Oceanic

Create a water-covered world with animated clouds and contrasting ocean detail.

Visual example

Where to find it

Shader menu: FORGE3D/Planets HD/Oceanic. Start with Assets/FORGE3D/Planets/Oceanic/Planet_Oceanic_01.prefab.

Material: Assets/FORGE3D/Planets/Oceanic/Materials/Planet_Oceanic_01.mat. Select the relevant Mesh Renderer > Materials slot, duplicate that material into your own folder, and assign the copy before editing. See material ownership.

Main settings

For this URP shader, the color and rim paths select water throughout. Land and shore controls remain exposed but do not change that color output. Use Terrestrial for continents and coastlines. Clouds can obscure water detail and attenuate highlights; tune the water with Clouds Output reduced, then restore the clouds.

Surface and effect shape

Inspector setting	Property ID	Use and visual effect
Global Boost	_GlobalBoost	Scales the base surface contribution. Adjust after choosing colors; scatter and clouds can still dominate the result.
Height Map	_HeightMap	Texture that distributes surface layers and detail. Its channels shape the material; it is not a terrain mesh generator.
Height Tiling	_HeightTiling	Texture repetition for height. Increase for finer repeated detail; tune its paired motion control separately.
Texture 1	_Texture1	Detail texture used by the water normal path. Retain the supplied texture while adjusting Float 3 and Normal Fresnel Scale.
Float 3	_Float3	Tiling for Texture 1 in the water normal path. Change when its detail scale needs to match the planet view.
Texture 0	_Texture0	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.
Float 2	_Float2	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.
Base Color	_BaseColor	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.

Detail and mapping

Inspector setting	Property ID	Use and visual effect
Normal Map	_NormalMap	Small surface relief through lighting. Keep a compatible normal texture and tune Normal Scale before replacing the map.
Normal Tiling	_NormalTiling	Texture repetition for normal. Increase for finer repeated detail; tune its paired motion control separately.
Normal Scale	_NormalScale	Strength of normal-map relief. Increase for stronger small shadows and highlights; it does not raise terrain geometry.
Normal Fresnel Scale	_NormalFresnelScale	Normal strength used for the rim contribution. Adjust separately from Normal Scale when the edge looks too broken up.

Lighting and rim

Inspector setting	Property ID	Use and visual effect
Fresnel Land Color	_FresnelLandColor	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.
Fresnel Land Power	_FresnelLandPower	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.
Frensel Land Mult	_FrenselLandMult	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.
Fresnel Water Color	_FresnelWaterColor	Water rim tint. Tune separately from the land rim and atmospheric shell.
Fresnel Water Power	_FresnelWaterPower	Concentration of the water rim. Compare with Fresnel Water Mult enabled.
Fresnel Water Mult	_FresnelWaterMult	Strength of the water rim. Zero masks changes to its color and power.
Scatter Map	_ScatterMap	Color lookup for the view/light-dependent surface shading. Retain the supplied lookup when first changing the palette.
Scatter Color	_ScatterColor	Tints the surface scatter contribution. A dark color can strongly reduce the visible surface.
Scatter Boost	_ScatterBoost	Strength of the scatter contribution. Tune with Scatter Color rather than compensating only with light intensity.
Scatter Indirect	_ScatterIndirect	Adds a floor to the scatter modulation. Raise it cautiously if the surface becomes too dark outside the bright region.
Scatter Stretch	_ScatterStretch	Scales the lookup coordinates, changing the spread of the shading transition. Tune with Scatter Center Shift.
Scatter Center Shift	_ScatterCenterShift	Moves the lookup transition. Adjust to reposition the scatter band without changing the planet Transform.

