Multithreaded Paraboloid Mapping - Practical Rendering and Computation with Direct3D 11 - page 591

With this rendering configuration, we can now render reflective objects in the reflec-
tions of other reflective objects. This can lead to multiple reflections being performed be-
tween objects, producing a "hall of mirrors" effect. The results of this rendering technique
are shown in Figure 13.11.

13.3 Multithreading Scenario

While rendering reflections based on an object's surroundings is an interesting and effec-
tive technique, we developed these effects in order to stress the multithreading capabilities
of Direct3D 11, and to gain an insight into how they function. To perform some perfor-
mance analysis, we will first define our test scene and some of the characteristics that it will
exhibit. After we have a defined scene to test with, we will describe the variables that we
will use in our testing setup, and why they are chosen, including the number of threads be-
ing used and the number of rendering passes being performed (which is roughly equivalent
to the number of reflective objects in the scene).

13.3.1 Scene Definition

Our test scene will include a number of different reflective objects, each of which will
require a separate rendering pass to generate the needed paraboloid maps. In addition, the
final rendering sequence that uses all of the various paraboloid maps to render the reflec-
tive objects in the scene will also be considered as another rendering pass. All together,
we will need one scene rendering for each reflective object, plus the final rendering for
presenting the results of the scene render-
ing. Figure 13.12 provides a basic layout of
the scene and depicts which objects will be
reflective and which will use traditional ren-
dering techniques.
For each reflective object that will be
rendered, we must render the entire scene
from its current location to generate the
paraboloid environment maps. Once this
has been performed for all of the reflec-
tive objects, the final rendering pass can be
performed, which will also render all of the
objects within the scene one last time. This
more or less means that for every rendering

Figure 13.12. The general layout of our test
scene, with objects in the center of the scene that
will use a reflective material.