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[VFX Graph] Fix Invisible Particles in Edit Mode

Solution

graphicsrenderingvfx grapheditoroptimization

Unity 2019.3.x - Unity 6.3.x

Published Sun, May 10

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Reviewed by _architect

Chief Editor

80 posts
Issue

 New Visual Effect Graph instances fail to render within the Scene View or Game View during Edit Mode, while existing effects within the same project function correctly. This discrepancy persists across various templates and bounds adjustments, often appearing in specific projects while remaining absent in clean Unity installations.

This rendering failure is typically caused by corrupted or non-standard time settings, specifically when the Fixed Timestep value is set too low for the VFX processor to calculate updates.

Explanation

The lack of visual updates for your Visual Effect Graph in Edit Mode is usually tied to global project time parameters. If the Fixed Timestep is configured to an extremely small value (such as 0.0001), the simulation clock for the VFX engine may fail to advance outside of the active play state.

  1. Open the Project Settings menu by navigating to Edit > Project Settings.
  2. Select the Time category from the left-hand navigation list.
  3. Locate the Fixed Timestep property. If it is set to an unusually low number, reset it to the default value of 0.02.
  4. Verify that the Time Scale is set to 1.
  5. Inspect your Visual Effect component and ensure that the Initial Event is set to OnPlay to allow the simulation to start automatically.

Additional Tips

  • Verify that no custom Editor scripts using [ExecuteAlways] are programmatically overriding the Fixed Timestep during initialization.
  • Use the VFX Controls overlay at the top of the Scene View to manually restart or step through the simulation if the Visual Effect Graph remains static.
  • Ensure the Scene Visibility toggle (the eye icon) is enabled for the specific GameObject in the Hierarchy.

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