Level of Detail for 3D Graphics.Pdf
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Critical Acclaim for Level of Detail for 3D Graphics I’m really happy with what Luebke et al. have created. It’s exactly what I would want to find on the shelf if I needed to implement some LOD techniques in a game. The book gives both a survey of existing techniques and some specific examples of LOD use, which is what makes it uniquely valuable. If you’re a game developer who is just starting out, and you want to come up to speed on the state of the art in LOD, you can read through the initial chapters to familiarize yourself with the important concepts. On the other hand, if you’re familiar with LOD techniques but perhaps not how to use them in a real-time system, you can jump straight to the game development and terrain rendering chapters. Great stuff! Theextensivesetofreferencesattheendofthebookisquitenicetohaveaswell. One of the challenges in implementing a cutting-edge technique and altering it to suit your application is understanding the algorithm to its core. It’s invaluable having all of those references in one place, so that you can easily find the exact paper where the technique you want to implement was first detailed. Mark DeLoura Manager of Developer Relations, Sony Computer Entertainment America Creator, Game Programming Gems series A fantastic and well-written book, filled with a lot of very useful information. There is no other like it on the market. The concept of level of detail is an important one in the field of computer graph- ics, dating back to James Clark’s 1976 Communications of the ACM paper entitled “Hierarchic al Geometric Models for Visible Surface Algorithms.” Current books on graphics discuss only the basics of level of detail and present one or more of a small number of algorithms on the topic. The field has evolved greatly over the last decade to the point where there is a lot more to say about it. Level of Detail for 3D Graphics says it all! This is the first and only book that provides a comprehensive coverage about level of detail. At a high level, the book is organized into three parts. The first concerns theory and algorithms for generation of level of detail. The second discusses applications, including optimizations for game programming and level of detail for terrain. The third details advanced issues, includ- ing a discussion on visual systems and on temporal level of detail. At a low level, the book is well written and the authors cover the topics in meticulous detail. Not only are the algorithms themselves presented but comparisons are made between them so you know which one is the best choice for your application. This book is packed with information. When you are finished reading it, all you will be able to say is “Wow!” Level of Detail for 3D Graphics is absolutely a must-have book for practitioners in any graphics field including game programming, scientific or medical visualization, computer aided design, or virtual reality systems. Dave Eberly President, Magic Software, Inc. Team LRN A comprehensive presentation of the terminology, theory, and practice of mesh sim- plification. Includes extensive references to Web-accessible source code and data. This book will find a choice spot on my bookshelf. Will Schroeder Cofounder, Kitware, Inc. I like the writing style of the book! The first three chapters nicely outline and divide concepts that have been floating around the literature. The book presents a good classification of algorithms and their general strategies and variations. I hope this classification extends to the research community and fosters better communication among researchers. The applications section gives a solid glimpse into the issues and complexities that arise when developing geometry-rendering systems for real and large applications. The advanced issues section is very enlightening! The summary of perceptual issues and the ideas for measuring visual fidelity will help both new and experienced researchers develop novel and revolutionary algorithms to take level-of-detail work to the next stage. The book does a great job of piecing together years of work and presenting it in an organized fashion. This betters the understanding for both new and experienced researchers, and it provides a mechanism to put researchers on the same wavelength, thus promoting better communication. In addition, the advanced issues section of the book contains several forward-looking concepts that hopefully will take level-of- detail work to the next stage! Daniel Aliaga Computer Graphics Researcher Bell Laboratories Team LRN Level of Detail for 3D Graphics Team LRN The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling Series Editor: Brian A. Barsky, University of California, Berkeley Level of Detail for 3D Graphics Andrew Glassner’s Notebook: Recreational Computer David Luebke, Martin Reddy, Jonathan D. Cohen, Graphics Amitabh Varshney, Benjamin Watson, and Robert Andrew S. Glassner Huebner Warping and Morphing of Graphical Objects Geometric Tools for Computer Graphics Jonas Gomes, Lucia Darsa, Bruno