Projected Shadows Maps

The Project Shadow Map shadow system is an approximation that works well in some circumstances, but has different defects in others.

It is not a generic solution to create cast shadows everywhere, but it is an ad-hoc system that must be used with care and only on those meshes that make sense in the scene that cast or receive shadows.

We recommend that you start the setup of a scene by assigning the cast or receive flags only to some objects, in order to see if the thing works or where errors occur.

How it works

Each shadow is generated in a texture and then projected onto the scene.

Based on the parameters of the light, it is possible to generate a texture:

• By object, such as mesh or human.

• That contains multiple objects.

Lights

Shadows are cast by the lights in the scene.

For details about the parameters of the lights related to the shadows, see Lights (Legacy 3DS MAX).

How to activate Project Shadow Maps

Projected Shadow Maps are based on the type of rendering technique currently used by engine.

Each technique can have different parameters and operations.

At the moment they work only in the following technique:

•  DOF HDR B

Objects that support Project Shadow Maps

Not all types of objects in the engine can cast or receive shadows. See the Supported Objects section in Shadow Maps.

Notes

• When a texture must contain more objects, there is less detail because the pixels are subdivided for the n objects.

• On the other hand, if a texture contains one object, then all the pixels are dedicated to it and the detail is greater.

• The quality of the shadow depends on the size of the texture, as specified by the light parameters.

• Each light can have a custom size texture.

Possible issues

See Possible Issues.