Version: Unity 6 Preview (6000.0)
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Multi-scene physics
Scripting

Physics Debug window reference

Use the Physics Debug window to configure and generate visual representations of 3D physics activity in a sceneA Scene contains the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. More info
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. These visualizations appear in the Scene viewAn interactive view into the world you are creating. You use the Scene View to select and position scenery, characters, cameras, lights, and all other types of Game Object. More info
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.

To open the Physics Debug window in the Unity Editor, go to Window > Analysis > Physics Debugger.

Physics Debugger inserts a Physics debug panel in the Scene view, and opens a Physics Debug window that contains the following tabs:

  • Info: Track Rigidbody and Articulation Body information. Center of MassRepresents the average position of all mass in a Rigidbody for the purposes of physics calculations. By default it is computed from all colliders belonging to the Rigidbody, but can be modified via script. More info
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    and Inertia Tensor visualization can also be found here.
  • Filtering: Determine which physics objects should be shown.
  • Rendering: Settings that define how Unity renders and displays the physics visualization.
  • Contacts: Select whether or not contacts should be visualized.
  • Queries: Select whether or not queries should be visualized.

To revert the Physics Debug window back to its default settings, select Reset.

For more information on improving physics performance in your project, see documentation on the Physics Profiler.

Physics debug panel

When the Physics Debug window is open in Unity, the Physics Debug panel appears in the Scene view. By default, it appears in the bottom-right corner of the Scene view; however, you can click and drag to move it around.

Property Description
CollisionA collision occurs when the physics engine detects that the colliders of two GameObjects make contact or overlap, when at least one has a Rigidbody component and is in motion. More info
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Geometry
Enable Collision Geometry to visualize collision information in the Scene view. Disable Collision Geometry to hide collision information in the Scene view.
Mouse Select Enable Mouse Select to enable mouse-over highlighting and mouse selection. This is useful if you have large GameObjectsThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info
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that obstruct each other in the visualization.

Info

The Info tab contains data about any selected RigidbodyA component that allows a GameObject to be affected by simulated gravity and other forces. More info
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or ArticulationBody GameObjects. You can use this data to monitor the physics body’s behavior. You cannot edit the property values in this tab. You can modify them via script, but it is not recommended; in most cases, you should apply forces via the physics system to change these values instead.

To keep a specific GameObject permanently docked in the Info tab, enable Lock for that GameObject. You can lock an infinite number of GameObjects. Use the Number of items per row property to arrange the Info tab in a way that is easiest for you to navigate.

The Info tab always displays the following properties.

Property Description
Number of items per row Define how many selected GameObjects to display horizontally in the top row of the Info tab.

By default, if you select or lock multiple GameObjects, Unity displays them all vertically. However, you can arrange them horizontally instead. Use Number of items per row to define how many GameObjects to display next to each other on one horizontal row, up to a maximum of 10.

If the number of selected or locked GameObjects exceeds this number, the more recently selected GameObjects appear on a new row underneath the first.

GameObjects always appear in the Info tab in the order of selection. The default value for this property is 1.
Tracked objects Displays the total number of unique GameObjects that currently appear in the Info tab. This includes selected GameObjects and locked GameObjects. It does not include duplicates.
Clear locked objects Select Clear locked objects to disable Lock for all GameObjects. This removes any GameObjects from the Info tab that are not already selected in the Hierarchy window.

The Info tab displays the following properties when you select a GameObject in the Hierarchy that has a physics body (that is, a Rigidbody or an ArticulationBody).

Property Description
GameObject Displays the name of the selected or locked GameObject that the following properties refer to.
Draw Gizmos for Select which physics property the Physics Debug should display a gizmoA graphic overlay associated with a GameObject in a Scene, and displayed in the Scene View. Built-in scene tools such as the move tool are Gizmos, and you can create custom Gizmos using textures or scripting. Some Gizmos are only drawn when the GameObject is selected, while other Gizmos are drawn by the Editor regardless of which GameObjects are selected. More info
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for.
- Center of Mass Display a gizmo that indicates the location of the physics body’s global center of mass (see World Center of Mass).
- Inertia Tensor Display a gizmo that indicates the rotation and scale of the physics body’s Inertia Tensor (see Inertia Tensor).
Lock Enable Lock to keep the GameObject in the Info tab even when it is not selected in the Hierarchy window.
Speed The speed at which the physics body is moving, measured in meters per second (m/s).
Velocity The velocity of the physics body along each vector, measured in meters per second (m/s).
Angular Velocity The velocity of the physics body along each vector, measured in degrees per second.
Inertia Tensor The inertia tensor of this physics body. Like mass, an inertia tensor defines how much force or torque is required to make a physics body move; however, while mass affects linear movement, inertia tensor affects rotational movement. The higher the Inertia Tensor value is, the more torque is required to make the physics body rotate on its axis.
Inertia Tensor Rotation The rotation of the inertia tensor. By default, Unity calculates inertia tensor rotation automatically, based on all of the collidersAn invisible shape that is used to handle physical collisions for an object. A collider doesn’t need to be exactly the same shape as the object’s mesh - a rough approximation is often more efficient and indistinguishable in gameplay. More info
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attached to the physics body.
Local Center of Mass The local location of the physics body’s center of mass along each vector. To change the center of mass via script, use centerOfMass. Unity can also change it based on collider placement.
World Center of Mass The global location of the physics body’s center of mass along each vector. To change the center of mass via script, use worldCenterOfMass. Unity can also change it based on collider placement.
Sleep State The sleep state of the physics body. Displays Awake if the physics body is awake and included in physics calculations. Displays Asleep if the physics body is asleep, and not included in physics calculations.
Sleep Threshold The energy threshold for the physics body, below which the physics engineA system that simulates aspects of physical systems so that objects can accelerate correctly and be affected by collisions, gravity and other forces. More info
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stops including the body in physics updates. By default, this is the Sleep Threshold value defined in the global Physics settings.
Max Linear Velocity The maximum linear velocity the physics body can reach, defined by maxLinearVelocity.
Max Angular Velocity The maximum rotational velocity the physics body can reach, defined by maxAngularVelocity.
Solver Iterations The number of iterations that the physics system solver needs to perform on this physics body.
Solver Velocity Iteration The number of velocity iterations that the physics system solver needs to perform on this physics body. These bring the exit velocity of overlapping GameObjects closer to the correct value, taking into account the contact bounciness.
Body Index The Articulation Body index in the tree. This property only appears for Articulation Bodies.