Water

Inspector setting	Property ID	Use and visual effect
Water Shore Factor	_WaterShoreFactor	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.
Water Detail Factor	_WaterDetailFactor	Exponent shaping the shallow/deep water detail mask. Change it to redistribute water tones rather than move coastlines.
Water Detail Boost	_WaterDetailBoost	Strength of the water detail mask. Work with Water Detail Factor and the deep/shallow colors.
Water Shallow Color	_WaterShallowColor	Color for the shallow/detail end of the water blend. The Height Map and water detail controls determine where it appears.
Water Shore Color	_WaterShoreColor	Exposed in the Inspector, but bypassed by this URP shader’s water-only color selection. Use Terrestrial for configurable land and shore appearance.
Water Deep Color	_WaterDeepColor	Color for the deep end of the water blend. Use it to establish the ocean’s overall darker tone.
Water Specular Color	_WaterSpecularColor	Color of water highlights. Tune alongside Water Specular and the scene light.
Water Specular	_WaterSpecular	Strength of water highlights. Cloud shadows can attenuate the response.
Water Smoothness	_WaterSmoothness	Smoothness of water highlights. Raise for a tighter glint; clouds and their shadows can alter its visibility.

Clouds

Inspector setting	Property ID	Use and visual effect
Gradient	_Gradient	Blend mask joining the pole and middle cloud maps. Keep the supplied gradient when tuning cloud motion.
Clouds Top	_CloudsTop	Cloud texture used around the poles. Its rotation is controlled by Clouds Top Speed.
Clouds Middle	_CloudsMiddle	Cloud texture across the middle of the globe, using a separate UV channel. Clouds Middle Speed controls its panning.
Clouds Blend Weight	_CloudsBlendWeight	Exponent shaping the blend between pole and middle clouds. Change gradually and inspect the join at high latitudes.
Clouds Top Speed	_CloudsTopSpeed	Signed rotation rate for the pole cloud map. Zero stops this motion; inspect in Play Mode.
Clouds Middle Speed	_CloudsMiddleSpeed	Signed panning rate for the middle cloud map. Tune separately from pole motion in Play Mode.
Clouds Height	_CloudsHeight	Offset used to sample the cloud shadow. Changes the apparent separation of clouds and shadow without adding shell geometry.
Clouds Tint	_CloudsTint	Color of the cloud layer. Its visibility also depends on Clouds Output and the cloud maps.
Cloud Shadows	_CloudShadows	Shapes the texture-based shadow mask beneath clouds. Compare against zero to see its contribution; it is not a linear opacity slider.
Clouds Output	_CloudsOutput	Visible cloud contribution. Zero removes that contribution; Cloud Shadows is a separate control.
Clouds Specular Lerp	_CloudsSpecularLerp	Changes the highlight response where clouds cover the surface. Compare on the lit side with Clouds Output enabled.
Clouds Smoothness Lerp	_CloudsSmoothnessLerp	Changes the smoothness response in cloud-covered areas. Tune after the underlying water and land highlights.

Advanced settings

Texture 1 and Float 3 control detail in the normal path, while Texture 0 and Float 2 remain exposed for a bypassed land-color branch. Keep the supplied pole/middle cloud mapping when changing water textures. Clouds can flatten the apparent normal response. For mapping and rendering details, see Technical reference.

Practical example

Start from Planet_Oceanic_01.mat. Compare Clouds Output = 1 and 0 to see the underlying ocean, then restore 1 and compare Cloud Shadows = 0.057 and 0. Choose Water Deep Color and Water Shallow Color with the ocean exposed.

Setting comparisons

These examples keep the camera, light and other material settings fixed within each pair. Before appears first and After second. Values describe these examples, rather than a required range.

Clouds Output comparison

Before: 1; After: 0

Look at how much of the underlying surface is revealed when the visible cloud contribution is removed.

Before — Clouds Output = 1

After — Clouds Output = 0

Cloud Shadows comparison

Before: 0.057; After: 0

Look at the dark shaping beneath cloud regions, independently of the visible cloud color.

Before — Cloud Shadows = 0.057

After — Cloud Shadows = 0

Related topics

Shader guide · Materials and customization · Lighting and effects · Practical workflows · Troubleshooting