Parallax Occlusion Mapping Using Distance Fields

摘要

Parallax occlusion mapping (POM) is a technique to introduce 3D definition using a depth map instead of adding new geometry. The technique relies on ray tracing with higher samples resulting in a better approximation, especially at steeper angles. The distance between each sample is constant and it is possible to skip over fine detail at lower sample count. Our technique relies on a distance field (DF) instead of a depth map. This allows us to ray march through the field and lower the sample count considerably. We can get good results even with a single sample. Comparable results are obtained by less than half the samples of the industry standard POM approach.