Built using Unity’s Scriptable Render Pipeline (SRP)
Unity includes two pre-built SRPs: the High-Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) and the Universal Render Pipeline. Each render pipeline targets a specific set of use cases and hardware needs.
With an SRP, you can control and tailor rendering via C# scripts. So you can either slightly modify or completely rebuild and customize the render pipeline according to your needs.
With fully unified, physically based rendering and uncompromising GPU performance, HDRP is tailor-made for ambitious high-fidelity productions.
Achieve realistic graphics in demanding scenarios
HDRP targets high-end hardware such as PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. You are able to achieve realistic graphics in demanding scenarios. HDRP uses Compute Shader technology and takes advantage of GPU hardware.
Use HDRP to create high-fidelity games, automotive demos, architectural applications, and anything that prioritizes graphics quality. HDRP uses physically based Lighting and Materials, and supports both Forward and Deferred rendering paths.
Ship to current-generation consoles and modern PC hardware
HDRP offers a huge technological leap in graphical realism and advances in usability.
It is designed to benefit games shipping on current-generation consoles and modern PC hardware.
What’s new in 2019.3
Custom post-processing allows you to write effects that will be automatically integrated with the volume system. The custom render pass allows you to inject shaders and C# at certain points inside the render loop, giving you the ability to draw objects, do full-screen passes and read some camera buffers like depth, color or normal.
Look Dev is an image-based lighting tool that allows you to check and compare Assets through a viewer to ensure they are correctly authored for various lighting conditions. You can validate the Asset immediately because it appears in the tool the same as it appears in the finished project.
Now with Scalability settings, you can create multiple HDRP Assets for your HDRP Project, each with different graphics quality configurations. This means that users of your application can select a graphics quality level that best suits their hardware.
Unity 2019.3 includes improvements to Depth of Field, Screen Space Ambient Occlusion, shadow framework (simplified), light scripting, and light UX. We added DiscLight (bake-only) support, penumbra shadow tint, and API and graphic features documentation.
Unity’s award-winning Demo Team built this short film using HDRP
The team used the post-processing stack to achieve a cinematic look that closely emulates how physical cameras work – and renders in real-time.
The demo also showcases real-time digital humans. The team combined data acquired through both 3D and 4D scanning to capture texture and movement. They then built a complete pipeline from data acquisition to real-time rendering in Unity, aligning services offered by various commercial vendors. For rendering, the team based all the shaders it needed to achieve the desired look on HDRP.
Harold Halibut, Slow Bros.
This modern adventure game features strong storytelling and encourages exploration. Its innovative stop-motion techniques are made possible by various Unity tools like photogrammetry and HDRP, while the combination of Timeline and Cinemachine allowed the studio to employ nonlinear filmmaking techniques
Earth from Another Sun, Multiverse
The team at Multiverse envisioned a graphically stunning game with alien yet lifelike environments. They achieved stunning graphics using a variety of HDRP effects, like adjusting exposure, tonemapping, subsurface scattering, volumetric lighting, color grading, and lens distortion. The result is a beautiful and immersive world — and performance never drops from a smooth 60 frames per second, even during hectic encounters with enemy hordes.
Learn more in these video sessions
Getting started with HDRP for Games
Learn to assess whether the High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) is the right tech for your game and how to start using it for production to get the most out of it.
How the High Definition Render Pipeline unlocks graphics
The High-Definition Render Pipeline in Unity 2019.3 gives you high-fidelity graphics for high-end platforms. With HDRP, you have the tools to create anything from games to technical demos at the highest resolution.
Discover the technology behind “The Heretic”
Learn how the demo team used the latest Unity features in the High Definition Render Pipeline such as post-processing, Shader Graph, Visual Effect Graph, and Timeline to create their latest amazing real-time short film, “The Heretic.”
Real-time VFX Workflows in “The Heretic”
This video covers the production process behind key visual effects in “The Heretic” and explains how the team uses Unity's VFX Graph. You can apply these lessons to your own projects.
Read up on the details of using HDRP
The Spaceship Demo Project using HDRP and the VFX Graph
This demo was rendered using the High Definition Render Pipeline and showcases high-fidelity assets, lighting, and effects.
How to create a configurable car in Unity HDRP
Learn about the process that was used to achieve stunningly realistic real-time images and videos.
HDRP: Getting Started Guide for Artists
Start a new HDRP Project, upgrading the Materials of any imported assets, and learn how to use the new properties within the Material Inspector to create a realistic glass material.
SRP Batcher: Speed up your rendering
SRP Batcher can speed up your CPU during rendering by 1.2x to 4x, depending on the Scene. Discover how to use this feature to its fullest.
Focused on visual quality
Unity’s HDRP gives developers the tools to achieve high-definition visuals. Its design follows three principles:
- Physically based rendering
- Unified and coherent lighting
- Features independent of the rendering path