Performance Tips

intermediate performance

Volumetric Fog & Mist (Built-in) · Troubleshooting & FAQ

Performance Tips

Volumetric Fog & Mist uses an optimized ray-marching algorithm that delivers high-quality results but requires desktop/console-class GPU hardware. The following tips help you balance visual quality against performance.

Key Performance Parameters

Parameter	Action	Impact
Max Distance	Reduce to match your scene's actual needs.	High — eliminates unnecessary fog calculations beyond visible range.
Stepping	Reduce to lower ray-march iterations.	High — directly affects GPU workload per pixel.
Stepping Near	Increase when Stepping is reduced.	Medium — preserves nearby fog quality cheaply.
Downsampling	Increase to x2 or x4. Enable "Edge Improvement" to reduce artifacts.	High — renders fog at lower resolution. x2 is usually a good balance.
Sky Haze	Set to 0 if not needed.	Medium — removes horizon haze computation.
Distance (Starting)	Set to 0 if not needed.	Low — removes distance fade computation.
Height	Use the minimum value that achieves the desired look.	Medium — limits the vertical extent of ray-marching.
Compute Depth	Disable unless needed for tree billboards or transparent objects.	Medium — removes an additional rendering pass.
Transparency Mode	Set to None when transparent object blending is not needed.	Low-Medium — avoids extra composition overhead.

Optional Features Checklist

Verify that features you are not using are actually disabled to avoid wasting GPU cycles:

Feature	How to Disable
Point Lights	Set range to 0 for unused slots. Reduce max slots in Shader Options.
Light Scattering	Uncheck the Enable toggle. Ensure the effect is visible when enabled (sun must be in view) to avoid wasted work.
Fog Void	Set radius to 0.
Fog of War	Uncheck the Enable toggle.
Sun Shadows	Uncheck if not needed. Custom shadow pass is more expensive than native shadows.

Shader Keyword Optimization

Use the Shader Options section at the top of the Inspector to disable features you do not need. This reduces the number of compiled shader variants, which directly improves build time and reduces GPU overhead.

For project-level shader keyword management, consider using Shader Control.

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Performance Tips