When setting Time.timeScale to zero, which time property remains unaffected?

When Time.timeScale is set to zero, the property that remains unaffected is realtimeSinceStartup. This property measures the time in seconds that has elapsed since the game started, regardless of the game’s time scale.

Time.timeScale is used to control the speed at which time passes in the game. When set to zero, it effectively pauses the gameplay, meaning that time-dependent functions such as animations, physics updates, and the calculation of deltaTime will halt. However, realtimeSinceStartup continues to track actual real-world time, making it useful for operations that need to continue progressing, such as measuring performance metrics or for functionalities that should run independently of the game’s time scale.

This distinction is crucial for game developers, especially when needing to differentiate between game time and real-time calculations within their games. For example, if they wanted to display a timer that keeps counting down to a specific event even while the game itself is paused, they would rely on realtimeSinceStartup instead of the other time properties, which would be affected by the time scale.