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Setup

beginner concepts

Global Snow & Rain 3 · Core Concepts

Prerequisites

Before setting up Global Snow, make sure your project meets these requirements:

Unity 6.0 or newer.
Universal Render Pipeline (URP) installed with the Package Manager.
A URP asset assigned in Edit > Project Settings > Graphics and in Project Settings > Quality.
The Universal Renderer set to the Deferred or Deferred+ rendering path.

Enabling Deferred Rendering

Global Snow works only with the deferred rendering paths. To enable it:

Find the Universal Renderer asset. Your URP asset references it (check Project Settings > Graphics and each quality level in Project Settings > Quality).
Select the Universal Renderer asset in the Project window.
In the Inspector, set Rendering Path to Deferred or Deferred+.

Forward rendering is not supported. With Forward or Forward+, Global Snow does not render and its inspector shows the message "Global Snow requires deferred rendering path".

Adding the Render Feature

Global Snow connects to URP through a Renderer Feature:

Select your Universal Renderer asset.
In the Inspector, scroll to the bottom and click Add Renderer Feature.
Select Global Snow Render Feature from the list.

Multiple quality levels? Unity can use a different URP asset per quality level. Add the Global Snow Render Feature to the renderer of every URP asset your project uses, both the one in Project Settings > Graphics and the ones in Project Settings > Quality.

The Render Feature has one option, Cameras Layer Mask. It chooses which cameras render Global Snow, based on the layer of the camera GameObject. Default: all layers.

Only add the Global Snow Render Feature. The list also shows a Global Snow Zenithal Coverage Feature. Global Snow uses it internally for its top-down capture, so you do not need to add it to your renderer.

Adding the Global Snow Component

Global Snow goes on the camera:

Select your main camera in the Hierarchy.
Click Add Component and search for Global Snow.
Adjust the settings in the inspector.

The component needs a Camera on the same GameObject, and only one Global Snow component is allowed per camera. Scripts reach it with GlobalSnow.instance, which looks first on the main camera.

Helper Objects

Global Snow creates a few hidden helper objects while it runs, such as the top-down coverage camera and the snowfall and rain volumes. They are not saved with the scene. Global Snow also adds its own GlobalSnowZenithalRenderer to the renderer list of the active URP asset. It renders the top-down coverage capture, so keep it in the list.

Render Graph

URP in Unity 6 uses the Render Graph. Global Snow supports it:

No extra configuration is needed. The Render Feature adapts to the active rendering backend.

Recommended Project Settings

Setting	Recommended Value	Why
Rendering Path	Deferred or Deferred+	Required by Global Snow.
Depth Texture (URP asset)	Enabled	Required by Snow Dust. The inspector shows an error when it is off.
HDR	Enabled	Snowfall Brightness above 1 pushes the flakes past white for bloom.

Scene View Preview

The snow also shows in the Scene View, so you can work without entering Play mode. You can turn this off with Show In Scene View in the Tools & Debug foldout. Deep Marks, Contact Ripples and Impact FX only work in Play mode.

Verify Setup

After completing the steps above:

Check that the Global Snow inspector shows no red message.
Verify that snow appears on your terrain and objects.
If no snow is visible, check the Troubleshooting page.

Next Steps

Parameters Reference - explore every Global Snow setting.
Rain & Water - set up rain, puddles and running drops.
Demo Scenes - open the included example.

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