On Fri, 05 Apr 2002 10:22:16 +0200, Thomas Willhalm <wil### [at] fmiuni-konstanzde>
wrote:
> So, what you really want is a "thick" triangle. By this I mean a triangle
> that creates a second layer on the fly possibly without needing additional
> memory. Special variants could be created where the main triangle has the
> solid texture and the other sides of your prism are clear. Such a thick
> triangle would do what you want.
> 
> I'm not sure whether this would really be much faster and produce satisfying
> results. But you're right that it's achievable.
> 

Yeah that may work.. Not sure if it is actually what the developers of the method did.
I think they
upon consideration that they simply simluted the light passing through an outer
surface, reflecting
off something on the inside, then exiting at some unexpected point as a result of
bending, etc. that
occures between the real and faked surfaces.

So your interpretation is a bit more like what I thought than perhaps the original
since you can
declare a surface, scattering and subsurface layers, while the original may assume
that no such
second layer exists. It would still be better than what is now possible, but realism
would be
improved on say human models by adding a second layer capable of showing details like
veins,
etc. I don't believe I saw any indication that this was allowed. But I don't really
have a real clear
understanding of the math involded so didn't pay that close attention to how/if it
could be used in
such a way.

As to if it is faster... Only trying it would tell. However, it has to be at least a
little easier to understand
for those of us who look at media and go, 'Huh!?!'. lol And if it was also faster then
it would make life
a lot easier for everyone where it is applicable.

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