Hello!
The masks in Unity are super-useful. I’m using the 2D-mask feature to show underwater landscapes in my project like so:
milkyannualandeancondor
However, Unity masks only offers “hard edges” on their masks. What I mean with “hard edges” is that the mask-edges are sharp, even if the used mask-image has soft edges. For example in the effect above I’m using the soft-edged mask below:
Even if the mask-image has soft edges as in the image above (and a developer alters the alpha-settings in Unity) the resulting effect will always be sharp.
From what I’ve understood this is because Unity’s system uses bit-masking for 2D masks. If Unity allowed for alpha-sensitivity in masks the effect in the gif would look like this:
There are some paid assets that allow for soft masks in the asset store, however, these aren’t integrated into Unity’s own mask-system and can therefore be tricky to use (especially in complex systems).
For this reason I’m making a formal request to the Unity team to add Alpha-sensitive 2D-masks. The Unity system is already robust and great, and I think soft masks would make Unity even stronger and versatile. Alpha-sensitive 2D masks could become great assets for developers and result in improved projects.
Thank you!
