AAA – Analytical Anti-Aliasing
The article examines anti-aliasing techniques, especially Analytical Anti-Aliasing, discussing historical methods, practical implementations using WebGL, and the importance of clarity in rendering for high-quality visuals.
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The article discusses various anti-aliasing techniques, focusing on Analytical Anti-Aliasing (AAA). It highlights the historical context of anti-aliasing methods, including Super Sampling Anti-Aliasing (SSAA) and Multi-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (MSAA), and their respective complexities and performance costs. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding these techniques through practical implementation, using WebGL to visualize the effects of anti-aliasing on a moving circle. The article explains the technical aspects of rendering, including vertex and fragment shaders, and how they contribute to the visual quality of graphics. It also introduces the concept of "shapes" for Unity and discusses implementations by major companies like Valve Software. The author aims to demystify the process of achieving high-quality anti-aliasing, suggesting that the perfect solution may be simpler than commonly perceived. The article concludes with a call for clarity in rendering techniques, asserting that high-quality visuals should not be a luxury.
- The article explores various anti-aliasing techniques, particularly Analytical Anti-Aliasing (AAA).
- It discusses the historical development and implementation challenges of methods like SSAA and MSAA.
- Practical examples using WebGL are provided to illustrate the effects of anti-aliasing on graphics.
- The author emphasizes the importance of clarity and accessibility in rendering techniques.
- Insights into implementations by major companies, including Unity and Valve Software, are shared.
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- Many commenters praise the article for its depth and practical examples, particularly in WebGL.
- There is a shared interest in the various anti-aliasing techniques, with some users discussing their personal experiences and preferences.
- Several users express a desire for clearer explanations of anti-aliasing options in games, highlighting a need for user-friendliness.
- Some comments touch on the differences between 2D and 3D rendering, emphasizing the unique challenges each presents.
- Overall, the community shows enthusiasm for graphics programming and a desire for more resources on the subject.
17 commentsThis article will probably help for future reference though!
I've been using MSAAx4 in my rendering engine for some time and only recently have considered switching to a FXAA / TAA implementation. I'm actually not sure I'm going to go through with that now. I definitely learned a lot here, and will probably use the analytical approach for UI items, I hadn't heard about that anywhere.
Not often you see graphics-programming stuff on HN. For anyone interested in more graphics write-ups, this list of frame breakdowns is one of my favorite resources:
SDF(or mSDF) isn't the future. It's already "good enough" classic.
> This works, but performance tanks hard, as we solve every > bezier curve segment per pixel
This is "the future" or even present as used in Slug and DirectWrite with great performance
https://sluglibrary.com/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/directwrite/...
Though a little caveat from my side, as I have written both 2D and 3D rendering engines. Let me tell you, they could not be more different. It is not just another dimension but completely different goals, use-cases and expectations.
So instead of:
> Everything we talked about extends to the 3D case as well.
I would say the entire post is mostly about 3D, not 2D rendering. If you are curious about this topic being approached for 2D rendering here is a nice write-up I found about that: https://ciechanow.ski/alpha-compositing/
One particular criteria for AA techniques that no one cares about in 3D but is very relevant in 2D is correctness and bias. AAA for example is heavily biased and thus incorrect. Drawing the exact same shape multiple times in the same place will make it more opaque / darker. The same thing does not happen with MSAA which has a bounded error and is unbiased.
TAA covers all types of aliasing, while this only covers edge aliasing.
Many modern games use monte carlo based approaches for indirect lighting and other effects, which basically requires TAA.
Hmm... On my Android phone I definitely see a difference between 2x and 4x, but it's not "rounded" like the iPhone one.
Sure it's better than TAA, but come on, this can't be the ultimate end for gaming graphics... At least I hope it isn't.
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