Systems and methods for fast real-time rendering of multiple light sources

• US 8,368,693 B2
• Filed: 08/20/2008
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Take-Two Interactive Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Take-Two Interactive Software Incorporated
• Inventors: Nagarajan, Mathi, Wyborn, Rowan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phu K
• Application Number:
  US12/195,410
• Publication Number:
  US 20100045676A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,630 Days
• Field of Search: 345/426, 345/428, 345/503, 345/660, 345/419, 345/506, 345/613, 345/614
• US Class Current: 345/426
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/50 Lighting effects

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for the efficient rendering of multiple light sources, each controlled individually, in a single pass. An example embodiment encodes the light sources in a texture map, such as DXT. Each channel of the multi-channel texture map encodes data associated with a light source. The pixel shader then renders multiple light sources according to the multiple channels of the texture. Additionally, the pixel shader may render multiple textures, and thus render an even greater number of individual light sources. In a further embodiment, the rendering of a plurality of individually controlled light sources is accomplished in a single pass.

Claims

1. A method performed via a processor for rendering individual lights in a graphics environment, comprising:

storing a plurality of sets of data in a single texture, where each set of data is associated with a different light source in the graphics environment, and

rendering a display of a graphic environment that includes a surface affected by at least some light sources, where the rendering includes rendering specular reflection effects on the surface for each light affecting the surface, where a first specular reflection effect from a first light source is independent of a second specular reflection effect from a second light source.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering is done in a single pass.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the texture contains a plurality of channels and one set of data is stored in a single channel of the texture.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the texture is a DXT texture.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

executing software that includes graphics environments, wherein the display is based at least in part on the executing software.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the executing includes adjusting the color or intensity of a particular light source, where the adjustment is independent of every other light source;

wherein the display includes a surface affected by at least some of the light sources; and

wherein rendering includes rendering an effect of the particular light source on the surface and rendering effect(s) of the other light sources on the surface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing includes storing a plurality of sets of data in a plurality of textures, wherein at least one texture stores a plurality of sets of data;

and

wherein the rendering includes rendering multiple light sources based at least in part on the plurality of textures, wherein the rendering is performed in a single pass.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the rendering includes rendering multiple light sources based at least in part on the plurality of sets of data.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

pre-processing an attenuation map for each light source.

10. A system for rendering individual lights in a graphics environment, comprising:

a memory;

a processor configured to store, in the memory, a plurality of sets of data in a single texture, where each set of data is associated with a light source in the graphics environment; and

the processor configured to render a display of a graphic environment that includes a surface affected by at least some light sources, where the rendering includes rendering specular reflection effects on the surface for each light affecting the surface, where a first specular reflection effect from a first light source is independent of a second specular reflection effect from a second light source.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to render in a single pass.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the texture contains a plurality of channels and the processor is configured to store one set of data in a single channel of the texture.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the texture is a DXT texture.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to execute software that includes graphics environments, wherein the display is based at least in part on the executed software.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein being configured to execute includes adjusting the color or intensity of a particular light source, where the adjustment is independent of every other light source;

wherein the display includes a surface affected by at least some of the light sources; and

wherein being configured to render includes being configured to render an effect of the particular light source on the surface and being configured to render effect(s) of the other light sources on the surface.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to store a plurality of sets of data in a plurality of textures, wherein at least one texture stores a plurality of sets of data;

and

wherein the processor is configured to render, in a single pass, multiple light sources based at least in part on the plurality of textures.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to render multiple light sources based at least in part on the plurality of sets of data.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to pre-process an attenuation map for each light source.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions configured to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the performance of a method, comprising:

storing a plurality of sets of data in a single texture, where each set of data is associated with a light source in the graphics environment, and

rendering a display of a graphic environment that includes a surface affected by at least some of the light sources, where the rendering includes rendering specular reflection effects on the surface for each light affecting the surface, where a first specular reflection effect is independent of a second specular reflection effect.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the storing includes storing a plurality of sets of data in a plurality of textures, wherein at least one texture stores a plurality of sets of data, wherein the color of each light source is adjustable independent of the color of any other light source;

and

wherein the rendering includes rendering multiple light sources based at least in part on the plurality of textures, wherein the rendering is performed in a single-pass.