A comprehensive technical guide for mapping custom or external 2D texture assets onto target meshes using the core DPT shader framework.
Although the DPT framework is tailored for ultra-optimized, textureless custom vertex pipelines, the master shader architecture natively accommodates full 2D texture map configurations. This standalone document outlines the assignment rules, slot dependencies, and workflow adjustments required to execute texture-based rendering lanes successfully.
Locate the master core material asset in your project directory named M_DPT_VCCORE. Assign this material directly to the Mesh Renderer component of your target game object.
Populate the designated image slots within the material Inspector according to the following hardware layout mapping rules:
| Shader Texture Slot | Required Input Asset & Configuration |
|---|---|
| Base Color | Assign your primary diffuse/albedo map. To maintain clean mathematical color multiplication via the painter window, use a desaturated or grayscale base profile. |
| Metallic/AO/Smoothness Packed | Assign the standalone composite texture file compiled via the Texture Channel Packer editor tool. The fragment shader isolates and samples the R, G, and A tracks natively. |
| Use Normal Texture (Toggle) | Enable this checkbox explicitly to reveal the normal map target slot and activate surface tangent vector calculations. |
| Normal Map | Visible only when Use Normal Texture is checked. Assign your authored normal map asset here. Ensure its import settings in Unity are set to Normal map. |
Once your texture assets are assigned, fine-tune their physical behavior on the mesh surface using the integrated modifier sliders at the base of the inspector:
If you are using your own vertex-colored models instead of standard 2D textures, you can enable the Use Vertex Colors toggle in the Workflow Setup. However, because external meshes do not contain the highly specific, proprietary data packed into the UV and vertex streams of official DPT packages, you must disable the procedural detail systems.
If you want your custom models to utilize the full procedural detail ecosystem, your mesh vertex data must be packed using the proprietary DPT pipeline. See the Support & Custom Pipeline Integration section below for freelance services to handle this integration.
If your project requires external or custom 3D models to be fully integrated into the DPT ecosystem—including custom vertex-data packing, procedural wood grain mapping, normal array configuration, advanced GPU wind system implementation, or any other bespoke features—freelance technical art services are available. Additionally, availability extends to general 3D asset production, high-to-low poly hard surface modeling, stylized prop creation, and game-ready LOD budgeting built to align cleanly with your specific project constraints.