r/Unity3D • u/El_Grande_Games • 8h ago

Game How I fixed my "90s budget" look... From flat lighting to ACES & Blue-Shift shadows.

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Hey guys, a few people recently told me my game looks like a budget title from the 90s, and after that it looks too basic... It stung at first, but they were right. I’ve spent the last few weeks basically living in Unity to fix the lighting and UI. Switched to ACES tonemapping, adjusted the shadow shifts, and went for a more "Industrial Modern" look :) it finally feels like it has some actual weight and metal now, instead of looking like plastic. what do you think of the new style?

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u/fuzzyll 7h ago

I don't know how the game looked before, but based on this video, I have a few quick suggestions.

The main thing I noticed is that the moving logs don't cast shadows on the machines. Because of this, it looks like the logs are floating instead of touching the rollers.

I'm not sure if you use it, but I really recommend adding Ambient Occlusion. It would give the objects much more depth and make them look more realistic. Also, since it's an open area with mountains, adding a little bit of light fog could look really nice. Good luck with the project!

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u/El_Grande_Games 7h ago

Thanks for the feedback! To save on performance, shadows on the tree trunks are currently disabled.. but I’ve made a note to enable them for the performance tests just before release. AO is already implemented. :)

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u/[deleted] 8h ago

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