System, method, and computer program product for real-time shading of computer generated images

A method for real-time shading of a computer generated image, comprising the steps of:

• storing at least one shading procedure in a memory, the at least one shading procedure having been produced by:
• (1) receiving a shading function,
• (2) identifying in the shading function at least one candidate block of code for simplification,
• (3) generating, for each candidate block of code identified in step (2), at least one simplified block of code that can be substituted for the candidate block of code during image rendering, p2 (4) associating each candidate block of code identified in step (2) and each simplified block of code generated in step (3) with at least one input parameter, and
• (5) assembling each candidate block of code identified in step (2) and each simplified block of code generated in step (3) into a level of detail shading function;
• specifying the state of the at least one input parameter;
• and
• rendering an object in real-time using at least one block of code selected from the at least one shading procedure based on the state of the at least one input parameter.

A system for real-time shading of a computer generated image, comprising:

• means for storing at least one shading procedure in a memory, the at least one shading procedure having been produced by:
• (1) receiving a shading function,
• (2) identifying in the shading function at least one candidate block of code for simplification,
• (3) generating, for each candidate block of code identified in step (2), at least one simplified block of code that can be substituted for the candidate block of code during image rendering,
• (4) associating each candidate block of code identified in step (2) and each simplified block of code generated in step (3) with at least one input parameter, and
• (5) assembling each candidate block of code identified in step (2) and each simplified block of code generated in step (3) into a level of detail shading function, wherein the at least one input parameter is used to select at least one block of code that is to be used to shade an object during rendering of the object;
• means for specifying the state of the at least one input parameter;
• and
• means for rendering an object in real-time using at least one block of code selected from the at least one shading procedure based on the state of the at least one input parameter.

A computer program product for producing a shading procedure for realtime rendering of computer images, said computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for controlling a processor, said computer program logic comprising:

• a procedure for receiving a shading function;
• a procedure for identifying in the shading function at least one candidate block of code for simplification;
• a procedure for generating, for each identified candidate block of code, at least one simplified block of code that can be substituted for the candidate block of code during image rendering;
• a procedure for associating each identified candidate block of code and each generated simplified block of code with at least one input parameter;
• and
• a procedure for assembling each identified candidate block of code and each generated simplified block of code into a level of detail shading function, wherein the at least one input parameter is used to select at least one block of code that is to be used to shade an object during rendering of the object.

A computer program product for real-time shading of a computer generated image, said computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for controlling a processor, said computer program logic comprising:

• a procedure for storing at least one shading procedure in a memory, the at least one shading procedure having been produced by:
• (1) receiving a shading function,
• (2) identifying in the shading function at least one candidate block of code for simplification,
• (3) generating, for each candidate block of code identified in step (2), at least one simplified block of code that can be substituted for the candidate block of code during image rendering,
• (4) associating each candidate block of code identified in step (2) and each simplified block of code generated in step (3) with at least one input parameter, and
• (5) assembling each candidate block of code identified in step (2) and each simplified block of code generated in step (3) into a level of detail shading function;
• a procedure for specifying the state of the at least one input parameter;
• and
• a procedure for rendering an object in real-time using at least one block of code selected from the at least one shading procedure based on the state of the at least one input parameter.

A system for producing a shading procedure for real-time rendering of computer images, comprising:

• a module that receives a shading function;
• a module that identifies in the shading function at least one candidate block of code for simplification;
• a module that generates, for each candidate block of code identified, at least one simplified block of code that can be substituted for the candidate block of code during image rendering;
• a module that associates related candidate blocks of code and simplified blocks of code with at least one input parameter;
• a module that assembles related candidate blocks of code and simplified blocks of code into a level of detail shading function, wherein the at least one input parameter is used to select at least one block of code that is to be used to shade an object during rendering of the object;
• and
• a module that stores the level of detail shading function in a computer readable medium.