2021-09-09 20:42:29 -04:00

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High Definition Render Pipeline/Built-in Render Pipeline comparison

The tables that follow provide an overview of the Features that the High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) supports, compared to Unity's Built-in Render Pipeline.

Camera

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
HDR rendering Yes. The Built-in Renderer uses an HDR Texture Format. Yes
HDR output Yes No, however this feature is in research for HDRP. For more information, see High dynamic range.
Anti-Aliasing Yes. The Built-in Renderer supports multi-sample anti-aliasing (MSAA) for the Forward Renderer.

If you use the Post-processing v2 package, this Render Pipeline also supports:
• Temporal anti-aliasing (TAA).
• Fast approximate anti-aliasing(FXAA).
• Subpixel morphological anti-aliasing (SMAA).
Yes. HDRP supports:
• MSAA, for the Forward Renderer.
• TAA.
• FXAA.
• SMAA.
Physical Camera Yes. The Built-in Render Pipeline only uses physical camera properties to calculate the Camera's field of view. Yes. HDRP uses physical camera properties to:
• Calculate the Camera's field of view.
• Calculate the exposure of the Scene.
• Calculate the result of certain post-processing effects..
Multi Display Yes Yes
Stacking Yes Not supported
Flare Layer Yes Not supported
Depth Texture Yes Yes
Depth + Normals Texture Yes Yes
Color Texture Not supported Yes
Motion vectors Yes Yes
Dynamic Resolution
Software Yes. Limited. Yes. On all platforms.
Hardware Not supported Yes but only for consoles.

Realtime Lights

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Light Types
Directional Yes Yes
Spot Yes Yes. Supports the following shapes:
• Cone.
• Pyramid.
• Box.
Point Yes Yes
Area Yes. Supports the following shapes:
• Rectangle.
• Disk (baked only).
Yes. Supports the following shapes:
• Rectangle.
• Tube.
• Disk (baked only).
Inner Spot Angle Not supported Yes
Shading Multiple Passes Tiled/Clustered
Culling
Per-Object Yes Yes
Per-Layer Yes Yes
Light Limits See Quality Settings
Main Directional Light 1 Unlimited, but HDRP only supports shadowing for one Directional Light at a time.
Per Object Unlimited Unlimited
Per Camera Unlimited Unlimited
Attenuation Legacy InverseSquared
Vertex Lights Yes Not supported
SH Lights Yes Not supported

Realtime Shadows

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Light Types
Directional Yes Yes, but only one at a time.
Spot Yes Yes
Point Yes Yes
Area Not supported Yes, but only for the Rectangle shape.
Shadow Projection
Stable Fit Yes Yes
Close Fit Yes Yes
Shadow Cascades
Number of Cascades 1, 2, or 4 1 to 4
Control by Percentage Yes Yes
Control by Distance Not supported Yes
Shadow Resolve Type
Lighting Pass Yes Yes
Screen Space Pass Yes Yes
Shadow Bias Yes. Supports the following types:
• Constant clip space offset.
• Normal bias.
Yes. Supports the following types:
• Slope bias.
• Normal bias.

Batching

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Static Batching
By Shader Not supported Yes
By Material Yes Yes
Dynamic Batching Yes Yes
Dynamic Batching Shadows Yes Yes
GPU Instancing Yes Yes

Color Space

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Linear Yes Yes
Gamma Yes Not supported

Global Illumination (Back End)

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Enlighten Yes Not supported
Enlighten Realtime Yes Not supported
Progressive CPU Yes Yes
Progressive GPU Yes Yes

Mixed Lighting

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Subtractive Yes Not supported
Baked Indirect Yes Yes
Shadow Mask Yes Yes. This is a per-Light setting.
Distance Shadow Mask Yes Yes. This is a per-Light setting.

Global Illumination (Light Probes)

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Blending Yes Yes
Proxy Volume (LPPV) Yes Yes
Custom Provided Yes Yes
Occlusion Probes Yes Yes

Global Illumination (Reflection Probes)

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Realtime Yes yes
Baked Yes Yes
Sampling
Simple Yes See Reflection Hierarchy.
Blend Probes Yes See Reflection Hierarchy.
Blend Probes and Skybox Yes See Reflection Hierarchy.
Projection
Box Yes Yes
Sphere No Yes
Proxy Volume Not supported Yes
Other Reflections The Built-in Render Pipeline also supports screen space reflection. HDRP supports the following other reflection methods:
• Planar Reflection Probes.
• Screen space reflection.
• Ray-traced reflection.

