User Manual

Shadows
Since the projector is based on a spotlight, it is also capable of casting shadows using shadow
maps. The controls under this reveal are used to define the size and behavior of the
shadow map.
 Enable Shadows: The Enable Shadows checkbox should be selected if the light is to
produce shadows. This defaults to selected.
 Shadow Color: Use this standard Color control to set the color of the shadow.
This defaults to black (0, 0, 0).
 Density: The Shadow Density determines the transparency of the shadow. A density of
1.0 produces a completely transparent shadow, whereas lower values make the shadow
transparent.
 Shadow Map Size: The Shadow Map Size control determines the size of the bitmap
used to create the shadow map. Larger values produce more detailed shadow maps at
the expense of memory and performance.
 Shadow Map Proxy: The Shadow Map Proxy determines the size of the shadow
map used for proxy and auto proxy calculations. A value of 0.5 would use a 50%
shadow map.
 Multiplicative/Additive Bias: Shadows are essentially textures applied to objects in the
scene, so there is occasionally Z-fighting, where the portions of the object that should
be receiving the shadows render over the top of the shadow instead.
 Multiplicative and Additive Bias: Bias works by adding a small depth offset to move
the shadow away from the surface it is shadowing, eliminating the Z-fighting. Too little
bias and the objects can self-shadow themselves. Too much bias and the shadow can
become separated from the surface. Adjust the multiplicative bias first, then fine tune
the result using the additive bias control.
 Force All Materials Non-Transmissive: Normally, an RGBAZ shadow map is used when
rendering shadows. By enabling this option, you are forcing the renderer to use a
Z-only shadow map. This can lead to significantly faster shadow rendering while using a
fifth as much memory. The disadvantage is that you can no longer cast “stained-glass”-
like shadows.
 Shadow Map Sampling: Sets the quality for sampling of the shadow map.
 Softness: Soft edges in shadows are produced by filtering the shadow map when it
is sampled. Fusion provides three separate filtering methods that produce different
effects when rendering shadows.
–
None: Shadows have a hard edge. No filtering of the shadow map is done at all. The
advantage of this method is that you only have to sample one pixel in the shadow
map, so it is fast.
–
Constant: Shadow edges have a constant softness. A filter with a constant width
is used when sampling the shadow map. Adjusting the Constant Softness slider
controls the size of the filter. Note that the larger you make the filter, the longer it
takes to render the shadows. If the Softness is set to constant, then a Constant slider
appears. It can be used to set the overall softness of the shadow.
–
Variable: The softness of shadow edges grows the farther away the shadow
receiver is from the shadow caster. The variable softness is achieved by changing
the size of the filter based on the distance between the receiver and caster.
When this option is selected, the Softness Falloff, Min Softness and Max Softness
sliders appear.
Chapter – 80 3D Nodes 1689