> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://graphicscat.gitbook.io/graphicscat/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://graphicscat.gitbook.io/graphicscat/documentation/litplus.md).

# LitPlus

## **Overview**

**LitPlus** is an enhanced material suite for URP, designed to extend and refine the capabilities of the standard URP materials. Built upon the foundation of the URP Lit Shader, **LitPlus** delivers richer visual fidelity, supports a broader range of commonly used effects, and achieves superior runtime performance

## **Features**

* **Render Settings**
  * Fully compatible with all features of the URP Lit Surface Options
  * Offers extended settings with greater flexibility
* **Surface Maps**
  * Base Map
  * Normal Map
  * Height Map
  * Emission Map
  * Detail Map
  * Mask Map
* **Mask Map**
  * Supports dual mask configuration
  * Allows flexible channel mapping for data input (no fixed channel dependency)
  * More compact and efficient in memory usage
* **Lighting** — Physically Based Rendering (PBR) with additional equations for richer visual variations
  * **Ambient** — adjustable brightness for upper and lower hemispheres
  * **Diffuse**
    * Supports shadow lifting
    * Supports Ramp shading
    * Supports skin rendering
  * **Highlights**
    * Supports PBR specular highlights
    * Supports hair rendering
  * **Reflections**
    * Adjustable brightness
    * Adjustable Fresnel intensity
    * Custom CubeMap support
* **Enhanced URP Effects** — extending and improving native URP features while introducing new common effects
  * **Emission**
    * Supports surface flow animation
    * Supports directional control via FlowMap
  * **MatCap**
    * Multiple blend modes supported
    * Multi-layer MatCap blending
  * **Rim**
    * HDR support
    * Adjustable width and falloff
    * Directional intensity control
* **Debug Colors**
  * Geometry Data
  * Texture Colors
  * Surface Data
  * Lighting Data
  * and more
* **Performance**
  * Optimized with half-precision floating-point operations for higher efficiency
  * Macro-based feature toggling to eliminate unnecessary computations

## **Render Settings**

**Render Settings** fully encompasses all features of the URP Lit Surface Options while adding additional controls for specialized needs:

* Depth Test
* Depth Write
* Src Blend, Dst Blend
* Alpha Src Blend, Alpha Dst Blend

![](/files/78698f69cf4beca4c839fba08d68fb93fe1d9415)

## **Surface Inputs**

**Surface Inputs** define the surface’s input parameters, including:

* **Base Map** — consistent with URP
* **Mask Map** — adds an extra mask compared to URP for more complex effects
* **PBR Data** — more flexible than URP, allowing selection of different mask channels as data sources
* **Normal Map & Height Map** — include explicit toggles for easier debugging and control

![](/files/261e75b0d13896e20a9a783dfcb05ce68189d785)

### **Mask Map**

Supports dual Mask Maps.

![](/files/e369c5725d8fcc656b6873894f11e8855cc85584)

**Base Mask Map**

* Used for standard data
* Examples: Metallic, AO, Emission Mask, Smoothness

**Extra Mask Map**

* Used for complex effects when Base Mask alone is insufficient
* Examples: Skin Curvature, Emission Mask, Detail Mask

**Precision Recommendations**

* High-precision data → Base Mask with medium or full-size textures (½–1× Base Map)
* Lower-precision data → Extra Mask with smaller textures (¼ Base Map)

### **PBR Data**

Allows configuration of **PBR Data** sources and scaling:

* Supports selecting the source channel from any Mask Map
* No fixed-channel dependency, offering greater flexibility and compactness

![](/files/2b89aa2fdd48b8c8643847eaac61be7a9cf3dc04)

### **Normal Map**

![](/files/2e4815367ef8a8e1f52cab0d89e706c47fb0bf5a)

**LitPlus** provides a toggle for the Normal Map, allowing effect comparison without removing the map.

![](/files/03ef7e332180ba0544063ffb80d2ce818739a21b)

### **Height Map**

The **Height Map** functions the same as in URP, simulating height variations through UV offset.

![](/files/69ea1290bc5946ed27a051c9b632abd6d6c52075)

We do not recommend using the Height Map, as its UV-offset-based implementation yields only limited visual impact. However, **LitPlus** retains this feature to ensure full compatibility with URP material capabilities.

