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DocumentationFeaturesRendering Modes

Rendering Modes

Rendering Modes is the master switch for how Genesis evaluates lighting. Lit runs a stylized PBR pipeline, Unlit skips lighting entirely for flat color, and Toon swaps the diffuse model for cel/ramp evaluation. Every other feature layers on top of the mode you choose here.

When to use it

  • Lit — characters, environments, and props that respond to scene lighting.
  • Unlit — world-space UI, skyboxes, magic FX, and baked-only assets.
  • Toon — the anime and cartoon look; pairs with Cel Shading, Outline, and Rim Lighting.
  • Hybrid — start in Lit and enable Cel Shading for toon diffuse while keeping PBR specular.

Modes

  • Lit — full URP forward lighting with a stylized diffuse selector (Lambert, Oren-Nayar, Minnaert, Gooch). Receives the main and additional lights and respects the URP shadow path.
  • Unlit — skips the lighting loop entirely; albedo times Base Color plus emission goes straight to the framebuffer. The cheapest mode on mobile.
  • Toon — diffuse is evaluated through Cel Shading by default, while specular and rim use their stylized variants. Trims _DIFFUSE_LAMBERT, _DIFFUSE_ORENNAYAR, and similar keywords from the build.

Lambert/Oren-Nayar diffuse, GGX specular, URP-standard shading.

Ramp-quantized diffuse and stylized specular, ready for the outline and rim stack.

Lit
Toon

The same mesh under the same light; only the Rendering Mode changes. Drag to compare.

Properties

Inspector labelShader propertyTypeDefaultDescription
Rendering Mode_RenderingModeEnumLitLit, Unlit, or Toon. Drives the keyword set.
Diffuse Model_DiffuseModelEnumLambertLit only: Lambert, Oren-Nayar, Minnaert, or Gooch.
Additional Lights_ReceiveAdditionalLightsToggleOnToggles the URP additional-lights loop.
Indirect Multiplier_IndirectMultiplierFloat (0–2)1.0Scales the SH and probe contribution.
Environment Tint_EnvironmentTintColorRGB(1,1,1)Tints the ambient/SH lookup before lighting.

Usage

  1. Pick the Rendering Mode that matches your art direction; switching later relinks features automatically.
  2. In Lit, pick a Diffuse Model. Lambert is cheapest; Oren-Nayar adds matte rough-surface response.
  3. In Toon, enable Cel Shading and Outline for the canonical anime stack.
  4. Use Unlit for geometry that already encodes its lighting in the texture, such as skies and painted props.
material.SetFloat("_RenderingMode", 2); // 0=Lit, 1=Unlit, 2=Toon
material.SetFloat("_DiffuseModel", 1);  // Oren-Nayar
material.EnableKeyword("_DIFFUSE_ORENNAYAR");

Tips & gotchas

  • Switching modes at runtime requires the corresponding keyword variant in the build — add it to the Shader Variant Collection or use the Feature Configurator.
  • Unlit still respects fog unless you also disable the fog keyword.
  • Toon mode forces stylized specular; if you need GGX specular, stay in Lit and enable Cel Shading manually.
  • All three modes are stereo-safe, but additional lights become more expensive in single-pass stereo — budget early.
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Surface SettingsRendering Options