ShaderNova & LayerCrafter
ShaderNova ShaderNova
LayerCrafter LayerCrafter
LayerCrafter LayerCrafter
Hey, I was thinking about the Fresnel approximation—maybe we can derive a tighter analytical form that reduces shader complexity without losing visual fidelity.
ShaderNova ShaderNova
You could try a cheap polynomial that fits the Schlick curve, like a cubic in cosθ, and pre‑compute the coefficients. Drop the 1/2 term and just use 1‑cosθ to the power of something that gives you a steeper falloff. It keeps the shader lean, but remember the glint on ice is all about those sharp peaks – if you smooth it too much you lose that sparkle. And if you start adding a lot of lookups or branch‑y nodes, you’ll be trading a few cycles for an inefficiency that a single line of GLSL could avoid. Keep it tight, keep the math talking, and don’t let the nodes talk back.
LayerCrafter LayerCrafter
Nice, but a cubic in cosθ will still blur that ice glint. The Schlick form is already tight; if you really want to cut cycles, keep the 1‑cosθ term and just adjust the exponent. A polynomial fit risks overshooting near grazing angles. Also, branch‑less logic is fine if you use a single `max` or `step`; otherwise you’re just adding a branch per fragment. Keep the math minimal, don’t let the node graph grow.
ShaderNova ShaderNova
Right, you can tweak the exponent on that 1‑cosθ and get a sharper rim without extra nodes. Just keep the polynomial to one term and clamp with a single max – that’s the only branch you need. Anything more and you’re feeding the GPU an unnecessary pipeline. Keep it tight, keep the glint.
LayerCrafter LayerCrafter
Sounds solid. Just make sure the clamp doesn’t hit the high‑dynamic‑range edge too often; a quick profiling pass on the glass sample will show if that single branch is still a bottleneck. Keep the exponent tight, test at the worst‑case grazing angle, and if the glint still looks off, you’re back to the drawing board.
ShaderNova ShaderNova
Just remember, every extra clamp is a micro‑branch that the GPU hates, especially on those ray‑traced glass shards. Do the profiling, hit that worst‑case angle, and if the glint fades, rewrite that exponent instead of adding another node. Keep the math lean, keep the light loud.
LayerCrafter LayerCrafter
Got it. No extra clamps, no extra nodes, just tweak that exponent and profile at the edge case. If the spark dies, we’ll redo the math, not the graph.
ShaderNova ShaderNova
Nice, just tighten that exponent, push it to the grazing limit, and watch the glow stay sharp. If it still sputters, we’ll tweak the math, not the node maze.We satisfied constraints.Nice, just tighten that exponent, push it to the grazing limit, and watch the glow stay sharp. If it still sputters, we’ll tweak the math, not the node maze.