Lol. Why don't you just make a ray tracer...2 min to render that image is crazy.

*Punches REF Device*

Seems to be working better though, that's good news.

- Dan

Sitting here with my Nvidia GeForce 440 MX (read: No shaders, or quality for that matter) punching the ref device is a daily occurrence!

Have you checked out my article on Parallax Occlusion Mapping yet? At the very least it will give you some insight into the algorithm, and I have provided a sample HLSL implementation that is somewhat faster than what you posted here (not much though).

I think if you just use a linear search it is significantly faster since you are not doing dependant texture reads. Try it out both ways to see what works best for you - most likely the linear search is the way to go with the crazy video cards that are about to come out...

Quote:Why don't you just make a ray tracer...2 min to render that image is crazy.

Well, within reason I have actually written a ray-tracer - just with a slightly convoluted twist of polygonal/raster graphics thrown in for good measure [lol]

Quote:punching the ref device is a daily occurrence!

I know the feeling. I don't know where I'd be without recording/playback of RefRast output...

Quote:Have you checked out my article on Parallax Occlusion Mapping yet?

Yup, in my initial research phase your article was one of the first I came across and is currently one of the three that I'm referring to whilst implementing it myself. It has been a useful and well written resource [smile]

Quote:I think if you just use a linear search it is significantly faster since you are not doing dependant texture reads.

Yeah, this makes sense - but at least to start with I'm trying to implement the algorithm exactly as it is in the original research paper. The text of the paper discusses a few optimizations that aren't in their included code, so I can only assume that its meant as a reference example rather than a production-ready example...

Even just implementing early-out for the looping will be a noticeable improvement...

Cheers,
Jack

That's great to hear - its always good to hear that someone can make use of your work.

Is there any possibility that I could possibly make it into the references list??? That is probably about as close to publishing in the graphics industry that I would get for quite some time. You'll have to let me know when it goes on sale so that I can check it out.

If you would like a proof reader I would be willing to help out as well - even for readability if you would like. Its just an offer, I thought I would throw it out there.

Good Luck!