How to use a different camera for rendering AC text only?
I have a project that I'm experimenting with, and I'm thinking of using pixel-art with hi-res text, using AC.
Probably I should use a pixel-perfect renderer on my MainCamera to render the art in a non-jagged way, then add a child camera on it to render all GUI text in display resolution, so that I can use a more legible font compared to pixel fonts. (I don't know if there are any other solutions to this)
Assuming this is the way to go: Is there a way we can assign a layer to all GUI text, so that we can tell the child camera to only see that layer (also we can remove that layer from main camera)? If there is, I can't seem to find the way to do it.
If text is not separable from background elements in menus, the second best option would probably be to assign a special layer to all menus, and then I can manually place menu backgrounds as normal prefabs instead of assigning from AC menu settings, because I'd still want them to be rendered with pixel-perfect cam.
For context: I'm using AC sourced menus instead of Unity UI prefabs, because it's very easy to use and if I go pixel-art route, I guess it will be even easier to use absolute pixels to place background textures for subtitle / conversation menus (they will always appear in the same place on the screen).
Thanks!
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AC-sourced menus are renderered with Unity's ImGUI mode, which don't exist in the scene and are applied last in the frame draw-order.
To have your menus unaffected by post-processing, you'll need to use Unity UI to render them, and move them to a specific Layer that a separate "UI" Camera is set up to render via its Culling Mask.
Unity UI is recommended for menu building in general - with AC menus being best for rapid prototyping. It may be a bit more tricky to use UI's scaling components, but it's certainly capable of fixed positioning and pixel-perfect rendering - particularly with Text Mesh Pro, which also requires Unity UI.
Hey Chris, thanks for the reply.
I tried before and I just tried last night again, but I really struggle to understand how Unity UI works in tandem with AC and how pre-existing canvas prefabs work. I couldn't get to understand it from existing AC tutorials (Perhaps I might have a missed a crucial page hidden somewhere?)
When I change my current menu to "Unity UI prefabs", default prefab doesn't even appear on screen on the play mode, with my current working file. When I check the prefabs, I see a lot of stacked components, which have properties that doesn't seem to affect anything on the prefab screen as I expect them to.
I know it's my lack of knowledge that's causing this, but usual learning curve for AC-related things are usually much much easier compared to unity-UI stuff, which seems to be the recommended solution.
I'd be happy if you can recommend a starting point to watch/read, outside of current AC tutorials perhaps? Thank you for your understanding.
Outside of AC, I could only point you to Unity's own guide here, or suggest a search of Unity UI tutorials on Youtube.
Having AC work with Unity UI, and setting up your UI to render with a specific camera, however, should be independent. AC won't control how the UI itself is renderered - only control the elements you link it to, and when the menu is shown.
I'd recommend first building your UI without any postprocessing or separate camera/layer, and just have it connecting with AC.
A text tutorial on working with AC and Unity UI can be found here. However, Unity UI is also covered in the video tutorials - for example, in the First Person Primer.