System and method for structuring an A-buffer

A non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing unit, cause the processing unit to address an A-Buffer used to store pixel information, by performing the steps of:

• receiving coordinate values that locate a pixel in an image frame and a depth complexity value specifying a depth complexity of a fragment associated with the pixel;
• computing array coordinates based on the coordinate values and a tile size;
• determining an array offset based on the array coordinates;
• computing a tile offset based on the array offset and the depth complexity value;
• converting the coordinate values to tile coordinates that locate the pixel in a tile;
• and
• locating the pixel within the tile based on the tile offset and the tile coordinates.

A computer system, comprising:

• a memory that includes an A-Buffer configured to store pixel information;
• and
• a processing unit configured to address the A-Buffer by:
• receiving coordinate values that locate a pixel in an image frame and a depth complexity value specifying a depth complexity of a fragment associated with the pixel,
• computing array coordinates based on the coordinate values and a tile size;
• determining an array offset based on the array coordinates,
• computing a tile offset based on the array offset and the depth complexity value,
• converting the coordinate values to tile coordinates that locate the pixel in a tile, and
• locating the pixel within the tile based on the tile offset and the tile coordinates.