Error: Unity Emission Not Working

What's Causing This Error

The 'Unity emission not working' error is usually associated with issues in the lighting or material setup. Here are some common causes:

1. Incorrect Shader: The material may be using a shader that doesn't support emission. Make sure you're using a shader that allows for emissive materials, like the standard Unity shader.
2. Emission Color: The emission color could be set to black or another low-intensity color. This would result in no visible emission.
3. Global Illumination Setting: If you're using baked Global Illumination (GI), and it's not set up correctly, emission won't work as expected.
4. Missing HDRP/LWRP/URP: Depending on your rendering pipeline (High Definition Render Pipeline/Universal Render Pipeline), certain features may not work if these assets aren't properly integrated into your project.

Solution - Here's How To Resolve It

Assuming one of the above is the cause of your issue, here are the corresponding solutions:

1. Correct Shader: Ensure the material uses a shader that supports emission. In Unity's Standard Shader, the emission controls are under the material's settings.
2. Adjust Emission Color: Check the color used for emission. If it's black or too dark, the emission effect won't be visible. Try using a brighter color.
3. Configure Global Illumination: If you're making use of baked GI, make sure that you have baked the lighting after setting the emission. In the Renderer component of the object, ensure the Static option is checked so that Unity knows to include this in the bake.
4. Install Correct Assets: Make sure you have installed and correctly configured HDRP/LWRP/URP if your project requires it. Unity's package manager can be used to add these assets to your project.

Troubleshooting steps like checking for console errors, re-importing assets or updating the Unity engine might also help resolve this error.