2009

Left: Default shadows
Right: Increasing the Bias value separates the shadow from the object.
If the Bias value is too low, shadows can "leak" through places they shouldn't,
produce moire patterns or making out-of-place dark areas on meshes. If Bias
is too high, shadows can "detach" from an object. If the Bias value is too
extreme in either direction, shadows might not be rendered at all.
This value depends on whether Absolute Map Bias is on or off:
■ When Absolute is off (the default), Bias is calculated based on the scene
extents, and then normalized to one. This provides similar default shadow
results, regardless of scene size. User adjustments to Bias are typically low
decimal values near 1.0 (for example, 1.2).
■ When Absolute is on, Bias is a value in 3ds Max units. User adjustments
to Bias depend on the size of the scene, and can range from values close
to zero to values in the hundreds (see the Tip at the end of this topic).
5136 | Chapter 18 Lights and Cameras