Terrain Rendering Texture Coordinate Correction

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Solution Overview

Problem

The heightmap-based terrain rendering technique often results in irregular texture parameterization in world space, leading to accentuated stretching of texture data along terrain slopes, which is inefficient and incompatible with certain rendering techniques.

Innovation Solution

A method that involves producing a new set of vertices from the original set of vertices in a terrain mesh, calculating revised positions based on distances to neighboring vertices, and combining texture coordinates using weighted sums to obtain improved texture coordinates for each vertex.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If heightmap-based terrain rendering with uniform mesh grid is used, then terrain rendering is simplified and fast, but texture stretching occurs along terrain slopes

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveterrain rendering speedVSAvoidtexture parameterization uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The terrain mesh is segmented into multiple patches, where each patch is processed independently to compute corrected texture coordinates. This allows the rendering system to maintain the speed benefits of uniform mesh grids while applying localized corrections to eliminate texture stretching in sloped regions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent modifies the texture coordinate parameters by computing corrected coordinates that account for terrain slope variations. Instead of using simple projected coordinates, the system calculates adjusted coordinates that compensate for the irregular parameterization caused by heightmap displacement, thereby eliminating texture stretching while maintaining rendering efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Manufacturing precision

If triplanar mapping is used to reduce texture stretching, then texture appearance improves, but rendering speed decreases and compatibility with terrain splatting is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetexture parameterization uniformityVSAvoidrendering speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using triplanar mapping's complex three-directional projection approach, the patent directly corrects the texture coordinate parameters by computing adjusted coordinates that account for terrain geometry. This achieves similar texture uniformity benefits while maintaining rendering speed and compatibility with terrain splatting techniques.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts and corrects only the specific texture coordinate parameterization issue without adopting the entire triplanar mapping system. By isolating and addressing the coordinate calculation problem, the system achieves texture uniformity improvement while avoiding the performance overhead and compatibility issues of full triplanar mapping.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Ease of manufacture

If implicit parameterization is used for terrain texturing, then implementation is simple, but texture stretching and irregular parameterization occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetexture mapping simplicityVSAvoidtexture parameterization uniformity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent modifies the implicit parameterization approach by introducing corrected texture coordinates that compensate for terrain slope effects. The system maintains the simplicity of implicit parameterization while adjusting the coordinate values to eliminate stretching, achieving both ease of implementation and texture uniformity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS11100707B2Computer graphics method for terrain rendering
Publication Date: 2021.08.24 SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
  • US11100707B2 patent drawing
  • US11100707B2 patent drawing
  • US11100707B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A computer-implemented graphics processing method, which comprises providing an original set of vertices of a terrain mesh; producing a new set of vertices from the original set of vertices; and, for a given vertex in the original set of vertices: (i) obtaining texture coordinates for vertices in a subset of vertices in the new set of vertices that corresponds to the given vertex in the original set of vertices; and (ii) combining the obtained texture coordinates to obtain a texture coordinate for the given vertex in the original set of vertices. The combining may comprise determining a weighted sum of the obtained texture coordinates, and the weights may be the weights for which the given vertex in the original set of vertices is the centroid of a polygon formed by the corresponding vertices in the new set of vertices.