2008

Higher sample range causes soft-edged shadows.
Sample Range affects the softness of the edge of
shadow-mapped shadows
on page 7927 . The sample range determines how much area within the shadow
is averaged.
Small values reduce the area that is averaged, effectively bringing the edge of
the shadow inward, producing sharper-edged shadows. Sharper edges can
cause aliasing.
Large values extend the area that is averaged, effectively bringing the edge of
the shadow outward, producing softer-edged shadows. Soft-edged shadows
have more antialiasing. The effect is somewhat like the falloff of a soft-edged
spotlight.
The default Sample Range value is 4. The Sample Range value can be any
floating-point number from 0 to 20. Values of 2 to 5 are recommended. Values
below 3 can produce coarse-edged shadows. You can reduce this effect by
increasing the map size.
Values greater than 5 can produce streaking and moiré patterns. You can
reduce this effect by increasing the map size or the Bias value.
Rendering time increases exponentially as the Sample Range value increases.
Sampling (mental ray Renderer)
Sampling is an antialiasing technique. It provides a "best guess" color for each
rendered pixel. The
mental ray renderer on page 6039 first samples the scene
7914 | Glossary