Multi-Pass Questions
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:03 pmIt's great to see Amplify Shader Editor get multi-pass support but to be honest after opening it up I'm at quite a loss on how it works... I see that the documentation is currently in the process of being updated but I have a number of questions I was hoping to get answered.
Template example
First and foremost, would it be possible to get an example shader for the multi-pass template? I always find that jumping into the provided examples is the best way to learn for myself and it's hard to do that in this situation considering how different a template it is. Even a snapshot of a simple multi-pass shader would be greatly appreciated
Adding additional passes
Again, I'm a bit at a loss as to how this template works so perhaps I am completely missing the point but is there a way to add additional passes through the shader editor or is it up to me to add them by editing the template?
Pass blending
One thing I have noticed is that the "Forward Base" lacks the ZWrite & blending options that are common to all other shader templates as well as the second "Forward Add" pass. Is this a technical limitation of sorts? Additionally there does not appear to be any option of modifying the ZTest value for any passes?
Shader name
Not sure if this is more of a bug report or something I am misunderstanding but once I hit the compile shader button in the top left, the shader (despite being named ex. "Custom/multi-pass") will compile as the template "ASETemplateShaders/Multi Pass/Unlit".
Multi-Pass Lighting
I feel like I'll be more comfortable with this once I better understand the template but I figure I'll ask it now. Having dealt with them previously I'm comfortable using most of the custom lighting nodes that are provided with the editor, however in this template there were some new obstacles, notably "light attenuation" now shows a warning about creating a shadow-caster pass and it appears that a number of the custom light nodes such as "Light Color", Indirect Diffuse Light", "Standard Surface Light", etc nodes are unavailable.
I'm not a shader expert but I do know that surface shaders work quite differently from vert/frag shaders so forgive my ignorance on the subject but is it possible/planned for surface shader support to be available in the multi-pass template? I know that surface shaders can work similar to multi-pass shaders (https://goo.gl/x3zMJS) but again, I don't know what limitations that might have in this editor; your input would be appreciated.
Once again thank you very much for continuing to develop and support this product & thanks for your time!
Template example
First and foremost, would it be possible to get an example shader for the multi-pass template? I always find that jumping into the provided examples is the best way to learn for myself and it's hard to do that in this situation considering how different a template it is. Even a snapshot of a simple multi-pass shader would be greatly appreciated
Adding additional passes
Again, I'm a bit at a loss as to how this template works so perhaps I am completely missing the point but is there a way to add additional passes through the shader editor or is it up to me to add them by editing the template?
Pass blending
One thing I have noticed is that the "Forward Base" lacks the ZWrite & blending options that are common to all other shader templates as well as the second "Forward Add" pass. Is this a technical limitation of sorts? Additionally there does not appear to be any option of modifying the ZTest value for any passes?
Shader name
Not sure if this is more of a bug report or something I am misunderstanding but once I hit the compile shader button in the top left, the shader (despite being named ex. "Custom/multi-pass") will compile as the template "ASETemplateShaders/Multi Pass/Unlit".
Multi-Pass Lighting
I feel like I'll be more comfortable with this once I better understand the template but I figure I'll ask it now. Having dealt with them previously I'm comfortable using most of the custom lighting nodes that are provided with the editor, however in this template there were some new obstacles, notably "light attenuation" now shows a warning about creating a shadow-caster pass and it appears that a number of the custom light nodes such as "Light Color", Indirect Diffuse Light", "Standard Surface Light", etc nodes are unavailable.
I'm not a shader expert but I do know that surface shaders work quite differently from vert/frag shaders so forgive my ignorance on the subject but is it possible/planned for surface shader support to be available in the multi-pass template? I know that surface shaders can work similar to multi-pass shaders (https://goo.gl/x3zMJS) but again, I don't know what limitations that might have in this editor; your input would be appreciated.
Once again thank you very much for continuing to develop and support this product & thanks for your time!