Procedural local heat distortion shader for Unity URP. Create realistic heat haze, mirage, lava shimmer, and exhaust refraction using simple mesh-based zones and ready-to-use presets.Procedural Heat Distortion (URP) is a lightweight, production-ready heat haze and refraction shader for Unity’s Universal Render Pipeline.Easily add realistic heat shimmer above fire, lava, engines, or desert ground using simple mesh-based distortion zones. No complex setup. No custom render passes. Just assign the material and adjust a few parameters.Perfect for:• Fire heat haze• Desert mirage effects• Lava shimmer• Engine exhaust distortion• Environmental refraction• Cinematic heat wavesThe effect works by procedurally distorting the camera color behind a mesh using animated noise. This allows for localized, physically convincing heat shimmer without full-screen post-processing.Included Preset MaterialsThe package includes 6 ready-to-use materials:• Strong – High intensity heat distortion• Subtle – Light ambient shimmer• Desert Mirage – Wide, soft ground mirage effect• Turbulent – Chaotic, aggressive distortion• Lava Heat – Heavy, rising thermal shimmer• Exhaust – Focused, directional engine distortionSimply drag a preset onto a quad or mesh and you’re done.Key Features• Local mesh-based heat distortion (not full screen)• Procedural animated noise (no flipbooks required)• Vertical fade for realistic rising heat effect• Adjustable strength, scale, and speed• Works in both 3D and 2D (via quad or sprite mesh)• Optimized for URP• No runtime allocations• Clean, minimal C# controllerWhy This Asset?Many heat distortion solutions rely on complex renderer features or global post-processing. This asset keeps things simple and modular:✔ Drop-in ready✔ Lightweight✔ Easy to customize✔ Production-friendlyIdeal for indie developers and small teams who want professional heat shimmer effects without heavy pipeline configuration.Render Pipeline: Universal Render Pipeline (URP) Unity Version: 2021 LTS or newer (recommended 2022 LTS+) Shader Type: Screen refraction using camera color sampling Technique: Mesh-based local distortion Opaque Texture: Must be enabled in URP settingsIncluded Components:• HeatDistortionZone (C# runtime controller)• HeatDistortion shader• 6 preset materials• Demo scene with example setupsAdjustable Parameters:• Distortion Strength• Noise Scale• Animation Speed• Vertical Fade Height• Intensity MultiplierCompatibility:• 3D projects (recommended)• 2D projects (via quad or mesh sprite)• Desktop and console platforms• Mobile compatible (depending on device capability)No external dependencies.