## **Ambient**

**Ambient** allows independent adjustment of upper and lower brightness.

![](/files/56dec449c4b9e28d685566afa97157fa7d2bf4e7)

Increasing brightness contrast enhances depth perception, whereas reducing contrast gives a more stylized, cartoon-like effect.

![](/files/e6af9bce4c21ea937db0d5cfcbc78bbc224e24e3)

## **Diffuse**

### **Shadow Lift**

Diffuse shading can brighten shadowed areas using the **Shadow Lift** parameter, creating a lighter and more cheerful appearance.

![](/files/6b97e02aa57715666e32070d3045d9a1b9dd7523)

![](/files/4ce2aaf1bf7e852d80a38cfb1148c3246490899a)

### **Ramp Mode**

Supports **Ramp**, enabling artistic effects such as stepped lighting or realistic skin shading.

![](/files/9e26302cdfaa95d9748606abd4ac75c6b30b5978)

![](/files/eb712857728cd4c4598c54710e7f3aca57b187f1)

### **Skin Mode**

Supports skin rendering with low performance overhead, making it suitable for mobile platforms.

![](/files/106c6b7970d229bda842713218aa3dc0508b8054)

**Curvature**

* Represents skin curvature, indicating skin thickness
* Thin skin areas (high curvature) exhibit stronger subsurface scattering
* High curvature usually occurs on thin regions such as the nose and ears
* Low curvature appears on thicker areas like the body and limbs
* Curvature maps can be baked and processed using Substance 3D
* **Curvature Source** specifies which mask channel provides the skin curvature data

**Skin LUT**

* Includes a default Skin LUT as an example
* Custom Skin LUTs can be created for stylized effects

**Params**

* **Brightness** — controls overall skin brightness
* **Light Color Influence**
  * determines how lighting color affects skin tones
  * reducing this influence can enhance visual appeal under varying light colors
* **Shadow Strength**
  * controls shadow intensity on the skin
  * lower values often produce more aesthetically pleasing results
* **Rim Power**
  * adjusts the width of the skin rim effect
  * set to 0 to disable rim effects

![](/files/6f9dd3ab7d01f4c6c8bdaaf330adb4c4aec34781)

## **Highlights**

### **Default Mode**

![](/files/1b5601c319ce18e191cc8f6c7e21eec59cfd1ce6)

The **Default** mode matches URP Specular Highlights.We’ve added **Highlight HDR** color settings to enhance specular effects, enabling stylized, visually striking results beyond strict realism.

### **Hair Mode**

The **Hair** mode uses the Scheuermann lighting model to render hair specular highlights.

![](/files/785aee74f957a8bd505e02246eb316d8331635bb)

**Hair Specular**

* **Strength** — overall brightness of the hair highlight
* **Power** — controls the spread of the hair highlight
* **Shift** — adjusts the highlight position (toward roots or tips)
* **Shift From FlowMap Z**
  * uses the Z channel of the Flow Map to fine-tune the highlight position
  * this parameter adjusts the influence of the Flow Map Z channel

**Flow Map**

* **R and G channels** — represent hair flow direction; can be painted using tools like Krita
* **Z channel** — offsets highlight positions, typically used to create serrated highlight effects

**Without Flow Map**

* If hair textures are laid out horizontally, highlights can still render correctly without a Flow Map
* When no flow map is provided, the horizontal direction of the texture is used as the default input for hair highlights

![](/files/6a71836e7ca6a6d5403b582daa74e11765a1b1e5)

## **Reflections**

### **Default Mode**

The **Default Mode** produces results consistent with URP Environment Reflections.

![](/files/547d264955e4b3f3e6018979768da802f5502c15)

We provide two parameters for fine-tuning reflections:

* **Strength** — controls the overall brightness of reflections
* **Fresnel**
  * adjusts the intensity of the reflections’ Fresnel effect
  * default Fresnel brightness may not always be visually optimal

### **Custom Mode**

**Custom Mode** allows using a user-defined CubeMap to override the scene’s environment reflection.

![](/files/9bda831ea4d683c184009ac475ba9ce923aa1903)

It can be used for localized lighting effects—for example, a CubeMap with multiple highlights can enhance the sparkle in eyes.

