The installation process for Snapshot Shaders 2 may look slightly different depending on where you bought the pack.

  • If you got the pack through the Unity Asset Store, then you can install it into your project through the Package Manager. Go to Window -> Package Manager on the toolbar, then click the My Assets button on the left-hand side. You will find “Snapshot Shaders 2 for Unity URP” somewhere in this list. Click on it, then click the Download button on the right-hand panel. Once it has been downloaded, click the Import button that appears and then click the second Import button which appears on the pop-up window.
  • If you bought Daniel Ilett’s Ultimate Shader Bundle through the Asset Store, then go to the store page for Snapshot Shaders 2 to ‘buy’ the pack for free before following the above steps.
  • If you got the pack anywhere else, then you will receive a .unitypackage file instead. In Unity, go to Assets -> Import Package -> Custom Package in the toolbar and find the .unitypackage file, and then click the Import button on the pop-up window.

After following these steps, Snapshot Shaders 2 should now be installed in your project. You may find it useful to read the README.pdf under the Daniel Ilett/Snapshot Shaders 2 folder.

Activating Effects

Snapshot Shaders 2 relies on URP’s Renderer Features and Volume system to render each effect. Please follow these steps to ensure your effects run properly and avoid errors:

  • Find your URP Renderer Asset and add the effect(s) you wish to use in the Renderer Features section at the bottom of the Inspector.
    • This asset is located in the Assets/Settings folder if you created a new project using the URP template in the Unity Hub and haven’t changed or added your own URP Renderer asset.
    • The default asset is named something like “PC_RPAsset” by default, although this name may change in future Unity versions.
    • Snapshot Shaders 2 also provides an asset in the Daniel Ilett/Snapshot Shaders 2 folder, and a pipeline asset which uses the renderer in the root Daniel Ilett folder.
    • This step is crucial! If your effects aren’t included in this list, then they will not render, even if you add them to a volume profile in the next step.
  • Create a volume profile asset via Create -> Volume Profile and add the effects you want to use to this profile.
    • You can find a range of pre-built profiles under Snapshot Shaders 2/Demo/Profiles.
    • If you add an effect to a profile which isn’t included in the renderer’s Renderer Features list, then an error message will be displayed in the Inspector with a button to automatically add it for you.
  • Add a volume to your scene via GameObject -> Volume -> {any option}.
  • Tweak the settings on your volume profile.
    • All effects start in an inactive state when you first add a volume component to your profile, so don’t panic when you don’t see a difference the moment you add one. Just change a few of the parameters.
    • Some effects require a texture to function correctly. At least one example texture is supplied for each effect in the Snapshot Shaders 2/Textures folder.
    • When you select a volume in your scene and start tweaking the settings in its Inspector window, you are modifying the source shared volume profile. If you share that profile between multiple volumes, the changes propagate to all those volumes! If you don’t want that to happen, consider using separate profiles for each of those volumes.