Global Illumination (Lightmap Modes)

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Non-Directional Yes Yes
Directional Yes Yes

Global Illumination (Environmental)

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Source
Skybox Yes Uses a single sky to bake global illumination, otherwise uses sky settings per Volume. You can create own sky via script and Material.
Gradient Yes Uses a single sky to bake global illumination, otherwise uses sky settings per Volume. You can create own sky via script and Material.
Color Yes Uses a single sky to bake global illumination, otherwise uses sky settings per Volume. You can create own sky via script and Material.
Ambient Mode
Realtime Yes Yes
Baked Yes Yes

Sky

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Procedural Yes Yes. This sky type is deprecated, but you can still use if if you install the Procedural Sky Sample.
6 Sided Yes Yes. The HDRI Sky supports cubemaps, which the Unity importer can build from 6-sided maps.
Cubemap Yes See HDRI Sky
Panoramic Yes Yes. The HDRI Sky supports cubemaps, which the Unity importer can build from panoramic maps.
Physical No Yes
Gradient No Yes

Fog

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Linear Yes Not supported
Exponential Yes Yes. The Fog Override uses exponential fog.
Exponential Squared Yes Not supported
Local Volumetric No Yes

Shaders (General)

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Shader Graph Not supported Yes
Surface Shaders Yes Not supported
Camera-relative Rendering Not supported Yes. See Camera Relative Rendering.
Standard Lit Shader
Metallic Workflow Yes Yes
Specular Workflow Yes Yes
Surface Type and Blend Mode
Opaque Yes Yes
Faded (Alpha Blend) Yes Yes. HDRP also supports premultiplied alpha.
Transparent Yes Yes
Cutout Yes Yes
Additive Not supported Yes
Multiply Not supported Not supported
Decals Not supported Yes. To create decals in HDRP, you can use a decal Mesh or a decal projector.
Detail Maps Yes. You can assigned albedo and normal maps. Yes. HDRP uses the mask and detail maps to combine maps such ask albedo, normals, and smoothness
Advanced Material Options None HDRP supports the following advanced Materials:
• Anisotropic.
• Subsurface Scattering.
• Iridescence.
• Translucence.
Surface Inputs
Albedo (Base Map) Yes Yes
Specular Yes Yes
Metallic Yes Yes. Uses the mask map.
Smoothness Yes Yes. Uses the mask map.
Ambient Occlusion Yes Yes. Uses the mask map.
Normal Map Yes Yes
Detail Map Yes Yes
Detail Normal Map Yes Yes
Heightmap Yes Yes. Supports both pixel and vertex displacement.
Detail Mask Yes Yes. Uses the mask map.
Light Cookies Yes. Supports grayscale Textures. Yes. Supports RGB Textures.
Parallax Mapping Yes Yes. Uses vertex displacement.
Light Distance Fade Not supported Yes
Shadow Distance Fade Yes Yes
Shadow Cascade Blending Not supported Yes
GPU Instancing Yes Yes
GPU Tessellation Not supported Yes. Uses the LitTesselation Shader.
Double Sided GI Yes Yes
Two Sided Not supported Yes
Order In Layer Not supported Not supported
Advanced Materials
ClearCoat Not supported Yes
Hair Not supported Yes
Fabric Not supported Yes

LOD Management

In the Built-in Render Pipeline, you manage levels of detail (LOD) from the QualitySettings. Each quality setting defines a LOD Bias and a Maximum LOD value. As such, they are global to the quality setting and you cannot change them on a per camera basis. In HDRP, there are scalability settings that allow you to change the LOD settings per camera by using either predetermined values contained in the HDRP Asset of the current quality level or overridden values. For more information, see HDRP Asset and Frame Settings.

Managing LOD in this way has two consequences:

  • Default LOD settings for a quality level are now stored in the HDRP Asset instead of the Quality Settings.
  • Built-in APIs such as QualitySettings.lodBias or QualitySettings.maximumLODLevel no longer work. Instead, you need to change these properties through the camera Frame Settings. If you use the Built-in APIs, they have no effect at all.

