Terraflex - The Tessellation & Displacement Shader (URP)

Terraflex – Tessellation & Displacement Shader (URP)

One shader that moves real geometry. It uses GPU tessellation (hull and domain shaders) to push the surface up and down based on a height map you provide. The shape of the object really changes, so you get a true silhouette and real shadows on the bumps. No normal-map tricks, no painted-in shading.

Features

• Real surface displacement using GPU tessellation, driven by a grayscale height map. Not a normal-map fake.
• Distance-based detail: full subdivision close to the camera, less subdivision far away. You set the near and far distance.
• Optional Parallax Occlusion Mapping for extra depth without adding more geometry.
• Standard PBR inputs: albedo, normal map, metallic/smoothness, and occlusion map.
• Full URP support. Forward, Shadow Caster, and Depth Only passes all use the displaced geometry.
• Displacement and Parallax are separate toggles. Turn either one on or off per material. When off, it costs nothing at runtime.

Please read before buying

• Works with URP in Unity 6.0 and newer.
• Needs a Shader Model 5.0 / DX11-class GPU. Hull and domain shaders do not run on GLES or most mobile hardware, so this is not for phones or tablets.
• Tessellation costs GPU time. Test it on your real target hardware first. The near/far distance settings exist so you can control how much it costs.
• You should have a basic understanding of how tessellation works. We provide the shader, not a course on how to use it.

Where it works best

Rocks, ground, and anything organic where you want the surface to really move instead of faking it with a normal map. It works best on a base mesh with a fairly even layout. A mesh made of a few huge, uneven triangles will not tessellate cleanly, no matter what settings you use.