4. Results

The algorithm has been added to a demo from the book “3D Terrain Programming” by Trent Polack. The shadows shapes become similar to the objects casting them. Using soft-shading and blurring they blend out into the surroundings and become a natural part of the scene. The light source has great flexibility in vertical rotation but not as much in horizontal rotation. Using the optimized implementation the performance was increased by 21% at the sacrifice of soft shading.

4.1 Images

The following screenshots are taken using the demo and demonstrate the appearance of the shadows. The shadows are calculated using a ray intersecting the x-axis at 70 degrees and a maximum brightness of 200.

Picture 1.1 Without detail texturing and texturing.

Picture 1.2 With detail texturing.

Picture 1.3 With detail texturing and texturing.

Picture 2.1 Without detail texturing and texturing.

Picture 2.2 With detail texturing.

Picture 2.3 With detail texturing and texturing.

5. Acknowledgements

A special thank goes to my family and all my friends who have supported me with many comments and ideas.

6. References

[1] Trent Polack, Focus on 3D Terrain Programming.

[2] Matthew Strathan, Real-Time Heightmap Self-Shadowing Using the Strider Technique.

[3] Mircea Marghidanu, Fast Computation of Terrain Shadow Maps.

[4] Charlie 'Chazz' Van Noland, Slope Lighting Terrain.

[5] Kevin Hawkins, Dave Astle, OpenGL Game Programming.

[6] Wendy Stahler, Beginning Math and Physics for Game Programmers.