Configure shadow resolution in the Universal Render Pipeline
This page describes how to configure the shadow resolution of the directional light and the additional lights.
Set the shadow resolution of the main light
To set the resolution of shadows from the main light, select URP Asset > Lighting > Main Light > Shadow Resolution.
Set the maximum distance of the main light shadow
Unity spreads the shadow map over the area defined by the Max Distance property. The higher the value, the lower the pixel density of the shadow map. Set the Max Distance property in URP Asset > Shadows > Max Distance.
For example, the following illustration shows that reducing the Max Distance value from 40 to 10 lets you use a lower resolution shadow map (1024 pixels instead of 2048 pixels) and achieve higher shadow quality in the area close to the cameraA component which creates an image of a particular viewpoint in your scene. The output is either drawn to the screen or captured as a texture. More info
See in Glossary. Cascade count value is 1.
A: Max Distance 40, Shadow Resolution 2048. B: Max Distance 10, Shadow Resolution 1024.
Set the shadow resolution of additional lights
In URP, point lights and spot lights are called additional lights.
Set the size of shadow atlases in URP
Set the size of these atlases in your Unity project’s URP Asset. The atlas size determines the maximum resolution of additional light shadows in your sceneA Scene contains the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. More info
See in Glossary.
URP renders all real-time shadows for a frame using one common shadow map atlas for all spot lights and point lights in your scene, and another shadow map atlas for directional lights.
For example, an atlas of size 1024 × 1024 can fit:
- Four shadow maps of 512 × 512 pixelsThe smallest unit in a computer image. Pixel size depends on your screen resolution. Pixel lighting is calculated at every screen pixel. More info
See in Glossary. - Sixteen shadow maps of 256 × 256 pixels.
Control the amount of video memory shadows use
To make sure that the resolution URP uses for a specific additional light shadow does not get lower than a specific value, consider the number of shadow maps required in the scene, and select a big enough shadow atlas resolution.
Consider the following example:
A scene has four spot lights and one point light.
Each shadow map resolution must be at least 256 x 256 pixels.
In this example Unity needs to render ten shadow maps (one for each spot light, and six for the point light), each with a resolution of 256 x 256 pixels.
A shadow atlas of 512 x 512 pixels would not be enough, because it can contain only four maps of 256 x 256 pixels. The application requires a shadow atlas of 1024 x 1024 pixels, which can contain up to sixteen maps of 256 x 256 pixels.