Part 5: Post-Processing Effects

Introduction

Post-processing is a way to make your game look better by adding special effects after the scene has been rendered. You can use it to enhance visual details like brightness, depth, and color.

What Are Post-Processing Effects?

Post-processing effects are visual tweaks that improve your game's appearance after it's rendered. These effects can change how colors and lights look, and help set the right mood. Common effects include adding a glow around lights (bloom), adjusting colors (color grading), and making distant objects blurry (depth of field).

Common Post-Processing Effects

Here are some effects you can use in Highrise Studio:

• Bloom: Makes bright areas glow.
• Color Adjustments: Changes the overall colors and tones.
• Chromatic Aberration: Creates a color-fringing effect to mimic camera lenses.
• Depth of Field: Blurs objects that are out of focus.
• Film Grain: Adds a film-like texture.
• Lens Distortion: Bends the image to simulate camera lens effects.
• Motion Blur: Blurs moving objects to give a sense of speed.
• Vignette: Darkens the corners of the scene.
• Tonemapping: Adjusts how colors and brightness are handled.
• White Balance: Changes the color temperature.

Setting Up Post-Processing

To use post-processing in your scene, follow these steps:

1. Right-click in the Hierarchy window and select Create Empty.
2. Name the new GameObject Post Processing.
3. In the Inspector window, click Add Component, search for Volume, and add it.
4. Press New to create a Post Processing Profile.
5. Click Add Override and pick the effects you want.

Make sure your scene has a camera with Post Processing enabled to see the effects.

Managing Effects

Adjust and fine-tune your effects in the Post Processing Profile via the Inspector window. Here, you can turn effects on or off, set their strength, and modify how they look to get your scene just right.

Always view your adjustments in the Game View to see changes as they happen.

Project Settings

For post-processing to work properly, set your project’s color space:

1. Go to Edit > Project Settings.
2. Choose Player, then scroll to Other Settings.
3. Check that Color Space is set to Gamma. If not, change it to Gamma.

Camera Settings

Make sure your camera is ready for post-processing:

1. Select your camera in the scene.
2. Find the Post Processing component in the Inspector and check the Is Enabled box.

Conclusion

Experiment with different post-processing effects to find what best enhances your game. These effects can dramatically improve how your game feels and looks, making your scenes more immersive and visually appealing.

• Lecture 11: Spawn Points will show you how to set up spawn points for characters.