Alpha to coverage

Alpha to coverage is a multisampling computer graphics technique useful for situations where dense foliage or grass must be rendered in a video game.[1]

This technique uses the alpha channel of textures as a coverage mask for anti-aliasing.

Alpha to coverage multisampling is based on regular multisampling, except that the alpha coverage mask is ANDed with the multisample mask. Alpha-to-coverage converts the alpha component output from the pixel shader to a coverage mask. When the multisampling is applied each output fragment gets a transparency of 0 or 1 depending on alpha coverage and the multisampling result.

References

  1. "Configuring Blending Functionality (Windows)". Microsoft Developer Network. Retrieved 2013-01-27. Alpha-to-coverage is a multisampling technique that is most useful for situations such as dense foliage where there are several overlapping polygons that use alpha transparency to define edges within the surface

External links

See also


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