The following section describes the options of the shader, in the same order as they appear in the material inspector.

While the Quick Liquid Setup component is enabled, it overrides the shader properties through a MaterialPropertyBlock. Setting those properties on the material has no visible effect until the component is disabled or removed.

Main Texture

The main (albedo/color) texture used by the shader. This is the texture that the Liquid options scroll across the surface.

Albedo

An additional color that is multiplied with the colors of the main texture. Use it to further customize the look of your liquid.

Alpha Cutoff

A threshold value – all parts of the texture with an alpha value below the alpha cutoff are not rendered.

Ambient Occlusion

The regular ambient occlusion from the standard URP Lit shader. This property is not available in the 2D Renderer version of the shader.

Metallic Map

The standard metallic map option of the default URP Lit shader. The metallic map is a black-and-white texture that determines the surface type of the object. It makes certain parts of the liquid reflect light like metal, and others absorb it like sand. This property is not available in the 2D Renderer version of the shader.

Metallic

Determines how "metallic" the surface is, i.e., whether it reflects light like metal or a wet surface, or absorbs it like sand or another rough, non-metallic surface. This property is not available in the 2D Renderer version of the shader.

Normal Map

The standard normal map option of the default URP Lit shader. The normal map simulates a 3D surface by storing information on how the surface should reflect light. Every included liquid ships with a matching normal map.

Normal Strength

Multiplies the normal map to make its effect stronger or weaker. A negative value inverts the 3D effect (i.e., protruding surfaces become concave, and vice versa).

Vertical Offset

Shifts the whole liquid surface up or down along the vertices of the shape. Use it to sink the liquid deeper into its basin or make it swell above the rim without editing the Sprite Shape spline itself.

Emission Color

The emission color, as an HDR color. This is the property that makes lava, magic liquid, and radioactive waste glow. Keep in mind that post-processing effects (most notably Bloom) have a profound effect on the look of your emission.

Emission Map

The standard emission map option of the default URP Lit shader. A black-and-white map that determines which parts of the liquid emit light: white pixels emit light, while black pixels do not.

Emission Extra Intensity

Since the intensity of an HDR color is limited (-10 to 10), the shader offers this additional intensity option to make your emission even stronger. The emission also fades out towards the outline of the Sprite Shape, using the edge mask written by the Geometry Creator. This is what gives lava its cooled, darkened rim where it meets the rock. The width and falloff of that rim are controlled by the Edge Mask Width and Edge Mask Softness settings of the Geometry Creator.

Liquid Movement Speed

How quickly the liquid textures flow across the surface. Larger values produce a faster current; 0 brings the flow to a complete standstill.

Liquid Movement Direction

The direction of the flow, in degrees (0 to 359). 0 flows along the +X axis; 90 flows along the +Y axis.

Wave Speed

How quickly the waves travel across the surface. Set it to 0 to freeze the waves in a single, static deformation.

Wave Direction

The direction in which the waves travel, in degrees (0 to 359). Offsetting it slightly from the Liquid Movement Direction makes the surface look considerably more natural, since the waves no longer run exactly along the current.

Wave Frequency

How many wave crests fit across the surface (0 to 50). Low values produce long, rolling swells; high values produce short, choppy waves.

Wave Amplitude

How far the waves displace the vertices, i.e., how tall the waves are. Set it to 0 to flatten the surface completely.

Wave Distortion Strength

The amount of noise mixed into the wave motion (0 to 10). At 0, the waves are perfectly regular sine waves; higher values break up that regularity, so no two crests look quite the same.

Ripple Speed

How quickly the ripples – a second, finer layer of displacement on top of the waves – move across the surface.

Ripple Size

The size of an individual ripple (0 to 1). Small values produce a dense pattern of tiny ripples; large values produce a few broad ones.

Ripple Amplitude

How far the ripples displace the vertices. Set it to 0 to disable the ripple layer entirely and keep only the waves.

Ripple Frequency

How rapidly the ripples oscillate. Higher values make the fine surface detail flicker and boil rather than gently undulate. The waves and ripples are two independent displacement layers, designed to be used together. A thin liquid such as water usually looks best with fast, small, plentiful ripples over shallow waves, whereas a thick liquid such as lava or honey calls for tall, slow waves and barely any ripples at all.

Patch Speed

How quickly the patches – the crust, foam, scum, or mud floating on the surface – drift across the liquid.

Patch Density

How many patches are spread across the surface (0 to 10). Low values produce a few large islands; high values produce many small ones.

Patch Movement Direction

The direction in which the patches drift, in degrees (0 to 359). It is usually worth setting this a little apart from the Liquid Movement Direction, so the patches appear to be carried by the current rather than glued to it.

Patch Threshold

The cutoff that decides how much of the surface the patches cover (0 to 2). Low values let the patches spread out and merge into a closed crust; high values leave only their densest cores visible.

Patch Softness

How sharply the patches end (0 to 2). At 0, the patches have hard, clearly defined borders; higher values make them fade gradually into the surrounding liquid.

Patch Color

The color of the patches. Dark, desaturated colors read as cooled crust or scum, while lighter ones read as foam.

Patch Distortion Strength

The amount of noise warping the outlines of the patches. At 0, the patches keep the smooth, cell-like shape they are generated with; higher values eat into their borders and make them look torn and irregular.

Patch Transparency

How much of the liquid underneath shows through the patches (0 to 1). At 0, the patches fully replace both the color and the emission of the liquid below them; at 1, they disappear entirely. The quickest way to turn the patches off completely is to raise Patch Transparency to 1. The None preset of the Quick Liquid Setup component achieves the same result for you.