| %YAML 1.1 |
| %TAG !u! tag:unity3d.com,2011: |
| --- !u!114 &11400000 |
| MonoBehaviour: |
| m_ObjectHideFlags: 0 |
| m_CorrespondingSourceObject: {fileID: 0} |
| m_PrefabInstance: {fileID: 0} |
| m_PrefabAsset: {fileID: 0} |
| m_GameObject: {fileID: 0} |
| m_Enabled: 1 |
| m_EditorHideFlags: 0 |
| m_Script: {fileID: 11500000, guid: 4510294d23d964fe59443526f1ca7c4b, type: 3} |
| m_Name: Environment Transitions |
| m_EditorClassIdentifier: |
| m_displayName: Environment Transitions |
| m_hierarchyName: Environment Transitions |
| m_context: {fileID: 11400000, guid: ff4555072d80cd748acc8ec51a4a47e5, type: 2} |
| m_markdownFile: {fileID: 0} |
| m_priority: 1005 |
| m_overrideMarkdownText: "# Implementing Environment Transitions\n\n## Overview\n\nScenes |
| often need environment transitions to show changes in time, like moving from |
| midnight to late morning. Each transition uses a new Environment Profile and |
| can be either quick (0.01 seconds) or extended (5\u201350 seconds).\n\nMost transitions |
| happen during teleport warps, limiting the number of transitions per scene. We |
| manage these transitions carefully to ensure smooth shifts between different |
| weather and time profiles.\n\n## Managing Transitions\n\nSometimes, we need duplicate |
| Environment Profiles with slight variations, such as different cloud textures |
| or ocean wind speeds, to ensure natural-looking transitions. This prevents clouds |
| and oceans from appearing like an unnatural timelapse.\n\n**Example Scenes:**\n\n- |
| Beat6 \u2013 Rapid time-of-day shifts within 5 teleport warps.\n- Beat3and4 \u2013 |
| Transitioning from a clear day to a stormy night.\n\n## Environment Profile\n\nEnvironment |
| Profiles are data assets with several parameters that allow us to create various |
| environmental, ocean, and weather changes throughout a scene. See below for a |
| screenshot of the data asset.\n\n\n\n## |
| Beat6 Scene: Example of Environment Profile Transitions\n\nTransitions in the |
| Beat6 scene were challenging due to rapid time-of-day changes, which are difficult |
| to convey in a few minutes and within 5 teleport warps. Beat6 required transitioning |
| from the stormy dark weather of Beat5 to a late morning profile by the end of |
| Beat6.\n\nBeat6 uses 6 Environment Profiles, starting with one nearly identical |
| to the stormy night profile that ends Beat5. Key changes were crucial for seamless |
| transitions from the dark storm profile to late morning profiles in Beat6.\n\n- |
| The Skybox\n\n - To ensure seamless transitions, the skybox was updated so that |
| cloud values matched the rest of the scene transitions. These include:\n\n |
| - Cloud Offset\n - Cloud Scale\n - Cloud Speed\n - Cloud Direction\n\n |
| - Drastic differences in these values can cause clouds to appear to lower or |
| move unnaturally across the sky.\n\n - Different cloud textures can be used, |
| but matching these values reduces unintended effects. Using the same cloud texture |
| is preferable to minimize issues during longer transitions.\n\n\n\n- |
| The Ocean\n\n - At the end of Beat5, the ocean is choppy with a large patch |
| size and high wind speed. By the end of Beat6, the weather needs to be calmer |
| and sunnier. The following were adjusted for seamless transitions:\n\n - Environment |
| Profile Parameters:\n\n - Wind Speed\n - Directionality\n - Patch |
| Size\n\n - Large changes in patch size were hidden behind instant transitions.\n\n |
| - Ocean Material\n\n - Ocean Normal Map texture\n - Normals parameters\n |
| - Smoothness\n - Displacement noise\n\nAdjusting these parameters ensures |
| consistency between Beat4 and Beat5's stormy weather while setting up Beat6 transitions |
| smoothly as players teleport across the boat.\n\nFor nighttime and stormy profiles, |