Costa, and Luiz Philip Schneider and David Eberly Velho Texturing & Modeling: A Procedural Approach, Jim Blinn’s Corner: Dirty Pixels Third Edition Jim Blinn David S. Ebert, F. Kenton Musgrave, Darwyn Peachey, Rendering with Radiance: The Art and Science of Ken Perlin, and Steven Worley Lighting Visualization Greg Ward Larson and Rob Shakespeare Jim Blinn’s Corner: Notation, Notation, Notation Jim Blinn Introduction to Implicit Surfaces Edited by Jules Bloomenthal Understanding Virtual Reality Jim Blinn’s Corner: A Trip Down the Graphics Pipeline William Sherman and Alan Craig Jim Blinn Digital Video and HDTV Algorithms and Interfaces Interactive Curves and Surfaces: A Multimedia Tutorial Charles Poynton on CAGD Pyramid Algorithms: A Dynamic Programming Ap- Alyn Rockwood and Peter Chambers proach to Curves and Surfaces for Geometric Modeling Wavelets for Computer Graphics: Theory and Applica- Ron Goldman tions Non-Photorealistic Computer Graphics: Modeling, Ren- Eric J. Stollnitz, Tony D. DeRose, and David H. Salesin dering, and Animation Principles of Digital Image Synthesis Thomas Strothotte and Stefan Schlechtweg Andrew S. Glassner Curves and Surfaces for CAGD: A Practical Guide, Radiosity & Global Illumination Fifth Edition Fran¸cois X. Sillion and Claude Puech Gerald Farin Knotty: A B-Spline Visualization Program Jonathan Yen Subdivision Methods for Geometric Design: A Construc- tive Approach User Interface Management Systems: Models and Algo- Joe Warren and Henrik Weimer rithms Dan R. Olsen, Jr. Computer Animation: Algorithms and Techniques Rick Parent Making Them Move: Mechanics, Control, and Anima- tion of Articulated Figures The Computer Animator’s Technical Handbook Edited by Norman I. Badler, Brian A. Barsky, and Lynn Pocock and Judson Rosebush David Zeltzer Advanced RenderMan: Creating CGI for Motion Pictures Geometric and Solid Modeling: An Introduction Anthony A. Apodaca and Larry Gritz Christoph M. Hoffmann Curves and Surfaces in Geometric Modeling: Theory and An Introduction to Splines for Use in Computer Graphics Algorithms and Geometric Modeling Jean Gallier Richard H. Bartels, John C. Beatty, and Brian A. Barsky Team LRN Level of Detail for 3D Graphics David Luebke University of Virginia Martin Reddy SRI International Jonathan D. Cohen Johns Hopkins University Amitabh Varshney University of Maryland Benjamin Watson Northwestern University Robert Huebner Nihilistic Software Team LRN Publishing Director Diane Cerra Assistant Publishing Services Manager Edward Wade Production Editor Howard Severson Senior Developmental Editor Marilyn Alan Cover Design Frances Baca Cover Image Shaun Egan / Stone Text Design Rebecca Evans & Associates Illustration Dartmouth Publishing Industries Composition Windfall Software, using ZzTEX Copyeditor Barbara Kohl Proofreader James Gaglione Indexer Bill Meyers Printer Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks or registered trademarks. In all instances in which Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is aware of a claim, the product names appear in initial capital or all capital letters. Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies for more complete information regarding trademarks and registration. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers An imprint of Elsevier Science 340 Pine Street, Sixth Floor San Francisco, CA 94104-3205, USA www.mkp.com © 2003 by Elsevier Science (USA) All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America 070605040354321 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or trans- mitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Control Number: 2002107328 ISBN: 1-55860-838-9 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Team LRN To Emily Luebke, Genevieve Vidanes, Suzy Maska, Poonam Gupta, and Polly Watson Team LRN Team LRN Foreword Frederick P. Brooks, Jr. Kenan Professor of Computer Science University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A perennial goal (by no means the only one) of computer graphics is to produce visual evocations of virtual worlds that look real. This is a formidable challenge for modeling, for illumination, and then for rendering on displays of limited resolution and limited dynamic range. For interactive computer graphics, this challenge is aggravated by the necessity of rendering a new picture 25–30 times per second for each eye so that the whole task must be done in 17 milliseconds or so. Modeling and model management is perhaps the biggest part of the challenge. The God-made world looks real because it is everywhere and is dense in detail, far below visual resolution. Any of our models of real world scenes are limited to fewer than a billion primitives (usually colored, shaded triangles.) The strategy by which the overall challenge has been tackled is conceptually very simple: People devise algorithms so that the primitives actually fed into the graphics pipeline are (almost) only those that will be seen and noticed by the viewer of the final image. Thus, view-frustum culling eliminates primitives outside the field of view, re- calculated frame by frame.