Scene Setup
These options configure how Global Snow integrates with your rendering pipeline.
Forward Rendering Path (Built-in RP only)
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Sun | Directional light used for relief and occlusion calculations. Auto-detected if not set. |
| Update SpeedTree | Enable to support SpeedTree and SpeedTree billboard objects. |
| Remove Leaves | Prunes tree leaves using a SpeedTree variant shader. For best results, use custom winter tree models instead. |
| Billboard Coverage | Amount of snow rendered on tree billboards and grass objects. |
| Opaque Cutout | Discards transparent pixels (RGBA = 0,0,0,0) on opaque objects to prevent snow from covering holes in textures. |
| Fix Materials | Forces all non-transparent materials to expose an Opaque RenderType tag. Enable if some objects get clipped by the snow effect. |
| Force VR SPSR | Enables Single Pass Stereo Rendering compatibility for OpenVR. Do not enable for Oculus SDK. |
Deferred Rendering Path
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Sun | Directional light used for relief and occlusion calculations. Auto-detected if not set. |
| Forward Rendering | Override deferred mode and force forward rendering instead. |
| Deferred Camera Event | When the snow passes execute. Default: BeforeReflections. Change to BeforeLighting if deferred reflections are disabled in Graphics Settings. |
| FP Normals Buffer | Use 16-bit floating-point normal buffer instead of 8-bit. Enable if you see snow artifacts at distance. |
| Allow Batched Meshes | When excluding objects from snow, force exclusion of the entire static batch if the excluded object is part of one. Enable if collider-based exclusion produces artifacts. |
Quality
Quick presets and distance optimization settings.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Quality Preset | Best Quality: high-res coverage, relief, occlusion, glitter. Medium: smaller coverage texture, 500 m distance optimization. Fastest: flat shading, 100 m distance optimization. |
| Distance Optimization | Uses a simpler, faster algorithm for snow beyond a specified distance from the camera. The far-distance snow is not affected by ambient light, GI, or shadows. |
| Distance Tint | Color applied to the distance-optimized snow layer. |
Coverage
Controls where snow appears in the scene.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Layer Mask | Which layers receive snow coverage. Transparent objects are excluded by default. |
| Zenithal Mask | Which layers participate in the zenithal occlusion pass. Exclude particle systems here for better performance. |
| Ref Exclusion Layer | Layer number used internally during snow rendering for excluded objects. Choose an unused layer. |
| Exclusion Double Sided | Enable when excluding double-sided objects from snow. |
| Default Exclusion Cut Off | Alpha cutoff threshold for excluded semi-transparent objects. |
| Use Fast Mask Shader | Uses a fast mask shader for exclusions. Disable for objects with vertex-animated custom shaders. |
| Minimum Altitude | World-space Y value where snow starts. No maximum altitude — snow covers everything above this threshold. |
| Altitude Scatter | Randomness in the altitude boundary for a more natural appearance. |
| Vegetation Offset | Additional altitude offset for trees and grass, so vegetation requires higher altitude before showing snow. |
| Coverage Extension | Area size around the camera: 1 = 256x256 m, 2 = 512x512 m. |
| Coverage Quality | Internal texture resolution: 1 = 512x512, 2 = 1024x1024, 3 = 2048x2048. |
| Smooth Coverage | Smooths the coverage result for more pleasant transitions. |
| Coverage Mask | Optional alpha texture controlling snow distribution. White (alpha 1) = snow, black (alpha 0) = no snow. Mapped to world space at the specified center and size. |
Appearance
Controls the visual look of the snow surface.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Snow Complexity | Flat: fastest, smooth surface. Relief: raymarched 3D waves on the snow surface. |
| Occlusion | Adds local shadows to the snow surface. Only available with Relief complexity. Helps when the sun is high overhead. |
| Glitter Strength | Sparkling effect intensity on the snow. Strongest when facing the sun. |
| Slope Options | Customize snow borders on cliffs and mountains. Requires DX11 or OpenGL Core. |
| Max Exposure | Limits reflected light to prevent overexposure when the sun is very bright. |
Features
Optional snow features that can be enabled individually.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Footprints | Enables human-shaped footprint decals on the snow surface. |
| FPS Footprints | Automatically generates footprints as the first-person character moves. |
| Duration | Time in seconds before footprints fade out. |
Custom footprints: Replace the footprint texture in Resources/Textures with your own. Alternatively, use the Terrain Marks feature with FPS Marks enabled for a different mark style.
Terrain Marks
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Terrain Marks | Enables collision-driven snow deformation trails. |
| Default Size | Radius of each terrain mark in meters. |
| Extents | Size of the internal control texture. Increase for a larger area of non-repeating marks. |
| View Distance | Maximum rendering distance for terrain marks. |
| FPS Marks | Automatically leaves terrain-mark footprints as the FPS character moves. |
Snowfall & Snow Dust
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Snowfall | Instantiates the SnowParticleSystem prefab from Resources/Common/Prefabs. |
| Intensity | Emission rate of snowflakes. |
| Use Illumination | Switches the particle material to a Standard Shader so snowflakes are affected by Global Illumination. |
| Snow Dust | Wind-driven particle system simulating blowing snow near ground level. Intensity is modulated by altitude relative to the camera. |
Camera Frost
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Camera Frost | Adds a screen-space frosting overlay. |
| Intensity | Strength of the frost effect. |
| Spread | How much of the screen edges are covered by frost. |
Snow Marks on Terrain
Global Snow automatically detects collisions with Unity Terrain by attaching a GlobalSnowCollisionDetector script. For custom terrain or runtime-created surfaces, add the script manually:
gameObject.AddComponent<GlobalSnowCollisionDetector>();
Attach this component to any GameObject to customize how it interacts with the snow mark system. Its settings override the global defaults.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Mark Size | Per-object mark size for each collision impact. |
| Collision Distance Threshold | Minimum distance from the last impact before a new mark is stamped. |
| Is Footprint | If enabled, only a single "stamp" is left per impact (feet). If disabled, a continuous trail is drawn (wheels, rolling objects). |
| Step Max Distance | Maximum distance to connect consecutive trail marks. Prevents trails from spanning teleports or jumps. |
| Rotation Threshold | Minimum rotation in degrees before a new mark is stamped. Useful for wheels. |
| Ignore This Collider | Prevents this collider from generating any snow marks. |
Next Steps