| we set the Sun Disk Material to the Moon material, so water reflections come |
| from the moon instead of the sun.\n\n- This requires instant transitions to swap |
| the moon and sun.\n\n - A long transition would make the moon's position change |
| rapidly like a timelapse.\n\n - We hide this in Beat6 between the second and |
| third transitions, and this technique is also used in Beat3 and Beat4 scenes |
| transitioning from a clear day to a stormy night.\n\nTo check transition flow, |
| we can drag different environment profiles onto the **\u2018Target Profile\u2019** |
| on the Environment prefab in a scene, like Beat6, and adjust the Transition Time |
| to determine which transitions need to be instant or long-form and their duration.\n\n\n\nWe |
| set up transitions using Unity Event Receivers on the Environment Profile prefab |
| and assign them to Event Broadcasters on the Teleport Warps in the scene. Once |
| Receivers are set up, we add the Environment Profile for the transition, its |
| duration, and skybox updaters to ensure smooth transitions. See below for an |
| example of Beat6 transitions on the Environment Prefab.\n\n**Starting Environment |
| Profile in Beat6:**\n\n\n\n**Final Environment |
| Profile in Beat6:**\n\n\n\n**Example |
| of the Beat6 Environment Transitions Setup in Scene**\n\n\n\n\n\n# |
| Summary of Things to Look Out For\n\n### Sun and Moon Positions\n\n- Higher or |
| lower in the sky\n\n - Small position changes can be instant or long (5 - 30 |
| seconds).\n\n - Large position changes can be instant or long (20 - 50 seconds).\n\n |
| - NOTE: Large changes need significant time; otherwise, the sun/moon will move |
| quickly and look unnatural.\n\n- Swapping Moon and Sun\n\n - Must be done via |
| an instant transition.\n\n- Keep sun and moon changes on the X-axis only, moving |
| up or down, not horizontally (Y-axis changes between scenes are acceptable if |
| necessary).\n\n### Ocean Patch Sizes\n\n- Longer transitions require the same |
| patch size, as it limits max wave size. Different patch sizes can cause visual |
| inconsistencies during transitions, like noticeable shifting/scrolling as the |
| ocean patch size changes.\n\n### Same Skybox Cloud Values for Longer Transitions\n\n- |
| Cloud Offset should be consistent to avoid clouds moving up and down.\n\n- Cloud |
| Speed should be consistent to prevent noticeable scrolling as clouds shift.\n\n- |
| Cloud Scaling, like Cloud Speed, can cause noticeable scrolling if different |
| between profiles.\n\n - NOTE: Consistent cloud values are necessary for extended |
| transitions.\n\n### Colours\n\n- Managing colour changes between profiles can |
| be challenging, especially with rapid time-of-day changes.\n\n- Smaller changes |
| in instant or short transitions (3 - 5 seconds) can help achieve smoother colour |
| transitions over longer periods.\n\n- In a Beat6 profile, when the moon was in |
| the \u2018sun\u2019 position, I edited the Skybox \u2018Cloud Back Color\u2019 |
| to appear more orange, typically a darker version of the \u2018Cloud Sun Color\u2019, |
| to simulate the sun about to crest the ocean.\n\n - Tricks like this can help |
| create transitions between very different profile setups.\n\n- Experimenting |
| with Post Processing profiles can also aid in smooth colour transitions between |
| profiles.\n\n### Relevant Files\n- [EnvironmentSystem.cs](https://github.com/meta-quest/Unity-UtilityPackages/tree/main/com.meta.utilities.environment/Runtime/Scripts/Environment/EnvironmentSystem.cs)\n- |
| [EnvironmentProfile.cs](https://github.com/meta-quest/Unity-UtilityPackages/tree/main/com.meta.utilities.environment/Runtime/Scripts/Water/EnvironmentProfile.cs)\n" |
| m_overrideMarkdownRoot: .\Documentation/ |
|
|
