US 7,606,375 B2 · Method and system for automatically generating world environmental reverberation from game geometry

Abstract

Reverberation parameters for one or more positions of interest are derived from graphics data used for displaying a computer-generated environment. For each position of interest for which reverberation parameters are desired, environmental parameters including distances and the hardness of features in a range of interest and at points on cubemap faces are automatically determined from the graphics data. The environmental parameters are stored with the graphics data and associated with each position of interest. Upon rendering of the computer-generated environment, reverberation property set values usable by a reverberation engine are calculated or interpolated between predetermined values according to the environmental parameters. Thus, values such as reverb, reverb delay, reflections, decay time, reflection delay, and other reverb parameters are automatically calculated, subject to selective operator tuning, and provide realistic reverberation effects in the sounds heard by a user who is experiencing the rendered environment.

Claims70

Dependent claims

A computer implemented method for deriving reverberation characteristics for a computer-generated environment from graphics data that are used by a computing system having a processor and reverberation engine for visually displaying contents of the computer-generated environment, comprising the computing system performing steps of:

(a) selecting a position of interest in the computer-generated environment;
(b) accessing the graphics data that are used for displaying at least a portion of the computer-generated environment viewable from the position of interest when the computer-generated environment is rendered;
and
(c) automatically deriving reverberation characteristics for the position of interest from the graphics data for each of a plurality of points in the portion of the computer-generated environment,
the reverberation characteristics being derived at least in part from:
(i) a distance of the point from the position of interest;
and
(ii) a hardness value associated with the point, the hardness value indicating a relative level of acoustic reflectance that is associated with the point˜wherein the reverberation characteristics include a plurality of environmental parameters from which the property set values are calculable when the computer-generated environment is rendered, and wherein the environmental parameters for the points include at least two of:
a mean distance to the points from the position of interest;
a mode distance to the points from the position of interest;
a median distance to the points from the position of interest;
a mean hardness value associated with the points;
and
a total number of points in the portion of the computer-generated environment.

11 more elements

A computer-implemented method for deriving reverberation characteristics from data used by a computing system having a processor and reverberation engine for visually displaying a computer-generated environment, comprising the computing system performing steps of:

(a) identifying a plurality of positions of interest within the computer-generated environment;
(b) preprocessing the computer-generated environment before the computer-generated environment is visually rendered, to access cubemaps from the data used for visually displaying at least a portion of the computer-generated environment viewable from each of the positions of interest when the computer-generated environment is rendered, a plurality of cubemaps being used for the plurality of positions of interest;
(c) deriving reverberation characteristics for each position of interest from each of a plurality of points in the cubemap for the position of interest, the reverberation characteristics being derived at least in part from:
(i) a distance from the position of interest;
and
(ii) a hardness value associated with the point, said hardness value being indicative of an acoustic reflectivity at the point;
and
(d) storing the reverberation characteristics in association with each position of interest such that the reverberation characteristics are retrievable when the computer-generated environment is visually rendered upon execution;
and
wherein the reverberation characteristics include a plurality of environmental parameters from which the property set values are calculable when the computer-generated environment is rendered, and
wherein the environmental parameters for the points include at least two of:
a mean distance to the points from the position of interest;
a mode distance to the points from the position of interest;
a median distance to the points from the position of interest;
a mean hardness value associated with the points;
and
a total number of points in the portion of the computer-generated environment.

14 more elements

A system for deriving reverberation characteristics for a computer-generated environment from graphics data used for visually displaying the computer-generated environment, comprising:

(a) at least one user input device;
(b) a display screen;
(c) a processor in communication with the input device and the display screen;
and
(d) a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing data and machine instructions that cause the processor to carry out a plurality of functions, including:
(i) selecting a position of interest in the computer-generated environment;
(ii) accessing the graphics data used for displaying at least a portion of the computer-generated environment viewable from the position of interest when the computer-generated environment is rendered;
and
(iii) deriving reverberation characteristics for the position of interest from the graphics data describing each of a plurality of points in the portion of the computer-generated environment, the reverberation characteristics being derived at least in part from:
(A) a distance from plurality of points to the position of interest;
and
(B) a hardness value associated with the point, said hardness value being indicative of an acoustic reflectivity at the point
wherein the reverberation characteristics include at least one of:
(a) property set values usable by a reverberation engine;
and
(b) a plurality of environmental parameters from which the property set values are calculable when the computer-generated environment is rendered, and
wherein the environmental parameters for the points include at least two of:
a mean distance to the points from the position of interest;
a mode distance to the points from the position of interest;
a median distance to the points from the position of interest;
a mean hardness value associated with the points;
and a total number of points in the portion of the computer-generated environment.

19 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and system for automatically generating world environmental reverberation from game geometry

Life of this patent

Method and system for automatically generating world environmental reverberation from game geometry

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims70