Dissolve
The Dissolve module provides features for transitioning between a base appearance and a modified appearance in an aesthetically pleasing way. It can be used to transition from one base texture to another, or from the base color to a transparent appearance.
Dissolve Type
Options: Basic/Point2Point
Defines the mode dissolve is operating in. In Basic, the 0-1 value of the Dissolve Gradient texture is used to define the scale from 0 to 1. In Point2Point, the pixel's position is used to define the scale.
Edge
Edge Width
Range: 0-0.5
Defines the range over which the edge effects apply. The larger this is, the more area the edge will cover during the dissolve. Combines with Dissolve Noise and its associated Dissolve Detail Strength to produce the final edge.
This is a relative distance, and only applies in the Basic dissolve mode.
Edge Hardness
Range: 0-1
Defines how sharply to transition from no edge to edge. At 0, the material will smoothly lerp between the base color and the edge. At 1, the material will sharply transition between the base color and the edge color.
Edge Color
Defines the color used for the edge. Blended multiplicatively with the Edge Gradient.
This color can be set to a Theme Color.
Edge Gradient
Defines a gradient used for the edge color. Will apply across the range of the edge.
Edge Emission
Range: 0-20
Defines how much emission the edge should produce. Values above 1 generally produce a glow in worlds with bloom.
Dissolved
Dissolved Color
A color tint blended multiplicatively with the dissolved texture. By setting the Alpha channel of this color to 0, and selecting a render preset that allows transparency (such as Cutout), the dissolve can transition from the base color to transparency.
Dissolved Texture
The texture to dissolve to. If not defined, the existing base color will be used.
Dissolved Emission Strength
Range: 0-20
An emission multiplier for the dissolved state. Will use the Dissolved texture if defined, otherwise it will use the existing base color.
Transition
Dissolve Gradient
Basic dissolve mode only
Dissolve Gradient with different noise textures
A black and white (single channel) map that defines how the dissolve edge proceeds. As Dissolve Alpha goes from 0 to 1, the edge will follow the gradient from black to white.
This can also be used to define how the dissolve proceeds along a mesh. In combination with clever UV mapping, this can be used to consistently dissolve along a mesh.
This texture is not used in the Point2Point Dissolve Mode.
Dissolve Noise
A black and white (single channel) map that adds a modifier to the dissolve edge. The intensity is controlled by Dissolve Detail Strength. You can use a noise texture to create a more detailed edge, or use a pattern for a specific effect.
Dissolve Noise with different noise textures
Dissolve Detail Strength
Range: 0-1
Controls how much the dissolve detail strength influences the edge. At high values, this may lead to "flashing" as the dissolve transitions in and out.
Dissolve Alpha
Range: 0-1
Defines the main state of the dissolve effect. Animate this value to control the dissolve.
Dissolve Mask
A black and white (single channel) mask that controls where to apply the dissolve. Black (`0``) will have no effect, while white will have 100% of the effect. Values in between will vary the strength of the dissolve effect.
VertexColor.g Mask
Uses the green channel of the mesh's vertex colors to mask the dissolve effect. 0 in this channel will make dissolve have 0 effect on that vertex, while 1.0/255 will let it fully affect that vertex.
Continuous Dissolve Speed
Constantly shifts the dissolve up and down in a sine wave pattern. 0 disables the continuous shift.
At a value of 1, the dissolve will complete a full cycle (from 0 to 1 to 0) in about 2 minutes (125.7 seconds).
| Speed | Cycle Time (s)1 |
|---|---|
| 1 | 125.7 |
| 5 | 25.1 |
| 10 | 12.6 |
| 20 | 6.3 |
| 50 | 2.5 |
Point to Point
This section is only enabled in Point2Point Dissolve Mode. It uses the position of the object in local or world space to determine the dissolve's behavior, instead of using the Dissolve Gradient texture.
World/Local
Options: Local/World/Vertex Colors
Whether to use World coordinates (absolute) or Local coordinates (relative to the object), or to use Vertex Colors for position.
This should generaly be set to Local for avatar usage unless specific effects utilizing world position are desired, as worlds can have areas that are in any position in world space.
Vertex Colors can be baked to the mesh to set the position of the dissolve. This means the dissolve will always proceed correctly for any mesh, regardless of the mesh's pose or position.
Edge Length
Length of the edge in Point-to-Point space. This is an absolute length (in meters) and does not scale with the object or the start/end points.
Start Point
The 3D Point to start the dissolve at. For avatars, this should be set far enough away that changes in skinning (sticking arms/legs out) don't cause the dissolve to unintentionally trigger.
End Point
The 3D Point to end the dissolve at. For avatars, this should be set far enough away that changes in skinning (sticking arms/legs out) don't cause the dissolve to unintentionally trigger.
Hue Shift
Enables/Disables hue shifting features for dissolve. Unlike most sections, this checkbox can be animated.
Dissolved Speed
Speed of the hue shift cycling for the dissolved state only. A speed of 1 corresponds to a full cycle of the hue shift every 20 seconds.
Dissolved Shift
Fixed amount to shift the hue for the dissolved state only.
Edge Enabled
Enables or disables hue shifting of the the dissolve edge color. This checkbox can be animated.
Edge Speed
Speed of the hue shift cycling for the edge. A speed of 1 corresponds to a full cycle of the hue shift every 20 seconds.
Edge Shift
Fixed amount to shift the hue for the edge color only.
Locked In Anim Sliders
These sliders can be indepently marked as animated, and all function the same way as Dissolve Alpha. This is useful for situations where you want to animate a dissolve on one material but not another on the same renderer.
The functionality of Locked In Anim Sliders is somewhat shared with the Rename Animated functionality, where each material can be locked in with its own unique property name.
However, Locked in anim sliders may still have some use in overriding the state of the main dissolve. For example, you could have multiple materials on a renderer all with their own dissolves controlled independently, but if they all have the same locked in anim slider unlocked, that locked in anim slider can be used to dissolve all materials at the same time.
- Exact Equation:
cycle time (s) = (2*pi * 20)/(speed)where speed is the Continuous Dissolve Speed↩