Do you mean in a GLSL shader? If so, gl_FragCoord.z is what you want. gl_FragCoord.z is relative to the near/far planes. So, if gl_FragCoord.z == 1.0 and your far-plane is 100.0f, than the depth is 100.0f. If gl_FragCoord.z == 0.0 and your near plane is 1.0f than the depth is 1.0f.

Just as a tip: If you want help on the forums you need to be SPECIFIC and DESCRIPTIVE. Take the time to tell us what your trying to accomplish, how you are accomplishing it, and provide ALL the relevant code with EXCEPTIONAL commenting. If you can't take the 10 minutes to make a good post people won't take the 2 minutes to help you.

Again, be more descriptive in your questions! Do you intend to do this calculation in the shader? If so, why do you need something other than glFragCoord.z? Do you intend to do this calculation in your program outside of your shader? If so, have you verified that ALL the "behind the scenes" code works as expected, and that your problem must caused by not knowing how to calculate it?

Here is a well-formed, detailed, and descriptive example question:

[ .:: Begin Example Question ::. ]

Hello! I am attempting to calculate the z-depth of a pixel inside my GLSL fragment shader. It is needed to calculate the fog-factor of geometry relative to the camera. However, the fog is not getting thicker relative to the depth of the scene. How would I calculate the z-depth of a pixel inside a GLSL fragment shader?

I have attempted to calculate it with the following code segment:

// The comments// the code// more comments// even MORE comments// some more code

All my other code works as expected, and the problem must be here in the previous code segment. I appreciate any help! Thanks beforehand!

[ .:: End Example Question ::. ]

Another tip: Don't ask questions that google can solve. Googling for gl_FragCoord.z has pulled up MANY solutions for your problem.

Please read the forum posting guidelines: http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=369548

maspeir, I do beleive you mis-interpreted my post. The post was not only intended to give him his solution, but also to give him better results from the forums in the future. If you interpreted it as a hell-bent message to solely destroy dpadam450 confidence you need to become more professional.

Not only did I give dpadam450 two solutions to the problem from his original post, but I also gave him solutions for two other underlaying problems:

A) Lack of information. It is not uncommon for problems to go unsolved on the forums because the poster does not provide enough information. dpadam450 will no longer have that issue. Not only that, but providing a detailed description of what you are trying to accomplish can open up the doors to other solutions that you may not have considered.

B) Alternative Sources. GameDev.net is not the only place for solving game-related issues. Doing a simple Google search can often solve a problem much faster than posting on GameDev.net. In this scenario much time could have been saved by simply searching: "Opengl get depth".

Altogether I beleive that my post(s) where beneficial. How you (or dpadam450) choose to react to this valuable information is your choice and hardly the consequences of my posting.

Try this site: http://www.sjbaker.org/steve/omniv/love_your_z_buffer.html
Or this: http://profs.sci.univr.it/~colombar/html_openGL_tutorial/en/06depth_020.html
Or even this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-buffer

Quote:Original post by dpadam450
Actually, your posts were quite dumb. Z-depth is the depth written to the depth buffer. All I'm asking is how its calculated, whether it be GLSL or not, its calculated the same way.

Your first post talks about z-depth = 0.0, and near plane is 1.0, then your depth is 1.0.........yea thats eye depth, I'm talking about the calculation in your equation which is the z-depth.

I gave 2 examples saying here is the pipeline what am I missing, which again the other guy understood and for some reason you didn't know what I was asking. Its a standard opengl graphics pipeline problem......not GLSL or FOG or anything else.

Again in your post you talk about fog, fog is relative to eye depth, I just want the standard calculation of what is written to the depth buffer. There is NOTHING more to ask than that one sentence.

Yet again, you misunderstood my post. Because you did not give enough information to actually show what you where trying to accomplish, I took the liberty of showing you how to ask a question with a good example. Hence the EXAMPLE question I provided.

I would also like to mention that had you actually provided this information in the original post the entire situation could have been avoided. Also, I not only provided you with a way to get the depth in a GLSL shader, but many other possible solutions, including a solution to the problem that you now accuse me of not understanding.

Like I said in my last post, you can choose how to react to my posts. You have obviously chosen to take offense, and for that very reason missed the purpose of the posts and the solutions provided therein.

Perhaps you best re-read my posts with a more professional outlook. You might then notice the section about Alternative Sources. You may then try googling about your question. You may then notice the MANY solutions listed, including the ones JackTheRapper provided.

I do hope that in the future you will be courteous enough to accept the help and advice of others, even if it ruffles your feathers.