Render Pipeline Hooks

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Camera.RenderWithShader Yes Not supported
Camera.AddCommandBuffer(Camera.Remove[All]CommandBuffer) Yes Not supported
Camera.Render Yes Yes
Light.AddCommandBuffer(LightRemove[All]CommandBuffer) Yes Not supported
OnPreCull Yes Not supported
OnPreRender Yes Not supported
OnPostRender Yes Not supported
OnRenderImage Yes Not supported
OnRenderObject Yes Not supported
OnWillRenderObject Yes Not supported
OnBecameVisible Yes Not supported
OnBecameInvisible Yes Not supported
Camera Replacement Material Not supported Not supported
RenderPipeline.BeginFrameRendering Not supported Yes
RenderPipeline.EndFrameRendering Not supported Yes
RenderPipeline.BeginCameraRendering Not supported Yes
RenderPIpeline.EndCameraRendering Not supported Yes
UniversalRenderPipeline.RenderSingleCamera Not supported Not supported
ScriptableRenderPass Not supported Not supported
Custom Renderers Not supported Not supported
CustomPass Not supported Yes
Custom Post Process Pass Not supported Yes

Post-processing

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Implementation Uses Post-Processing Version 2 package. Native Post-Processing solution embedded in HDRP package
Ambient Occlusion Yes. The Built-in Render Pipeline supports:
• Multi-scale ambient occlusion.
Yes. HDRP supports:
• Ground truth ambient occlusion.
Ray-traced ambient occlusion.
Exposure Yes. The Built-in Render Pipeline supports:
• Fixed exposure.
• Automatic exposure.
Yes. HDRP supports:
• Fixed exposure.
• Automatic (Eye adaptation).
• Curve Mapping.
• Physical Camera settings
Bloom Yes Yes
Chromatic Aberration Yes Yes
Color Grading / Tonemapping Yes Yes
Depth of Field Yes. This includes Bokeh. Yes. This includes Bokeh.
Film Grain Yes Yes
Lens Distortion Yes Yes
Motion Blur
Object Yes Yes
Camera Yes Yes
Vignette Yes Yes
Panini Projection Not supported Yes

CPU Particles

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Soft Particles Yes Yes
Distortion Yes Yes. This is available in Shader Graph.
Flipbook Blending Yes Yes. This is available in Shader Graph.
Trail Yes Yes
Shaders
Lit Yes Yes
Simple Lighting Yes. Uses Blinn Phong. Yes
Unlit Yes Yes
GPU Instancing Yes No

GPU Particles with VFX Graph

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Integration with Vfx Graph Not supported Yes
Soft Particles Not supported Yes
Distortion Not supported Yes
Flipbook Blending Not supported Yes
Trail Not supported Yes
Half-resolution Not supported Yes
Shaders
Lit Not supported Yes
Simple Lighting Not supported Yes
Unlit Not supported Yes

Visual Effect Components

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Halo Yes Not supported
Lens Flare Yes Not supported
Trail Renderer Yes Yes. You can also use the VFX Graph to create a custom trail effect.
Billboard Renderer Yes Yes, but only with the VFX Graph.
Projector Yes Not supported

Terrain

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Speed Tree Yes SpeedTree 8 only. Expect visual changes to normals for correctness in 21.2.
Paint Trees Yes Yes
Detail Yes Not supported
Wind Zone Yes Not supported
Number of Layers Unlimited 8
GPU Instanced Rendering Yes Yes
Terrain Holes Yes Yes
Shaders
Physically Based Not supported Yes
Simple Lit (Blinn-Phong) Yes Not supported
Unlit Not supported Not supported

2D

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Sprite Yes Not supported
Tilemap Yes Not supported
Sprite Shape Yes Not supported
Pixel-Perfect Yes. Using the standalone 2D Pixel Perfect Package. Not supported
2D Lights Not supported Not supported
2D Shadows Not supported Not supported

UI (Canvas Renderer)

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Screen Space - Overlay Yes Yes
Screen Space - Camera Yes Yes
World Space Yes Yes
Text Mesh Pro Yes Yes

Ray Tracing

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Ray-traced Ambient Occlusion No Yes
Ray-traced Contact Shadows No Yes
Ray-traced Global Illumination No Yes
Ray-traced Reflections No Yes
Ray-traced Shadows No Yes
Ray-traced Recursive Rendering No Yes
Path Tracing No Yes

VR

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Multipass Yes Yes
Single Pass (double-wide) Yes Not supported
Single Pass Instanced Yes Windows and PSVR only
Multiview Yes In research
Platforms
Oculus Rift Yes Yes
Oculus Quest Yes Not supported
Oculus Go Yes Not supported
Gear VR Yes Not supported
PSVR Yes Yes
HoloLens Yes Not supported
WMR Yes Yes
Magic Leap One Yes Not supported

AR

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
AR Foundation Yes No

Debug

Feature Built-in Render Pipeline High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP)
Scene view modes Yes Yes