AI disclaimer: Code and documentation were developed with generative AI, human review, and iterative Unity/VR testing. This is an optical approximation; test it in your own setup.
A configurable optical-view shader and a standalone Unity example for scope creators. Includes variable magnification, SFP/FFP reticles, independent main/illumination layers, optional central reticle detail, a sharp field stop, a moving soft eye-box shadow, and optional lens distortion and chromatic aberration.
Built for Unity's Built-in Render Pipeline on PC, tested in Unity 2022.3.22f1.
- Download AngularScope with the example and import it into a Built-in RP Unity project.
- Open
Assets/AngularScope/Examples/Scenes/AngularScopeDemo.unityand enter Play mode. - Use the on-screen controls to compare magnification, focal planes, lens character, HDR and 4x MSAA. Move the eye with A/D, W/S and Q/E; R resets the view and V shows the model.
For the shader, documentation and editor-only setup, lens conversion and mask tools, download the smaller shader-only package. It contains no example models, textures, cameras or animation assets.
The lens material inspector groups scene/zoom, reticle, illumination, field/eyebox, lens character and advanced calibration into collapsible sections. Start with Tools > AngularScope > Scope Setup for calibration; use the material inspector for direct fine-tuning. It does not automatically update camera FOV or zoom clips.
The shader requires a separate camera and RenderTexture. PC VRChat avatars can use it, not just worlds. For avatars, use the included animation-driven rig instead of the scripted demo; it supplies endpoint clips and a continuous zoom curve, not an automatic installer. Follow the avatar integration guide.
The optical display must be a rigid MeshRenderer, optionally attached to a weapon bone. The housing/covers can remain skinned. An editor conversion tool is included for single-bone skinned lenses; optical animation bindings must be updated after conversion. See the lens setup guide.
These are actual captures of the included procedural example, not illustrations. SFP keeps the reticle's apparent size fixed while the scene zooms. FFP scales the reticle together with the scene; both meet at the configured reference magnification of 6x.
| 1x | 6x | |
|---|---|---|
| SFP |  |
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| FFP (reference = 6) |  |
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FFP reference = 6: relative size is magnification / reference: one-sixth SFP at 1x, equal at 6x. The two 6x images intentionally match; FFP scaling remains active.
To match SFP size at 1x instead, set _ReticleRefMagnification = 1; the FFP reticle will then be six times that size at 6x, so outer marks may extend beyond the visible field. Choose the reference and reticle size together for your design. See the reticle and illumination guide.
Only the reference changes to 1 below: reticle and camera settings are unchanged. At 1x it matches SFP; at 6x both layers are six times larger and outer marks are cropped. The example defaults to reference 6.
| 1x | 6x | |
|---|---|---|
| FFP (reference = 1) |  |
 |
The black etched cross and red illuminated centre are independent texture layers.
Advanced users can optionally replace a central portion of the main reticle with a matching higher-density crop, sharing its focal plane and distortion. It replaces that region at every zoom; it is not a texture swap at a zoom threshold. Detail inherits the main layer's settings, rather than adding another independent focal plane. This option defaults off. See central reticle detail for crop coordinates, memory estimates and seam checks.
Monochrome art can use AlphaMask or a lightweight linear RedMask (BC4), independently for each layer. The included editor conversion tool preserves original PNG dimensions, including 4K, without altering the source. A 4K BC4 main mask plus a cropped 512 centre mask uses about 10.84 MiB of GPU texture storage. Normal coloured RGBA art still works. See mask modes and conversion.
Two independent masks shape the view:
- Sharp field stop: a crisp circular boundary limits the apparent angular field. Moving the eye closer makes this boundary visible inside the housing; it is not another physical lens rim.
- Soft eye-box shadow: moving the eye sideways or vertically causes a soft shadow to sweep across the view. Moving too far behind the intended eye relief can also narrow the usable view.
| Sharp field stop | Soft eye-box shadow |
|---|---|
 |
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Both 1x captures keep both masks enabled. Left: on axis at 9cm. Right: 12cm away, offset 7mm horizontally and vertically. The housing supplies the physical boundary. Exit-pupil size may follow zoom or remain fixed for a forgiving view; this affects the soft shadow, not the field stop.
Optional Near-eye lateral sensitivity makes sideways/up-down movement less forgiving when closer than eye relief minus axial tolerance, without adding centred near-distance narrowing. It defaults to 0; try 1 and test your own rig. This is an empirical comfort control, not measured real-scope behaviour. See near-eye tuning.
Optional lens character adds adjustable visual imperfections to the optical view. New materials have zero effect strengths. The Example starts with effects off; its Lens character toggle enables a mild runtime comparison preset.
- Radial distortion: independently tune low/high-zoom coefficients for subtle barrel or pincushion character. Scene and reticle can share the distorted view; the field stop and eye-box geometry stay independent.
- Scene colour fringe: subtle radial R/B separation, concentrated near the edge.
- Eye-box colour fringe: warm or purple edging on the moving pupil shadow. These palettes are artistic choices, not measured lens prescriptions.
Use the same AngularScopeDemo.unity scene as above.
In Play mode, compare Lens character on/off and Purple shadow fringe on/off.
The mild example uses distortion +0.04 / -0.005 at 1x / 6x, scene fringe 0.004,
and shadow fringe 0.012. Camera-coverage checks warn about edge clipping; changing
coverage also requires matching camera FOV and zoom animations.
| Effects off | Mild lens character |
|---|---|
 |
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| Warm shadow fringe | Purple shadow fringe |
|---|---|
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Actual Example captures at 1x, with a fixed exit pupil. The palette comparison uses the same eye offset (13.5mm horizontally, 4mm vertically) and strength 0.012. The mild preset is intentionally subtle, especially with the eye centred.
These are visual approximations, not a full physical lens simulation. Enabled scene fringe adds two texture lookups; no extra camera is created. See the lens-character setup guide.
The scope housing, mount, checkerboard range, meshes and reticle textures are generated specifically for this example. No purchased scope or firearm assets are included.
Lens character, HDR and 4x MSAA start disabled. All comparisons use temporary material/render-texture copies and restore the source settings on exit. The demo supplies no central-detail texture or on-screen near-eye control; configure those in a copied lens material before entering Play mode. See the example's advanced options. HDR preserves bright scene values; MSAA smooths geometry edges, not reticle-texture aliasing. Neither enables a post-processing stack automatically. See example controls and render-texture quality.
- Scope Setup: specifications, comfort controls and zoom authoring
- Shader setup and parameter guide
- Example controls and regeneration
- PC VRChat avatar integration and animation fixtures
Quest avatar custom shaders, URP and HDRP are not supported by this package. A single mono scene texture cannot reproduce exact near-field binocular parallax.
The independently authored shader, scripts, documentation, example meshes and textures are dedicated under CC0-1.0. See the full dedication and scope and third-party notices. Unity and third-party components remain subject to their own terms.