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Render pipelines
Built-in and URP compatibility, renderer features, and setup differences.
PACKAGE VERSION 1.1.0Built-in and URP#
Every lit CrowPSX shader includes a Universal and a Built-in SubShader in the same asset. Unity automatically selects the one for the active pipeline, so you can keep the same materials when switching between Built-in and URP.
Most features work the same way in both pipelines. These features have different setup requirements:
| Feature | Built-in | Universal |
|---|---|---|
Particles/Grab Distortion |
Refracts through GrabPass | Needs Opaque Texture on the URP Asset |
Decals/Depth Volume |
Reads scene depth directly | Needs the CrowPSX Depth Volume renderer feature |
Terrain/PBR |
Built-in Terrain add-pass and basemap shaders | URP's terrain contract |
| Additional realtime lights | One ForwardAdd pass per light | Looped inside the single forward pass |
| Bakery alpha-meta | Separate pass, hidden from Unity's lightmapper | Folded into the single Meta pass |
Under URP, depth-volume decals need the CrowPSX Depth Volume renderer feature on the active Universal Renderer, or they drift as the camera moves. Select a Depth Volume material and use the inspector's Add To Renderer action; the installation validator also reports it. Builds automatically strip passes for the unused pipeline. Add CROWPSX_DISABLE_VARIANT_STRIPPING to turn that off.
Optional mesh-surface outlines are controlled directly from each material, including screen-fixed/world-space width, distance fade, a UV mask, sampled base-color matching, and UV4-baked smooth outline normals for closing hard-edge gaps without changing surface shading. Built-in needs no setup. In URP, add CrowPSX Outline Feature to the active Universal Renderers to enable outlines on their cameras. Alternatively, add CrowPSX Outline Support to a camera for scene-level setup without editing the renderer asset.
Version and platform checks#
CrowPSX requires Unity 2022.3 LTS or newer and has been tested on Unity 2022.3, 6.0, 6.3, and 6.6. HDRP shaders are not included. Use a Shader Model 3.5-capable target for the main surface, particle, and decal shaders.
Before integrating CrowPSX into a larger project, test a representative scene with your Unity and URP versions, renderer, graphics API, and target hardware.
After changing pipelines#
Wait for compilation and run Tools > CrowPSX > Validate Installation. Check the active Universal Renderer when using decals or outlines, and enable Opaque Texture when using URP Grab Distortion.
If generated pipeline detection falls out of step, use Tools > CrowPSX > Regenerate Pipeline Defines. See Troubleshooting for include errors and camera-depth issues.