Setup (URP)

beginner concepts

Setup — Universal Render Pipeline (URP)

This page covers the initial setup of Shiny SSR 2 for Unity's Universal Render Pipeline.

Requirements

Requirement	Details
Unity version	2022.3 LTS or newer
URP version	12.0 or later (via Package Manager)
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, WebGL

Step 1 — Add the Renderer Feature

Select your URP Renderer Data asset.
Click Add Renderer Feature > Shiny SSRR.

Renderer Feature Settings

Setting	Description
Render Pass Event	When Shiny executes in the render loop. Default: after all opaque and transparent objects.
Camera Layer Mask	Which cameras render Shiny reflections.
Ignore Post Processing Option	Forces Shiny to run even if the camera has post-processing disabled.
Use Deferred	Enable if URP is using the Deferred rendering path.
Custom Smoothness/Metallic Pass	Forward only. Reads smoothness/metallic from a custom shader pass named "SmoothnessMetallic" (R = smoothness, G = metallic).
Use Screen Space Normals	Forward only. Reads normals from the URP DepthNormals pass instead of material bump maps.

Step 2 — Choose Rendering Path

Deferred (recommended)

Enable Use Deferred in the Renderer Feature, then jump to the Volumes section below. Reflections are applied to all opaque surfaces automatically.

Forward

In Forward mode, add a Reflections script to each object (or parent) that should receive reflections. Forward rendering does not produce g-buffers, so the Reflections script gathers smoothness and metallic data from materials and passes it to the Shiny shaders.

Why are Reflections scripts required in Forward? Forward rendering only provides depth and normals. Smoothness and metallic information are not available as screen-space textures, so the Reflections script reads them from each material and submits them to the GPU.

Transparent surfaces (water, glass, sprites)

If your scene includes transparent surfaces that should reflect or receive reflections, enable Depth Prepass on the Shiny SSR Renderer Feature and set its Layer Mask to the relevant layer so SSR rays can hit transparent pixels. If you also need smooth normals for water/glass shaders, enable Screen Space Normals with the Transparents sub-option and matching layer mask. Without these, transparent shaders skip URP's depth and DepthNormals passes and remain invisible to SSR. For per-renderer control, add a ShinyTansparentSupport component to the GameObject instead. See the FAQ for caveats with vertex-displaced water shaders.

Step 3 — Create a Volume

Global Volume

Add a Global Volume to your scene and add the Shiny Screen Space Raytraced Reflections override. This applies reflections scene-wide with a single set of settings.

Local Volumes

For area-specific reflection settings (e.g., a wet room vs. a dry corridor), create Local Volumes with their own Shiny SSRR override. The camera blends between volumes automatically.

Verify with the Demo Scene

Open the included demo scene. If reflections are visible on the floor and objects, your setup is complete. If not, double-check that the Renderer Feature is added to all URP assets in Project Settings > Graphics (there may be different assets per quality level).

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