Perlin Noise

Menu Path : Operator > Noise > Perlin Noise

The Perlin Noise Operator allows you to specify coordinates to sample a noise value within a specified range in one, two, or three dimensions. Perlin noise is a type of gradient noise which has a good distribution of values which makes it rarer to have similar adjacent values.

Three cubes representing one, two, and three dimensional noise.

You can use this Operator to introduce variety to your particle attributes. A common use case is to use each particle’s position as a coordinate to sample the noise to output a new color, velocity, or position value.

Operator settings

Property Type Description
Dimensions Enum Specify whether the noise is one, two, or three dimensional.
Type Enum Specify what type of noise to use.

Operator properties

Input Type Description
Coordinate Float
Vector2
Vector3		 The coordinate in the noise field to sample from.
A cursor moving across the noise field, showing the different coordinates.
The Type changes to match the number of Dimensions.
Frequency Float The period in which Unity samples the noise. A higher frequency results in more frequent noise change.
As the value of the frequency increases, the noise increases.
Octaves Int The number of layers of noise. More octaves create a more varied look but are also more resource-intensive to calculate.
As the value of the octaves increases, the noise is more varied.
Roughness Float The scaling factor Unity applies to each octave. Unity only uses roughness when Octaves is set to a value higher than 1.
As the value of the roughness increases, the noise is more visibly detailed.
Lacunarity Float The rate of change of the frequency for each successive octave. A lacunarity value of 1 results in each octave having the same frequency.
As the value of the lacunarity increases, the noise is more visibly detailed.
Range Vector2 The range within which Unity calculates the noise. The noise stays between the X and Y value you specify here, where X is the minimum and Y is the maximum.
As the range increases, the noise is more visible.
Output Type Description
Noise Float The noise value at the coordinate you specify.
Derivatives Float
Vector2
Vector3		 The rate of change of the noise for every dimension.
The Type changes to match the number of Dimensions.