How to Use Normal Map and 2D Light in Universal 2D Project

wpw1221

Hi everyone!
My project is built in URP 2D, and I want to use Normal Map and 2D Light to achieve better lighting effects and cast shadows for the skeleton. However, when I change the character's shader to Spine/Sprite/Vertex Lit, it appears magenta. How can I use Normal Map and 2D Light in a URP 2D project? Thank you very much!

Spinebot

To use Normal Map and 2D Light in a Universal Render Pipeline (URP) 2D project, you need to use the appropriate shaders provided by the Spine URP Shaders UPM package. Here are the steps to achieve this:

Install the Spine URP Shaders UPM Package:
- Download and install the Spine URP Shaders UPM package from the Spine Unity download page.
Use the Correct Shaders:
- For URP 2D projects, you should use either the Universal Render Pipeline/2D/Spine/Skeleton Lit or Universal Render Pipeline/2D/Spine/Sprite shaders. These shaders are designed to work with URP 2D lights and support normal maps.
- Do not use Spine/Sprite/Vertex Lit as it is not compatible with URP 2D and will result in the magenta (pink) error color.
Assign Normal Maps:
- You can assign normal maps to your materials in the Unity Inspector. Ensure that your normal maps align correctly with the texture atlas of your skeleton.
- Note that you cannot assign normal map attachments directly in the Spine Editor; this must be done in Unity.
Example Scene:
- Check out the URP 2D Shaders example scene included in the Spine URP Shaders package. This scene demonstrates how to set up and use the shaders with normal maps and 2D lights.
Project Settings:
- Ensure that your project settings are correctly configured to use the URP 2D Renderer. This includes setting the appropriate URP Asset in Project Settings - Graphics - Scriptable Render Pipeline Settings and Project Settings - Quality - Rendering.

By following these steps, you should be able to achieve the desired lighting effects and shadows using normal maps and 2D lights in your URP 2D project.

wpw1221

Thanks bot, I opened the recommended URP 2D Shaders reference project, but the character in this project is still magenta. I have already set the Example 2D URP Asset in Project Settings > Graphics > Scriptable Render Pipeline Settings and Project Settings > Quality > Rendering > Render Pipeline Asset
I received the following error:

Shader error in 'Universal Render Pipeline/2D/Spine/Skeleton': Couldn't open include file 'Packages/com.esotericsoftware.spine.spine-unity/Runtime/spine-unity/Shaders/CGIncludes/Spine-Common.cginc'. at /Unity/Projects/testURP/Library/PackageCache/com.esotericsoftware.spine.urp-shaders@b1fe837e8a/Shaders/Include/SpineCoreShaders/Spine-Common.cginc(2)

Compiling Subshader: 0, Pass: <Unnamed Pass 0>, Vertex program with <no keywords>
Platform defines: SHADER_API_DESKTOP UNITY_COLORSPACE_GAMMA UNITY_ENABLE_DETAIL_NORMALMAP UNITY_ENABLE_REFLECTION_BUFFERS UNITY_LIGHTMAP_FULL_HDR UNITY_LIGHT_PROBE_PROXY_VOLUME UNITY_PBS_USE_BRDF1 UNITY_SPECCUBE_BLENDING UNITY_SPECCUBE_BOX_PROJECTION UNITY_USE_DITHER_MASK_FOR_ALPHABLENDED_SHADOWS
Disabled keywords: FOG_EXP FOG_EXP2 FOG_LINEAR INSTANCING_ON SHADER_API_GLES30 UNITY_ASTC_NORMALMAP_ENCODING UNITY_FRAMEBUFFER_FETCH_AVAILABLE UNITY_HALF_PRECISION_FRAGMENT_SHADER_REGISTERS UNITY_HARDWARE_TIER1 UNITY_HARDWARE_TIER2 UNITY_HARDWARE_TIER3 UNITY_LIGHTMAP_DLDR_ENCODING UNITY_LIGHTMAP_RGBM_ENCODING UNITY_METAL_SHADOWS_USE_POINT_FILTERING UNITY_NO_DXT5nm UNITY_NO_FULL_STANDARD_SHADER UNITY_NO_SCREENSPACE_SHADOWS UNITY_PBS_USE_BRDF2 UNITY_PBS_USE_BRDF3 UNITY_PRETRANSFORM_TO_DISPLAY_ORIENTATION UNITY_UNIFIED_SHADER_PRECISION_MODEL UNITY_VIRTUAL_TEXTURING _STRAIGHT_ALPHA_INPUT _TINT_BLACK_ON

Thanks for your help 😃

Misaki

wpw1221 How did you add the URP shader package to your Unity project? Be sure to use the same method you used to add the spine-unity runtime to your Unity project. Otherwise, the shader include paths of the URP Shaders UPM package will point to a spine-unity package directory that does not exist, resulting in shader compilation errors.

wpw1221

Thank you, Misaki. I found out it was indeed my mistake. I added the Runtime using the installer and also added the URP Shader Package via URL, ignoring the reminder in the instructions (requires spine-unity installed via UPM). Now all the examples and my characters are working correctly. Thanks again!

Misaki

wpw1221 Glad to hear that the examples are now working correctly! 🙂 Thank you for getting back to us!