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MayaMan Shadow Options
Shadow Options
Shadows in Renders
This option controls whether the shadow maps are generated for renders.
Shadows in Previews
This option controls whether the shadow maps are generated for previews. It can be useful to have shadows disabled in previews but enabled for renders.
Consider Displacement Shaders
Usually the displacement of surfaces will not significantly affect the shadow they cast, so faster renders can be achieved by disabling the displacement shaders during shadow map creation.
Consider Surface Shaders
Some surface shaders also displace the geometry, so you may need to have surface shaders enabled to pick up displacement in your shadow maps.
Reuse Existing Shadow Maps
Shadow maps can be reused in subsequent renders. This is useful if you are constantly re-rendering a scene but the shadows are not changing.
Delete Shadow Maps After Use
If this option is on, MayaMan will delete the rendered shadow maps after the main render is complete.
Shadow Map Filtering
Use Depth Filter
This option enables the use of one of the depth map filters below.
Filter
This controls how the shadow map samples are used to generate the value actually stored in the shadow map. Using 'Min' mode stores the distance from the light to the closest surface at a given pixel. 'Max' mode stores the distance to the furthest geometry. 'Average' stores the mean of all surfaces sampled for the pixel. 'Midpoint' is the most commonly useful shadow mapping mode, and stores the distance between the min and next surfaces. This results in a kind of dynamic shadow bias, that prevents self-shadowing.
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