AUTO

Automatically inherits the culling mode from the associated material.

The rendering backend queries the object's MaterialCullingMode during shadow pass preparation and maps it to a shadow culling mode. This maintains visual consistency between material rendering and shadow casting.

Mapping Rules

MaterialCullingModeShadowFaceCullingModeBehavior
BACKBACKRender front faces only
FRONTFRONTRender back faces only
NONENONERender both sides
FRONT_AND_BACKNo shadowsObject casts no shadows

Note on FRONT_AND_BACK: When a material has cullingMode = FRONT_AND_BACK (culls all faces), the object is invisible and thus cannot cast shadows. This mode is functionally equivalent to disabling shadow casting via castsShadowEnabled = false, so no explicit FRONT_AND_BACK enum constant is provided in ShadowFaceCullingMode.

Pros:

  • Recommended default — maintains coherence between material and shadows

  • Automatically adapts when material properties change

  • No manual synchronization required

Performance impact: Varies based on the resolved mode at runtime.

Best for: Most scenarios. Override only when you need explicit control over shadow rendering independent of material appearance (e.g., forcing BACK for performance on foliage that uses NONE for material rendering).

See also