¶ Introduction
Selecting a ready-made art style in the Environment menu is he quickest way to modify the overall look of your game. However, you can also adjust the lighting, background, fog & post-processing filters manually.
You'll get a tour of the key features in this article - experiment with the settings to find the best visual style for your games!
It's possible to change the environment during game play, too: you could change the time of the day, or make the lights flicker off and turn the scene gloomier when the player enters a specific area. This requires using logic nodes like the Sun Controller and the Environment controller, and you'll need to create the logic that controls the timing of the change. (link to article)
¶ Editing Art Styles
Navigate to the Environment tab and select an Art Style. Tap the pencil icon to start customizing the style. It's good to remember that an edited art style is game-specific - the basic styles are always accessible, but custom styles appear only in the game they were created in. The styles you customize appear in the section called My Styles.
¶ Control Lighting with Sun Settings
Change the height, direction and color of sun light in order to for example simulate different times of the day.
Control Lighting with Sun Settings
The sun exists as a glowing disc in every scene and it's up to you whether want it to be visible in your games. The shadows of objects hint where to find the sun disc - just rotate the view until you see it. If you set the camera so that the sun can be seen in a game, try adjusting Sun glow for some extra flare!
In addition to the sun light, you can also adjust the ambient light. Ambient light stands for indirect light in the scene, eg. reflections from the ground and objects as well as scattered light from the sky.
If you want to change the lighting with logic, you'll need to add a node called Sun controller (link). If a Sun controller node has been added to the scene, it will override the sun settings defined in the Art Style menu.
¶ Background
Background stands for the backdrop of your game - it's what remains when everything is removed from a scene, including the ground. You can have a solid background that has only one uniform color, or you can choose to make it gradient, which allows you to modify three colors that blend into each other.
Adjust Gradient softness and Horizon height to perfect how the colors blend.
In case you're wondering how to adjust the ground, no worries - Ground settings are not included in the art style, so you might want to check this article out instead (link).
Environment Controller node allows you to control many of the background parameters dynamically during game play.
¶ Change the Visibility with Fog
Fog affects the mood in your games and lets you control the visibility. It can't be turned off completely. The Fog start value defines the distance at which the fog starts. Fog end sets defines how far you can see in the scene. Try changing the color of the fog as well!
Change the Visibility with Fog
¶ Add Post-Processing Effects with Filters
There are several settings for adding an overlay effect to a scene, among them eg. tint, contrast, brightness and saturation. Filters are applied on top of the whole scene, so they alter how visual materials and background colors look like.
With Bloom you can create a shining effect: if there are bright areas in your scene, bloom makes their borders look like they're emitting light. If adjusting bloom doesn't look like you'd expect, make sure you have some surfaces in the scene that are clearly brighter than the surroundings (like the moon shape in the video below).
If you want to draw attention to the center of the scene, try adjusting Vignette: it fades the edges of the scene - and can also create a nice retro look!
Post-Processing Effects with Filters