ShaderLab on Unity3d Indie

Questions & Answers
1

Hi,

I'm using Unity3d Indie and currently considering to get my hands dirty with shader code. Are there limitations on the Indie version regarding shaders ? What problems can I expect ? Can I solve these problems ?

I figure there could be some restrictions that make producing powerful shaders tough. Let's assume a static variable like LightPos_1 is not available. That would be a total blocker to shader development. Do I have to expect a drawback like this ?

Moreover any advice is welcome. If you know a good tutorial / tool, please let me know of it.

I've just found this http://unity3d.com/support/documentation/Components/class-RenderTexture.html

I am shocked. How can I implement advanced effects without rendering to textures first ?

2

Tool: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/56180-Strumpy-Shader-Editor-Beta-3.1-released-(performance-usability-upgrade)

You can use on the free version, atleast it opens up on my system...

And their are a couple tutorials, just look around online...

3

Unity Free does not have any limits to shaders per se, but you're correct that Render Textures are disabled. So while you can do any shader you like (including access to lights & whatnot), most of the really interesting effects require render textures, and those won't work on Unity Free.