2008

An Integrated Solution
Although the ray-tracing and radiosity algorithms are very different, they are
in many ways complementary. Each technique has advantages and
disadvantages.
DisadvantagesAdvantagesLighting
Algorithm
Computationally
expensive. The
Accurately ren-
ders direct illumi-
Ray-Trac-
ing
time required tonation, shadows,
produce an imagespecular reflec-
is greatly affectedtions, and trans-
parency effects.
Memory Efficient
by the number of
light sources.
Process must be
repeated for each
view (view depen-
dent).
Doesn’t account
for diffuse inter-
reflections.
3D mesh requires
more memory
Calculates diffuse
interreflections
between surfaces.
Provides view in-
dependent solu-
Radiosity
than the original
surfaces.
Surface sampling
algorithm is moretions for fast dis-
susceptible toplay of arbitrary
views. imaging artifacts
than ray-tracing.Offers immediate
visual results. Doesn’t account
for specular reflec-
tions or trans-
parency effects.
Neither radiosity nor ray-tracing offers a complete solution for simulating all
global illumination effects. Radiosity excels at rendering diffuse-to-diffuse
inter-reflections, and ray-tracing excels at rendering specular reflections. By
integrating both techniques with a production quality scanline rendering
system, 3ds Max offers the best of both worlds. After you create a radiosity
Default Scanline Renderer Rollout | 5985