Choose a lens flare type
You can add the following types of lens flares:
- Lens flares - use a Lens Flare (SRP) component to create lens flares for lights that have specific locations in your scene, for example the sun or bright bulbs.
- Screen space lens flares - use a Screen Space Lens Flare override to create lens flares for emissive surfaces, bright spots, and onscreen lights.
You can use both types in the same scene.
Use the following table to help you choose a lens flare type:
| Feature | Lens Flare (SRP) component | Screen Space Lens Flare override |
|---|---|---|
| Typical uses | Lens flares from the sun and specific lights, custom flare shapes, and cinematics | Lens flares on vehicles and water, first-person games, and science-fiction environments |
| Supported platforms | All platforms | All platforms |
| CPU and GPU use | CPU and GPU | GPU |
| Types of light | All Light objects, except Area Lights | All bright spots and visible lights |
| Placement | Attach to individual lights. Place lens flares manually | Generate inside a volume. Place all lens flares automatically with a single setting |
| Lens flares from offscreen lights | Yes | No |
| Light streaks | No, unless you create them manually | Yes |
| Configure flares | Configure per lens flare or per element | Configure for all lens flares together |
| Configure flare elements | Configure many settings for each element, per lens flare | Configure several settings for elements, for all lens flares together |
| Configure attenuation | Yes | No |
| Affected by clouds, fog and water | Yes | Yes |
| Preserve aspect ratio | Yes | No |
| Chromatic aberration | No | Yes |
| Blend modes | Additive, Lerp, Premultiplied and Screen | Additive only |
| Occlusion | Screen space occlusion, and geometric occlusion for offscreen lights. Configurable. Occlusion might not always work at the edge of the screen. | Screen space occlusion, generated from the color buffer. Not configurable |
| Examples in package samples | Yes | No |