UnityTimelapse

Simple script designed to quickly create timelapses in Unity HDRP. Ideal for presenting scenes, cinematics, or testing lighting variations without using Timeline. Version 0.4.4 -> Has only a directional light rotation, volumetric cloud offset animation and water simulation speed.

This project is made/test under Unity 6.1 (6000.1.12f1)

Features:

• Interpolated sun rotation (Directional Light)
• Volumetric Clouds offset animation
• Water simulation speed (HDRP Water)
• Customizable duration, loop option
• Speed curve for smoother transitions
• Runtime input handling (start/reset)

Requirements

• Volumetric Clouds (HDRP) – if enable
• WaterSurface (HDRP) – if enable

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How to Use:

• Fork and Copy the project folder (Runtime/ and Editor/ are required) into your Unity project.
• Make sure to use HDRP with the necessary components (Volumetric Clouds / WaterSurface) – if enable

Setup

1. Create an empty GameObject and attach Timelapse.cs from Runtime/.

2. Assign:

   • The Directional Light (the sun)
   • The Volume containing the Volumetric Clouds component
   • The WaterSurface (if used, and loop disabled)

3. Define:

   • Cycle Duration in seconds
   • Speed Curve preset (controls global timelapse speed)

     : X=0→1 is progress, Y=0→1 is adjusted speed)

   • Enable/disable Loop, Clouds, Sun, Water as needed
   • Sun Rotation Start and Sun Rotation End (in degrees, Euler)
   • Cloud Offset Start and Cloud Offset End
   • And the Water Surface – Time Multiplier

If Loop is enabled, water management is automatically disabled.

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Loop Mode (Day/Night Cycle)

The Timelapse script was not originally designed as a full day/night cycle system. However, using the Loop mode, you can simulate a continuous cycle easily – useful for quick prototypes or scene presentations.

Quick Setup

1. Enable the sun

   • Assign a Directional Light to the sun variable.
   • Set:

     sunRotationStart = new Vector3(0f, -30f, 0f);
     sunRotationEnd   = new Vector3(360f, -30f, 0f);
     

   • The cycle will interpolate from 0° to 360° for a perfectly seamless loop.

2. Enable clouds (optional)

   • Clouds use a simple offset (cloudOffsetStart → cloudOffsetEnd).
   • No special setup needed: the loop remains seamless since the offset repeats naturally.

3. Water handling

   • When loop = true, water is automatically disabled (no timeMultiplier).
   • When loop = false, water can be animated using waterTimeMultiplier.

⚠️ Important

This is not intended as a full production day/night system.
For a production-ready solution, consider using:

• Unity Timeline
• Specialized lighting/skybox frameworks
• Or a custom system handling weather, ambient lighting, etc.

This Loop mode is mainly a bonus feature for fast timelapse prototypes or scene showcases.

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Helper – Curve to Keyframes

A small tool is included to quickly convert an AnimationCurve into C# code (Keyframes):

• Accessible via Tools > Curve To Keyframes in the Unity toolbar
• Allows you to draw a curve in the editor
• Clicking "Generate C# Keyframes" automatically copies the code to the clipboard
• Useful for creating static presets in SpeedCurvePresets.cs

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🔮 Roadmap (v0.5.x → v1.0.0)

• Multi-element Control:

  • Fog (density, color)
  • Lens Flare size/intensity
  • Water (orientation, reflection parameters)

• Object Management:

  • Enable/disable objects at specific times
  • E.g., disable fill lights after a certain offset

• Advanced Options :

  • Ping-pong (back and forth)
  • Separate timers (clouds ≠ sun)
  • Custom editor (cleaner interface, presets manager)

• Official Unity package

  • Demo scene + presets
  • Asset Store release (v1.0.0)

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🤝 Contact:

For issues, suggestions, or contributions, feel free to open an issue on the GitHub repository.