Options
The material inspector groups the shader options into six categories – Main Surface, Emission, Liquid, Waves, Ripples, and Patches – described below in the same order.
Main Texture
The main (color) texture of the liquid. This is the texture that is scrolled across the surface by the Liquid options. Consult with the Advanced section on how it is rendered.
Albedo
An additional color multiplied with the one already present in the main texture. Use this to further customize the look of your liquid. The Albedo color is also the lit color of the surface underneath the main texture – consult with the Advanced section for more information.
Alpha Cutoff
This is a threshold value – if the alpha value of the Albedo color is less than the alpha cutoff, the liquid will not be rendered. The alpha channel of the main texture does not affect it.
Ambient Occlusion
A value between 0 and 1 that controls how much ambient (indirect) light reaches the surface. At 1, the surface receives the full ambient lighting; lower values darken it, as if the surface were occluded. Unlike in the standard URP Lit shader, this is a single value for the whole material rather than a texture.
Metallic Map
The standard metallic map option in the default URP Lit shader. The metallic map is a black-and-white texture that determines the surface type of the object. It is used to make certain parts of the liquid reflect light like a metal would (metallic), and others like sand would (smooth). The shader reads the metallic value from the texture's red channel, so disable sRGB (Color Texture) in the texture's import settings. If no metallic map is assigned, the entire surface is treated as fully metallic.
Metallic
This value determines how "metallic" the surface should be, i.e., whether it should reflect light like a metal or a wet surface, or should absorb it like sand or another rough, non-metallic surface.
Normal Map
The standard normal map option in the default URP Lit shader. The normal map is used to simulate finer surface detail by containing information on how the light should be reflected by the surface. Make sure the texture's Texture Type is set to Normal map in its import settings. Every included liquid ships with a matching normal map.
Normal Strength
This value is multiplied with the normal map and is used to make the effect stronger or weaker. A value of 1 applies the normal map at its original strength, and 0 disables it. A negative value will mirror the 3D-effect (i.e., protruding surfaces will now be concave, and vice versa).
Vertical Offset
Shifts the whole liquid surface along its normals – i.e., up or down, for a level surface – by the given distance in local units. Use this to sink the liquid deeper into its basin or to make it swell above the rim, without editing the spline itself.
Emission Color
The emission color as an HDR color. Keep in mind that different post-processing effects (most notably bloom) will have a profound effect on the look of your emission. This is the property that makes lava, magic liquid, and radioactive waste glow.
Emission Map
The standard emission map option in the default URP Lit shader. A black-and-white map that determines which parts of the liquid will emit light. The white pixels of the texture are areas where the emission will have an effect, and the black pixels are the areas with no emission. Like the main texture, the emission map flows across the surface with the Liquid options.
Emission Extra Intensity
Since the default HDR color has a limited intensity (-10 to 10), this shader offers an additional intensity option that allows you to make your emission even stronger. A value of 1 leaves the emission unchanged, values above 1 strengthen it, and values below 1 weaken it. The intensity grows exponentially, so small steps (e.g., from 1.1 to 1.5) already make a clear difference. New materials start at 0, at which the emission only shows where the liquid is seen at a grazing angle – set it to 1 for a regular emission. Consult with the Advanced section on how this option interacts with the viewing angle.
Liquid Movement Speed
How quickly the liquid textures flow across the surface. Set to 0 to bring the flow to a complete standstill. Larger values produce a faster current.
Liquid Movement Direction
The direction of the flow, in degrees (0 – 359). 0 flows along the +X axis, 90 flows along the +Z axis.
Wave Speed
How quickly the waves travel across the surface. Set to 0 to freeze the waves in a single, static deformation.
Wave Direction
The direction in which the waves travel, in degrees (0 – 359). Offsetting this slightly from the Liquid Movement Direction makes the surface look considerably more natural, since the waves then no longer run exactly along the current.
Wave Frequency
How closely the wave crests follow each other (0 – 50). Low values produce long, rolling swells; high values produce short, choppy waves.
Wave Amplitude
How far the vertices are displaced by the waves, i.e., how tall the waves are. Set to 0 to flatten the surface completely.
Wave Distortion Strength
The amount of noise mixed into the waves (0 – 10). At 0 the waves are perfectly regular. Raising this value varies the height of the waves across the surface, so that no two crests look quite the same.
Ripple Speed
How quickly the ripples – the second, finer layer of displacement on top of the waves – animate.
Ripple Size
The size of an individual ripple (0 – 1). Small values produce a dense pattern of tiny ripples; large values produce a few broad ones.
Ripple Amplitude
How far the vertices are displaced by the ripples. Set to 0 to disable the ripple layer entirely and leave only the waves.
Ripple Frequency
How far out of step neighbouring parts of the surface ripple. Larger values make the fine surface detail look busier and more agitated, so that it seems to boil rather than gently undulate.
Patch Speed
How quickly the patches – the darker crust, foam, scum, or mud floating on the surface – drift across the liquid.
Patch Density
How many patches are spread across the surface (0 – 10). Low values produce a few large islands; high values produce many small ones.
Patch Movement Direction
The direction in which the patches drift, in degrees (0 – 359). It is usually worth setting this a little apart from the Liquid Movement Direction, so that the patches appear to be carried by the current rather than glued to it.
Patch Threshold
The cut-off that decides how much of the surface is covered by patches (0 – 2). Low values let the patches spread out and merge into a closed crust; high values leave only their cores visible.
Patch Softness
How sharply the patches end (0 – 2). At 0 the patches have hard, clearly defined borders; larger values let them fade gradually into the surrounding liquid.
Patch Color
The color of the patches. Dark, desaturated colors read as cooled crust or scum, while lighter ones read as foam. The patches are drawn with this color both on the lit surface and in the emission, so they keep their color regardless of the lighting.
Patch Distortion Strength
The amount of noise warping the outline of the patches. At 0 the patches keep the smooth, cell-like shape they are generated with. Larger values eat into their borders and make them look torn and irregular.
Patch Transparency
How much of the liquid underneath shows through the patches (0 – 1). At 0 the patches fully replace both the color and the emission of the liquid below them; at 1 they are blended over the liquid at half strength.