I have some translucent embers, they explode outwards. In UE4’s shader complexity view this would be all green, or at the very least a little red. But now in UE5 when just two particles overlap they go straight into the white. I’m not sure how to make a simpler material than a spheremask and particle color, so right now I’m debating Masking any particle I possibly can even though it will not achieve the look I’d like simply bc it doesnt upset the shadercomplexity. So is the UE5 Shader complexity view accurate? does it become more sensitive with Lumen maybe? Is there a way to cheapen materials that only have a couple nodes thrown in?
No matter how cheap the initial material is, having multiple translucent materials on top of each other can get expensive fast. Whether or not you should be concerned about the shader complexity view is another matter, as it really depends what you’re working on and what platform it’ll be on. For example, in Quest VR, overdraw is drastically more expensive than on PC due to the way the Quest renders things.
As for cheapening materials, I’d try turning off fogging in the main material node, changing the shading mode to unlit, and the blend mode to additive.
Thanks for the advice. I changed those options like you recommended, and though I’m sure they’re cheaper, that is not reflected in the shader complexity viewer. I suppose I’m just wondering what the use for this viewmode is anymore? Maybe only useful for mobile/vr games? Short of making every material masked, my showcase vfx will almost always be deep into the white section of overdraw?