Ring Transparent

Create translucent bands with a light-directed planet shadow.

Visual example

Ring Transparent material on supplied planet geometry

Where to find it

Shader menu: FORGE3D/Planets HD/Ring Transparent. Start with Assets/FORGE3D/Planets/Gas/Planet_Gas_01.prefab.

Material: Assets/FORGE3D/Planets/Gas/Materials/Planet_Ring_Gas_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

Opacity uses Detail Map red × Ring Tint alpha, not texture alpha. Clip scales a red-channel clipping threshold: with tint alpha = 1, Clip = 1 is an equality case and can look unchanged; Clip = 2 removes the positive samples in the comparison. This transparent shader writes depth, so inspect overlap with atmosphere and other transparent objects from the final camera. Its planet shadow is an artistic main-light approximation, controlled by Shadow Vertex and Shadow Penumbra.

Surface and effect shape

Inspector setting	Property ID	Use and visual effect
Detail Map	`_DetailMap`	Fine surface pattern and masks. Its channel use depends on the shader; retain the supplied map while tuning the material.
Ring Tint	`_RingTint`	Multiplies ring color. On Ring Transparent, alpha also scales opacity from Detail Map red.
Ring Size	`_RingSize`	Outer endpoint of radial texture mapping in object space. Redistributes bands; it does not resize the ring mesh.
Ring Offset	`_RingOffset`	Inner endpoint offset for radial texture mapping. Keep Ring Size different from Ring Offset + 1.
Shadow Vertex	`_ShadowVertex`	Scale used for the transparent ring’s analytic planet-shadow calculation. Tune when fitting the shadow to the planet.
Shadow Penumbra	`_ShadowPenumbra`	Width of the transparent ring’s planet-shadow transition. Increase for a softer shadow boundary.
Clip	`_Clip`	Alpha-test control. Its meaning differs between Ring Shadow and Ring Transparent; follow the shader-specific note below.

Lighting and rim

Inspector setting	Property ID	Use and visual effect
Specular	`_Specular`	Feeds the metallic response despite the Specular label. Tune with Smoothness and scene reflections.
Smoothness	`_Smoothness`	Surface highlight smoothness. Higher values generally concentrate reflections; texture and cloud masks can reduce the effect.

Advanced settings

Keep clipping, tint opacity and shadow softness as separate adjustments. Test Clip only after choosing Ring Tint alpha, because both participate in the alpha comparison. Specular feeds metallic response in this shader despite its Inspector label. For mapping and rendering details, see Technical reference.

Practical example

On a duplicated gas ring material, compare Ring Tint alpha = 1 and 0.25 while retaining RGB (0.551, 0.503, 0.679). Keep Clip at the preset value for this opacity comparison, then adjust Shadow Penumbra under the intended Directional Light.

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.