Sky, Clouds & Fog

Sky, Clouds & Fog

Creating immersive environments requires configuring the atmosphere, sky rendering, and weather conditions.

Skyboxes

A Skybox is a six-sided cube material rendered behind all objects in the scene to represent the sky:

• Configure the active skybox in Window -> Rendering -> Lighting -> Environment.
• Physical Sky (URP/HDRP): Simulates atmospheric light scattering (Rayleigh and Mie scattering) based on the angle and height of your Directional Light (sun). Moving the sun downward automatically transition the sky from daylight to orange sunsets and starry nights.

Volumetric Clouds

Modern pipelines support real-time cloud simulation:

• Volumetric Clouds: Render 3D cloud volumes that interact with sunlight, casting shadows onto the ground and filtering light shafts (god rays).
• You can adjust density, altitude, wind speed, and coverage in the Volume Profile settings.

Volumetric Fog

Fog adds depth and scale to scenes:

• Exponential/Linear Fog: Blurs distant geometry with a solid color.
• Volumetric Fog (HDRP / URP) : Simulates actual atmospheric density. Lights shine through volumetric fog to generate visible light cones, creating a dramatic sense of depth.

TL;DR

• Configure skyboxes under the Environment tab in the Lighting window.
• Physical Sky changes dynamically based on the sun's angle and rotation.
• Volumetric Clouds cast dynamic shadow regions on terrain.
• Volumetric Fog scatures light rays, creating visible light shafts.