Filtering

The Filtering tab contains properties to configure which physics elements appear in the Physics Debug visualization.

Property Description
Show Physics Scene Select which Physics Scenes to include in the visualization, if you have multiple physics scenes loaded at once.
Show Unity Scene Select which Unity Scenes to include in the visualization, if you have multiple scenes loaded at once.
Show Layers Select which LayersLayers in Unity can be used to selectively opt groups of GameObjects in or out of certain processes or calculations. This includes camera rendering, lighting, physics collisions, or custom calculations in your own code. More info
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to display in the visualization.
Show Static Colliders Enable Show Static Colliders to display visualization for Colliders that have no Rigidbody component. Disable Show Static Colliders to remove visualization for Colliders that have no Rigidbody component.
Show Triggers Enable Show Triggers to display visualization for Colliders that are Triggers. Disable Show Triggers to remove visualization for Colliders that are Triggers.
Show Rigidbodies Enable Show Rigidbodies to display visualization for Rigidbody components. Disable Show Rigidbodies to remove visualization for Rigidbody components.
Show Kinematic Bodies Enable Show Kinematic Bodies to display visualization for Colliders that have Kinematic Rigidbody components. Disable Show Kinematic Bodies to remove visualization for Colliders that have Kinematic Rigidbody components.
Show Articulation Bodies Enable Show Articulation Bodies to display visualization for ArticulationBody components. Disable Show Articulation Bodies to remove visualization for ArticulationBody components.
Show Sleeping Bodies Enable Show Sleeping Bodies to display visualization for Colliders that have Sleeping Rigidbody components. Disable Show Sleeping Bodies to remove visualization for Colliders that have Sleeping Rigidbody components.
Collider Types Use these options to show specific Collider types in the physics visualization.
- Show BoxColliders Enable Show BoxColliders to display visualization for Box CollidersA cube-shaped collider component that handles collisions for GameObjects like dice and ice cubes. More info
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. Disable Show BoxColliders to remove visualization for Box Colliders.
- Show SphereColliders Enable Show SphereColliders to display visualization for Sphere CollidersA sphere-shaped collider component that handles collisions for GameObjects like balls or other things that can be roughly approximated as a sphere for the purposes of physics. More info
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. Disable Show SphereColliders to remove visualization for Sphere Colliders.
- Show CapsuleColliders Enable Show CapsuleColliders to display visualization for Capsule CollidersA capsule-shaped collider component that handles collisions for GameObjects like barrels and character limbs. More info
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. Disable Show CapsuleColliders to remove visualization for Capsule Colliders.
- Show MeshColliders (convex) Enable Show MeshColliders (convex) to display visualization for Mesh CollidersA free-form collider component which accepts a mesh reference to define its collision surface shape. More info
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that have their Is Convex property enabled. Disable Show MeshColliders (convex) to remove visualization for MeshThe main graphics primitive of Unity. Meshes make up a large part of your 3D worlds. Unity supports triangulated or Quadrangulated polygon meshes. Nurbs, Nurms, Subdiv surfaces must be converted to polygons. More info
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Colliders that have their Is Convex property enabled.
- Show MeshColliders (concave) Enable Show MeshColliders (concave) to display visualization for Mesh Colliders that have their Is Convex property disabled. Disable Show MeshColliders (concave) to remove visualization for Mesh Colliders that have their Is Convex property disabled.
- Show TerrainColliders Enable Show TerrainColliders to display visualization for Terrain CollidersA terrain-shaped collider component that handles collisions for collision surface with the same shape as the Terrain object it is attached to. More info
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. Disable Show TerrainColliders to remove visualization for Terrain Colliders.
- Show None Select Show None to clear all filtering criteria and remove all Colliders from the visualization.
- Show All Select Show All to enable all filters and display visualization for all Colliders.

