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sample-rate / per-sample shading

Running a pixel's shading calculation separately for each anti-aliasing sample instead of once for the whole pixel.

With multisample anti-aliasing (MSAA), each pixel holds several sub-samples for smoother edges, but normally the fragment shader runs just once per pixel and the result is shared. Per-sample shading forces the shader to run at each sample independently, giving higher quality (especially inside pixels with detail) at a much higher cost.

See also

  • shaderA small program that runs on the GPU to compute part of how a scene is drawn.
  • SSAAAn anti-aliasing method that renders the whole image at higher resolution then shrinks it for smooth edges.
  • screen-space derivativeHow fast a value changes from one pixel to the next on screen, computed by comparing neighboring pixels.

Referenced by

scissor · screen-space derivative · SSAA