Render Modes

Bakery render mode decides what kind of lightmaps are produced. In VRChat world production, this is usually a choice between how much lighting should be fully baked for stability and how much should remain real-time at additional runtime cost.

Full Lighting

What it does: Bakes complete direct and indirect lighting for Bakery lights.

When to use it: Use this for mostly static VRChat worlds where baked lighting defines the final look.

Pros:

• Lowest runtime lighting complexity for static scenes.
• Predictable final result once lightmaps, probes, and reflection probes are baked.
• Usually the best starting point for environment-driven VRChat worlds.

Cons:

• Baked direct light does not update dynamically.
• Direct specular and live light response are limited compared with real-time lighting.
• Dynamic objects still need light probes, VRC Light Volumes, or another compatible solution.

VRChat considerations: This is usually the right default for static VRChat worlds, especially when the mood comes from architectural lighting, emissive fixtures, signs, windows, and baked bounce.

Indirect

What it does: Bakes indirect contribution while direct lighting can come from real-time Unity lights. Lights configured to bake direct and indirect can still behave more like Full Lighting.

When to use it: Use it when you want baked GI but still need direct light behavior from real-time lights.

Pros:

• Useful hybrid mode for real-time direct lighting plus baked bounce.
• Lets direct lighting remain adjustable.
• Can preserve some live response without losing baked GI.

Cons:

• Higher runtime cost than a fully baked setup.
• Requires careful matching between Bakery and Unity light setup.
• Easy to make inconsistent if direct and indirect contributions are not balanced.

VRChat considerations: Use it when the direct light is expected to change or stay live, not as a default for every world. Real-time lights add cost quickly in VRChat, so use them deliberately.

Shadowmask

What it does: Generates baked color lighting plus baked static shadow information for mixed lighting. Real-time lights can still provide dynamic shadows, bump, and specular while respecting baked static occlusion.

When to use it: Use it when real-time direct lighting, dynamic shadows, or specular from real-time lights matters.

Pros:

• Better fit for mixed static and dynamic lighting.
• Lets selected real-time lights add live bump and specular response.
• Useful for interactive or hero lighting cases.

Cons:

• Higher runtime cost than Full Lighting.
• More setup complexity.
• Needs project-level testing because mixed lighting behavior depends on the actual scene and shaders.

VRChat considerations: Good for cases like live lamps, interactive fixtures, or hero lighting where a purely baked result is not enough. Test carefully in-client because the runtime tradeoff matters more than it does in a plain editor preview.

Subtractive

What it does: Uses Unity Subtractive lighting mode. In Bakery, the baked result works similarly to Full Lighting, but the project is also configured around Subtractive mixed-light behavior.

When to use it: Use only if the project intentionally relies on Unity Subtractive lighting.

Pros:

• Can fit older or compatibility-focused workflows.
• Simple baked outcome.

Cons:

• Less flexible than the other mixed-lighting approaches.
• Usually not the best fit for modern high-quality scene lighting.

VRChat considerations: Treat this as a legacy or compatibility option, not the normal default.

Ambient Occlusion Only

What it does: Bakes only ambient occlusion.

When to use it: Use only when you intentionally need AO data as a separate utility bake.

Pros:

• Useful for specialized workflows.
• Can isolate AO from broader lighting decisions.

Cons:

• Not a complete lighting solution.
• Easy to misuse if treated as world lighting.

VRChat considerations: AO-only is a support tool, not a replacement for proper world lighting.

Comparison

Render Mode	What It Bakes	Runtime Cost	Best For	Avoid When
Full Lighting	Complete Bakery direct and indirect lighting	Low	Mostly static scenes	You need live direct shadows or specular
Indirect	Baked GI for hybrid real-time direct lighting	Medium	Real-time direct lights with baked bounce	The scene can be fully baked
Shadowmask	Baked color plus static shadowmask data	Medium to high	Mixed lighting with dynamic direct response	The scene is fully static
Subtractive	Full Lighting-like bake plus Unity Subtractive setup	Varies	Legacy mixed-lighting workflows	You want more flexible mixed lighting
Ambient Occlusion Only	AO only	Depends on usage	Utility AO workflows	You need complete lighting

Recommendation

• For static VRChat worlds: Full Lighting.
• For dynamic direct response or real-time specular: Shadowmask.
• For hybrid real-time direct lighting with baked bounce: Indirect.

Next: choose directionality in Directional Modes.