Graphics Programming weekly - Issue 109 — December 1, 2019


PowerVR PerfDoc – Performance Validation for PowerVR

  • fork of the PerfDoc performance layer to detect performance issues on PowerVR hardware
  • the article provides an overview of performance issues that the layer can detect and possible improvements


Exploring SculptrVR’s efficient lighting solution for the Oculus Quest

  • the article provides an overview of the lighting model used by SculptrVR
  • designed for the hardware constraints of the occulus quest
  • it’s based on the Phong lighting and supports clay, metal, and glowing materials


NVIDIA Variable Rate Shading Demonstrated in Autodesk VRED

  • the article provides an easy to understand overview of Variable Rate Shading
  • shows what quality and performance can be expected with different modes


Partial Derivatives (fwidth)

  • the tutorial explains the ddx and ddy shader functions
  • provides a visualization of its effects
  • shows how to use fwidth to antialias a cutoff transition from a gradient


Making a Glass Shader, Part 1: GrabPass & Refraction

  • the Unity tutorial shows how to use transparency to create a look through the object
  • later uses a grab pass (copy of the screen buffer before a draw call starts) to implement a glass appearance material


Making a Glass Shader, Part 2: Highlights & Reflections

  • part 2 of the shader glass material shader tutorial with Unity
  • extends the standard lighting model to feature stringer rim lighting, stronger highlights, and a more cartoony overall look


Directional Lights Direct Illumination

  • this Unity tutorial shows how to use the scriptable rendering pipeline to implement up to 4 directional lights
  • the shading model is based on the default physically-based unity BRDF
  • additionally shows how to deal with transparency and implement a custom material UI


YUV sampling in Vulkan – a niche and complicated feature – VK_KHR_ycbcr_sampler_conversion

  • the article provides a brief overview of the YUV/YCbCr colorspace and a few complications with it
  • then show how to use the ycbcr_sampler_conversion to sample YUV textures from a shader more efficiently


Positional Effects (Scattered Objects Moving Back / Growing Flowers)

  • brief unity tutorial that shows how to implement effects that are based on the player position
  • such as flowers spawning around the player, or stones moving to form a path in front of the player


RGB/XYZ Conversion Matrix Accuracy

  • the article shows the matrices between XYZ colors and sRGB colors
  • these numbers vary from the ones found in Real-Time Rendering and Physically Based Rendering
  • the author explains how he derived the values and why they are correct


Thanks to Graham Wihlidal for support of this series.


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