Underwater Rendering for Stylized Water 3 (Extension) v3.2.7 introduces advanced underwater rendering and effects built upon the Stylized Water 3 shader asset. This extension enables realistic underwater fog based on water's deep and shallow colors, with scene lighting translated into the underwater environment, including subsurface scattering and dynamic directional and ambient lighting. It features waterline rendering for partially submerged cameras through an innovative technique that does not require the camera to be snapped above or below the water surface. The system supports caustics rendering on geometry with directional projection options and ensures seamless shading of the water's underside. The extension is fully compatible with the Dynamic Effects extension, allowing ripples and shoreline waves to influence the camera's water line. It has been completely rewritten for Unity 6’s Render Graph, redesigned to work with defined underwater areas using box collider triggers, and optimized to eliminate the need for full-screen post-processing. A particle effect controller allows effects like sunshafts to follow the camera underwater up to a specified depth. The render queue for transparent materials can now be set, and a revised shader improves transparency for underwater particle effects. Support for mobile hardware is included, while blur and distortion effects are not implemented—consistent with current AAA game standards and subject to future review based on user feedback. The extension includes sub-graphs to support underwater fog in transparent Shader Graphs and ASE materials. Limitations include support only for oceans, lakes, and ponds; inability to mask underwater areas (e.g., submarine windows); lack of volumetric fog/lighting capabilities (depth-based only); and requirement for a single, uniform water level, making it incompatible with rivers or planetary surfaces.
