Screen-space Percentage-Closer Soft Shadows

Mahdi MohammadBagher, Jan Kautz, Nicolas Holzschuch, Cyril Soler

Abstract: We present an algorithm for computing Percentage-Closer Soft Shadows inside a screen-space rendering loop. Our algorithm is faster than traditional soft shadows based on percentage closer filtering, while providing soft shadows of similar visual quality. It combines naturally with a deferred shading pipeline, making it an ideal choice for video games. This algorithm is not only faster, but allows the use of larger shadow maps without dramatically affecting the rendering speed.