Rendering

The Rendering tab contains properties to configure how Unity renders and displays the physics visualization.

Property Description
Static Colliders Select a color to represent static Colliders (Colliders with no Rigidbody component) in the visualization.
Triggers Select a color to represent Colliders that are also Triggers in the visualization.
Rigidbodies Select a color to represent Rigidbody components in the visualization.
Kinematic Bodies Select a color to represent kinematic Rigidbody components from the visualization. The physics system does not control kinematic Rigidbody components.
Articulation Bodies Select a color to represent Articulation Body components in the visualization.
Sleeping Bodies Select a color to represent Sleeping Rigidbody components (which are not currently engaging with the physics engine) from the visualization.
Variation Define to what extent the selected colors blend with a random color. Use this to visually separate Colliders by color, and to see the structure of the GameObjects. The value is between 0 and 1, and is set to 0.15 by default.
Transparency Set the transparency of drawn collision geometry in the visualization. The value is between 0 and 1, and is set to 0.5 by default.
Force Overdraw Enable Force Overdraw to display collider geometry on top of render geometry in the visualization. This is useful if render geometry is obscuring collider visualizations. Disable Force Overdraw to display collider geometry as it appears in relation to the cameraA component which creates an image of a particular viewpoint in your scene. The output is either drawn to the screen or captured as a texture. More info
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.
View Distance Set the view distance of the visualization. This is set to 1000 by default. The value is measured in units, which are assumed to be 1m by default in Unity.
Terrain Tiles Max Set the maximum number of TerrainThe landscape in your scene. A Terrain GameObject adds a large flat plane to your scene and you can use the Terrain’s Inspector window to create a detailed landscape. More info
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tiles in the visualization. This is set to 60 by default.
Gizmos settings Configure the Physics Debug gizmos that the Info tab controls.
- Constant screen size Enable Constant screen size to make Physics Debug gizmos appear the same size on the screen at any distance from the camera. Disable Constant screen size to make the gizmos’ size scale with perspective.
- Inertia Tensor scale Define the value by which to multiply the Inertia Tensor vector 3. This is useful if the Inertia Tensor is especially large; for example, if you need to visualize and observe the ratio of the vector’s components.

Contacts

The Contacts tab contains properties to configure which contact data appears in the Physics Debug visualization, and the colors used for different types of contact.

Property Description
Show Contacts Enable Show Contacts to display visualization for contacts.
- Show All Contacts Enable Show All Contacts to display visualization for all collision contact data in the Physics Debug visualization. Disable Show All Contacts to limit the contact data that appears in the Physics Debug visualization.
When Show All Contacts is disabled, only the following contacts appear in the visualization:
- Colliders with MonoBehaviour scripts that receive messages from OnCollisionEnter, OnCollisionSay, or OnCollisionExit
- Colliders that have the providesContact property set to true.
- Show Impulse Enable Show Impulse to display an arrow in the visualization that represents the contact point impulse. Disable Show Impulse to remove impulse visualization.
- Show Separation Enable Show Separation to display a segment and disc in the visualization that represents contact point separation. Disable Show Separation to remove separation visualization.
- Use Filtering settings Enable Use Filtering settings to use the settings in the Filtering tab to filter incoming contact visualization. Disable Use filtering settings to use only the settings in the Contacts tab.
Contact colors Select the colors Unity should use in the visualization to indicate collision contact data.
Use varied colors Enable Use varied colors to use random colors for each contacting Collider pair. Disable Use varied colors to use the three colors defined in the following properties (Contact color, Contact separation color, and Contact impulse color).
Contact color Select a color to represent the contact. This appears in the visualization as an arrow that starts in the contact point and faces the contact normal.
Contact separation color Select a color to represent the contact separation. This appears in the visualization as a segment and disc.
Contact impulse color Select a color to represent the contact impulse. This appears in the visualization as an arrow that points in the normal direction, with a length equal to the length of the impulse.

Queries

The Queries tab contains properties to configure which query types appear in the Physics Debug visualization, and how they appear. For information on PhysX queries, see the NVIDIA PhysX documentation on Scene Queries and Geometry Queries.

Property Description
Show queries Enable Show queries to display visualization for physics queries.
Query color Select the color Unity should use in the visualization to indicate physics queries.
Show shapes Choose which query shapes to display in the Physics Debug visualization. Enable a query shape to display queries of that shape in the visualization. Disable a query shape to remove queries of that shape from the visualization.

The options are:
- Box-shape queries
- Capsule-shape queries
- Collider-shape queries
- Ray-shape queries
Show types Choose which query types to display in the visualization. Enable a query type to display queries of that type in the visualization. Disable a query type to remove queries of that type from the visualization. For information on PhysX query types, see the NVIDIA PhysX documentation on Geometry Queries.

The options are:
- Overlap queries
- Check queries
- Cast queries
Max Queries Define the maximum number of queries that Physics Debug can visualize at once. This is set to 100 by default.
Show None Select Show None to clear all filtering criteria and hide all query shapes and types from the visualization.
Show All Select Show All to enable all filters and show all query shapes and types in the visualization.
Multi-scene physics
Scripting