![](/files/529ca7597418c806d11d7fc216ad2902a2b62844)

## **Emission**

We’ve enhanced URP’s Emission system.

![](/files/40b41c9f92407ee9b9df3095829331ce43015348)

### **Mask Source**

Supports masking via channels in the Mask Map. For solid-color emission, a single mask channel is sufficient.

### **Tiling**

Masking enables **tiling**, allowing the creation of repeated emission patterns.

### **Directional Flow**

Supports flow animation—combining a noise texture with movement produces dynamic emission effects.

![](/files/d37f3125971b824b2bbde5b138981954eef98791)

### **Flow Map**

Supports using a **Flow Map** to control emission direction:

* **R and G channels** — define flow direction; can be painted in tools like Krita
* **Speed** — controls the flow speed (cycle duration)
* **Strength** — controls the amplitude of the flow cycle

A Flow Map enables directional emission on characters, introducing dynamic motion and rhythmic visual effects.

![](/files/28cd049f5085eca33267c41a304cf75cf330047e)

![](/files/f7693804658613fa9ef8d3693984155dc0f0cb8a)

## **Detail**

**LitPlus** reproduces the same Detail effect as URP while supporting the use of the **Mask Map** as a Detail Mask—eliminating the need for a separate Detail Mask texture.

![](/files/9612551ac30aa3df59d6f9b11b0c65bafa351c4e)

**Usage Recommendation**

* Use Detail only when close-up shots of characters are required
* Avoid using Detail for characters that won’t be viewed up close to prevent unnecessary performance costs

## **MatCap**

**LitPlus** supports four-layer **MatCap** blending, allowing simulation of different lighting component combinations through various blend settings.

![](/files/c533bdec21737a9a087b7ff056c6624bede38a8b)

Traditionally, **MatCap** was used to simulate lighting for performance, trading memory for computation.

With modern GPUs handling PBR rendering efficiently, MatCap is now primarily employed for artistic lighting effects.

![](/files/670b9df28877aa245e0bd0e4827cacbf152f07ef)

### **Mask Map**

Uses the **RGBA channels** to mask four MatCap layers: **R** for the first layer, **G** for the second, and so on.

### **Blend Mode**

Supports **four blend modes**:

* **Alpha Blend**
  * uses the MatCap color’s alpha as the blending factor
  * useful for mixing with base color and modifying its appearance
* **Premultiply** — similar to Alpha Blend, but the alpha only affects the base color ratio without altering the MatCap color proportion
* **Additive** — ideal for simulating specular reflections (highlights, environment reflections) or stacking effects like rim light
* **Multiply** — suitable for simulating diffuse shading effects

Params

* **MatCap Strength** — overall intensity of the MatCap effect
* **Base Map Influence**
  * degree to which MatCap is affected by the Base Map color (Base Albedo);
  * calculated as: matCap \*= lerp(1, baseMapColor, baseMapInfluence)
* **Light Color Influence**
* degree to which MatCap is affected by light color
* calculated as: matCap \*= lerp(1, lightColor, lightColorInfluence)
* **Shadow Strength** — real-time shadow intensity applied to MatCap
* **Rotation Degrees** — allows 360° rotation of the MatCap to adjust orientation

## **Rim**

**Rim** is a Fresnel-based edge lighting effect.

![](/files/4964e5db2e0bb0d42013ae1352bb0642f9ecf12c)

**Features**

* Supports HDR colors, which can be combined with Bloom to enhance edges
* Adjustable width and falloff for narrow or broad rim effects
* Directional control to convey the light’s orientation

![](/files/2dcbc87495fe59bdc4e0a1d9ed34330963809c64)

## **Debug Colors**

![](/files/f159202888ccc9da6104b1663d4496ea81016f5d)

The **Debug Colors** feature visualizes specific values using color, facilitating development and debugging.

![](/files/b47f20a80784e628500404d9782aaff82836da1b)

## **Enjoying this package?**

* Give it a quick rating or leave a short review on the Unity Asset Store.
* Your feedback helps us improve and add even more features!
* [Review on Unity Asset Store](https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/slug/328765)