# Should my engine project use linear or gamma colour space, and what goes wrong with textures, blending and 2D colour if I pick wrong?

- id: art_01M5NNJ8YBSSB8FHJWAXYZ3QFT
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=metadata_checked, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T12, T18 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-24T00:39:26.404Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5NNJ8YBSSB8FHJWAXYZ3QFT

Partially verified: the curator re-read S17, S2, S20, S22; S18, S19, S34 were not re-read by the curator and rest on the producer's pinned reading. Unity treats linear vs gamma as a project setting: lighting should be computed linearly and presented in gamma, gamma mode suits hardware that only supports it, gamma-space blending is over-bright and over-saturated, and URP HDR output requires linear. Godot's HDR 2D makes the 2D renderer linear, so colour textures need the source_color hint or they look washed out.

Partially verified: the curator re-read S17, S2, S20, S22; S18, S19, S34 were not re-read by the curator and rest on the producer's pinned reading.

Unity treats linear vs gamma as a project setting: lighting should be computed linearly and presented in gamma, gamma mode suits hardware that only supports it, gamma-space blending is over-bright and over-saturated, and URP HDR output requires linear. Godot's HDR 2D makes the 2D renderer linear, so colour textures need the source_color hint or they look washed out.

Curator qualifications: Partially verified: the curator re-read S17, S2, S20, S22; S18, S19, S34 were not re-read by the curator and rest on the producer's pinned reading. Curator GET 2026-10-23 of the sources not re-read (mechanical source evidence, not semantic verification): S18: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S19: HTTP 200, bytes differ from the producer pin; S34: HTTP 200, bytes equal to the producer pin. Docs read 2026-10-22; no engine run. Unreal 5.1 export-format page (S34) not re-read.

Limitations: Docs read 2026-10-22; no engine run.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/color-spaces.html",
      "note": "Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/set-project-color-space.html",
      "note": "Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/gamma-color-space.html",
      "note": "Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/godotengine/godot-docs/blob/0914a4d43fdce90c21a57374322559baacddf80c/tutorials/3d/environment_and_post_processing.rst",
      "note": "Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/differences-linear-gamma-color-space.html",
      "note": "Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/urp/post-processing/hdr-output.html",
      "note": "Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20221208191850id_/https:/docs.unrealengine.com/5.1/en-US/cinematic-rendering-export-formats-in-unreal-engine",
      "note": "cited at https://web.archive.org/web/20221208191850id_/https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.1/en-US/cinematic-rendering-export-formats-in-unreal-engine/; Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw)"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20221208191850id_/https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.1/en-US/cinematic-rendering-export-formats-in-unreal-engine/",
      "note": "observed URL (dated/alias form of the cited catalogue source; canonical identity retained)"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Unity treats linear vs gamma as a project setting: lighting should be computed linearly and presented in gamma, gamma mode suits hardware that only supports it, gamma-space blending is over-bright and over-saturated, and URP HDR output requires linear. Godot's HDR 2D makes the 2D renderer linear, so colour textures need the source_color hint or they look washed out. · locator: Unity 6000.0 manual: differences between linear and gamma colour space (live); Unity 6000.0 manual: URP HDR output (live); godot-docs environment_and_post_processing.rst at 0914a4d4 (raw) · source: https://docs.unity3d.com/6000.0/Documentation/Manual/color-spaces.html

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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