Depth Fade (Soft Particles)
Fades a surface where it meets other geometry
Also known as: Soft particles · DepthFade · Depth blend · Scene depth fade · Soft edges particles
Definition
Depth fade, called soft particles in Unity, is a technique that fades a translucent surface out as it approaches the geometry behind it. The shader compares the depth of the particle with the depth buffer, and reduces opacity when the difference is small. It removes the hard cut line where a sprite meets the floor or a wall, and is also used for water edges, fog volumes and light shafts. In Unreal Engine it is the DepthFade material node.
In production
Set the fade distance for each effect, and combine it with other opacity controls. It needs the depth texture, so in Unity URP the Depth Texture must be enabled in the pipeline asset, and it adds a small cost for each translucent pixel. Water, shoreline foam, smoke, force fields and light cones are typical uses. It works only against opaque surfaces that are written into depth.
Learn Depth Fade (Soft Particles) in
Tools that use Depth Fade (Soft Particles)
See also
Depth Buffer
Per-pixel distance used to sort what is visible
Hard Edges Where Smoke Meets Geometry
Visible cut lines where a sprite intersects a surface
Blend Mode
How a material combines with what is behind it
Volumetric Lighting
Light scattered through a participating medium
Particle System
Spawns and animates many small elements