Configuring Point Lights for Contact Shadows

Umbra supports contact shadows on point lights. In current version and for performance reasons, only one point light can cast contact shadows at a single time. This guide provides step-by-step instructions to configure Point Lights support for Contact Shadows in the Umbra Soft Shadows asset for Unity’s Universal Rendering Pipeline.

Prerequisites

• Umbra Soft Shadows asset installed in your Unity project.

• A Directional Light and Point Lights set up in your scene.

• The Umbra Soft Shadows render feature correctly configured in the Universal Rendering Pipeline.

Steps

1. Add Umbra Soft Shadows to Directional Light

   • Select your Directional Light in the Unity scene.

   • Add the Umbra Soft Shadows component to the Directional Light.

   • Disable the default shadows in the Directional Light’s inspector settings.

2. Configure Contact Shadows Source

   • In the Umbra Soft Shadows component on the Directional Light, locate the Contact Shadows Source dropdown.

   • Set Contact Shadows Source to Point Lights.

   • In the Shadows Source option, select Contact Shadows to ensure Umbra computes only contact shadows based on the point lights in the scene.

3. Add Umbra Point Lights Contact Shadows Script

   • Select the Point Light(s) in your scene that you want to cast contact shadows.

   • Add the Umbra Point Lights Contact Shadows script to each selected Point Light.

   • A box trigger will automatically be added to the Point Light, defining the area where contact shadows are calculated. Note: For performance reasons, only one Point Light can cast contact shadows at a time.

4. Assign Trigger Object

   • In the main Umbra Soft Shadows component (on the Directional Light), locate the trigger object field.

   • Drag and drop the object that will trigger the contact shadows into this field.

   • Adjust the Fade Distance parameter to control smooth transitions as the trigger object enters or exits the defined volume.

5. Fine-Tune Shadow Appearance

   • In the main Umbra Soft Shadows component, adjust the provided settings to customize the appearance of the contact shadows.

   • Enable the Planar Shadows option to ignore the Point Light’s altitude (Y-axis position), ensuring consistent shadow calculation regardless of the light’s height.

Result

Your scene is now configured to use Point Lights for Contact Shadows with Umbra Soft Shadows, creating beautiful and detailed shadows for small objects like vegetation and intricate details at any distance.