Complete reference for every option in the Highlight Effect Inspector. Hover over any label in the Unity Inspector to see a short tooltip description.
Profile
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Profile | Assign a HighlightProfile asset to share settings across multiple objects. Click Create to generate a new profile from the current settings. |
General Settings
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Preview In Editor | Render effects in Edit mode. The Highlighted checkbox must also be enabled. |
| Cameras Layer Mask | Which cameras can render this effect. Default: all cameras. |
| Ignore Object Visibility | Force rendering even when the Renderer component reports the object as invisible (useful for GPU-instanced meshes). |
| Reflection Probes | Render effects in reflection probe cameras. |
| Normals Option | Smooth, Preserve Original, or Reorient. Controls how mesh normals are processed for outline/glow in Fast, Medium, and High quality modes. |
| Sub Mesh Mask | Bitwise mask to filter which sub-meshes receive the highlight. Useful for multi-material objects. |
| GPU Instancing | Batch outline and glow draw calls for better performance. Enabled by default. |
Highlight Options
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Ignore | Prevents any effect on this object. The Highlight Manager will still use this component’s values if present. |
| Include | Defines which related objects share this effect: Only This Object, Children, Root To Children, Layer In Scene, Layer In Children, or Scripting. |
| Object Name Filter | Filter included objects by name substring (prefix, suffix, or partial match). |
| Combine Meshes | Merge child meshes into one for unified highlighting. Best for objects that do not rotate individually — reduces draw calls significantly. |
| Alpha Cut Off | Apply alpha testing to effects. Essential for semi-transparent meshes, foliage, fences, etc. |
| Cull Back Faces | Exclude back-facing triangles from effects. Enabled by default. |
| Fade In / Out Duration | Smooth transition time in seconds when highlighting starts or stops. |
| Constant Width | Keep outline and glow width consistent regardless of camera distance. |
| Depth Clip | Clip effects behind solid geometry using the depth buffer. |
Outline
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Outline | Outline intensity (0–1). Set to 0 to disable. |
| Width | Outline thickness. Affected by the Constant Width option. |
| Color | Outline color. |
| Quality | Fastest, Medium, High (mesh-based) or Highest (screen-space). Choose whichever looks best for your geometry. |
| Visibility | Normal, Always On Top, or Only When Occluded. |
| Optimal Blit | (Highest quality only) Blit only the affected screen region instead of full-screen. Improves performance. |
| Independent | Prevent this outline from merging with outlines of overlapping objects. |
| Color Style | Single Color or Gradient. |
| Edge Mode | Exterior (default) or Any (includes interior edges). |
Outer Glow
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Outer Glow | Glow intensity (0–5). Set to 0 to disable. |
| Width | Glow spread. Affected by Constant Width. |
| Visibility | Normal, Always On Top, or Only When Occluded. |
| Dithering | (Mesh-based modes) Dithering style for the glow gradient. Disable for a solid glow. |
| Blend Passes | Blend each glow pass with the previous one. Disable for additive layering. |
| Glow Passes | Array of passes, each with offset, alpha, and color. |
| Animation Speed | Pulsing animation speed. Set to 0 to disable animation. |
Inner Glow
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Inner Glow | Intensity (0–5). Set to 0 to disable. |
| Color | Inner glow color. |
| Width | Rim width (0–2). |
| Visibility | Normal, Always On Top, or Only When Occluded. |
Overlay
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Overlay | Intensity (0–1). Set to 0 to disable. |
| Color | Overlay color. |
| Blending | How much the overlay mixes with the object’s original texture. |
| Min Intensity | Floor value for the blending animation. |
| Animation Speed | Pulse speed. Set to 0 for a static overlay. |
| Texture | Optional pattern texture (polkadots, grid, lines, etc.). |
| UV Space | Triplanar, Object Space, or Screen Space. |
Focus
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Focus | Intensity of the focus effect (0–1). Dims the background while keeping highlighted objects fully visible. Set to 0 to disable. |
| Color | Color and transparency of the dim overlay. Default is semi-transparent black. |
| Blur | Optional background blur intensity (0–1). |
| Downsampling | Downsampling factor for the focus blur (1–8). Higher values improve performance at the cost of quality. Default: 2. |
| Desaturate | Desaturation intensity for the background (0–1). A value of 1 makes the background fully grayscale. |
See-Through (X-Ray)
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| See Through | Never, When Highlighted, or Always When Occluded. |
| Occlude Layer | Layer mask for objects that can occlude the highlighted object. Uses raycasting to test visibility. |
| Threshold | Multiplier for bounds size during occlusion testing. Increase to avoid false positives. |
| Check Individual Objects | Test each child separately rather than combining bounds. |
| Depth Offset / Max Depth | Distance limits relative to the occluder. 0 = unlimited. |
| Accurate | Pixel-perfect occlusion detection. |
| Intensity | Brightness of the see-through silhouette. |
| Color & Color Blend | Tint color and blend strength with the original texture. |
| Noise | Optional noise overlay on the silhouette. |
| Border When Hidden | Show an additional outline only when the see-through is active. |
| Ordered | Respect relative camera distance when rendering multiple see-through objects. |
Tip: For characters occluded by walls but not floors, assign walls to a dedicated layer and set that layer as the Occlude Layer. Enable the Accurate option for best results.
Target FX
| Parameter | Description |
|---|
| Texture | Sprite texture for the target indicator. |
| Color | Tint color. |
| Center | Custom transform to position the indicator. Defaults to object center. |
| Rotation Speed | Rotation speed. Set to 0 to disable. |
| Initial / End Scale | Zoom/pulse animation range. |
| Scale To Object Bounds | Size the indicator relative to the object’s screen bounds. |
| Transition Duration | Fade-in/out duration in seconds. |
| Align To Ground | Project the indicator onto the ground as a decal. Uses camera depth and reconstructed normals. |
| Stay Duration | How long the indicator remains visible after un-highlighting. 0 = until deactivated. |
| Visibility | Normal, Always On Top, or Only When Occluded. |
Hit FX
A brief color punch triggered at runtime. Configure hit color, duration, and mode (overlay or inner glow) in the Inspector. Trigger via script — see Scripting Support and Demo 3 for examples.
Label Effect
Attach a text label to any highlighted object. Options include custom text, color, alignment (left/right of target), and relative alignment (relative to the object’s forward direction).
Icon Effect
Display a floating 3D mesh or prefab above the highlighted object. Configure mesh, color, scale, offset, and rotation speed.