you are using simple cloud shader, the line is the number 286. The code is the same for both shaders, only changes the number of the line you need to change.
     
  39. Lee7

    Lee7

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    I think Azure sky has the best fog of all Unity Sky system but the clouds are really bad (pixelated). Due to this, I use "Time Of Day" for skydome and lighting and AzureSky for fog.

     
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  40. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Maybe the Bloom Image Effect can help to reduce the pixelated effect.

    I am aware that I need to improve the Azure[Sky] cloud system. I am studying several different methods to make the clouds for the next version, maybe I will create a procedural cloud system already for this new version, but this is something I can not propose yet.

    Nice screenshot.
     
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  41. Sabathius

    Sabathius

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    Based on this image alone I am purchasing Azure sky. That atmospheric scattering is gorgeous!
     
  42. x4000

    x4000

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    I notice that every time a cloud passes in front of the sun, it causes the entire scene to get very much dimmer. I'm trying to figure out a way to avoid this -- while realistic, it's very disorienting and can make the scenes really seem washed out during the day. Any tips on how to do this?
     
  43. x4000

    x4000

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    Oh, one other note: when I go under a building it causes the lighting to go back to normal outside the building, making it look super bright out there. But then I come back outside and it gets darker again.
     
  44. x4000

    x4000

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    Sorry for all the multiple posts. Apparently this has to do with using UFPS and deferred rendering. I'm not sure exactly what the deal is, but so far switching to using Forward rendering seems to be working out okay.
     
  45. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Hi @x4000 !

    Analyzing their posts, it seems that you just reported the effects created by some kind of tonemapping that might be attached to the camera.

    The azure[Sky] clouds not grab the sunlight, so this is not expected to happen. Probably should be some other effect "(maybe tonemapping)" that is causing the darkening of your scene.
     
  46. x4000

    x4000

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    Got it! That does make sense, yes -- I am using tonemapping from Scion, along with HDR in general. What was strange is that apparently Scion, UFPS's two-camera setup, and then azure[Sky] all had kind of a strange interaction at a few places. For anyone else wanting to use that (awesome -- all three products are great), here's what finally did it for me:

    1. Switch to Forward mode overall.
    2. Make your FPSCamera into Deferred mode manually.
    3. Put all the post-processing effects (first the Fog from azure[Sky], then Scion, then anything else like FXAA if you want) on the FPSCamera.
    4. Unlike normal for UFPS, don't put any post-processing effects on the WeaponCamera.

    Hopefully this makes it easier for someone else. :)

    The clouds effect was super duper noticeable before in a really strange way, but after getting all that sorted out it no longer is. What is interesting is that I was (of course) testing this with Scion and FXAA turned completely off, but it was still doing the lighting things with just azure[Sky] on the WeaponCamera and nothing else there. Not sure what that was about. But again, the above approach fixes it.
     
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  47. nxrighthere

    nxrighthere

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    Azure[Sky] has the most realistic clouds that I've ever seen in Unity, but those artifacts just ruin them. :(
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2016
  48. DenisLemos

    DenisLemos

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    Hi!

    If these artifacts you are referring to is the pixelation, it is possible to reduce this by using Bloom image effect. This is not the best solution, but it will serve temporarily until I improve the current cloud shader and in my opinion the Bloom effect makes the most beautiful clouds.
    See in full-size.
    See in full-size.

    Many people love the current system of clouds and others hate.:)
    Therefore to the next release I plan to create a new cloud system and the user will be able to choose between the current and new system. Currently I am working on the new Inspector interface and reformulating the scripts to add the curve system.

    I'm very excited about the power of customization that the curves system will offer and also about the new features that will be added.

    I only ask that people have patience to wait, because I still have a lot of work to do.
     
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  49. ksam2

    ksam2

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    I love current system of cloud but there should be a way to clear clouds at the night! clouds looks awesome in day but at the night I have problem with it
     
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  50. virtueone

    virtueone

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    I'm having trouble getting the fog to blend with certain shaders, but I might have a simple solution... can you tell me how to grab a variable for the "current sky/fog color"? Then, I might use Unity's fog and just match the color:

    RenderSettings.fogColor = current_sky_color;

    So, it would look like this:


    instead of this:


    Maybe its not the best solution, and I know this is not your fault. Any help/advice is appreciated.

    azure[Sky] is a really nice asset!!! Thanks ;)