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{{++}} The result is much sharper and clearer than post-processing methods
 
{{++}} The result is much sharper and clearer than post-processing methods
 
{{--}} Usually more taxing on resources
 
{{--}} Usually more taxing on resources
 +
 +
===Supersampling (SSAA)===
 +
{{ii}} Also known as '''Fullscreen Anti-Aliasing (FSAA)'''
 +
{{ii}} Applies the general anti-aliasing formula to fullscreen images, reducing the "staircase effect".  When compared to a rendered image undergoing MSAA, a SSAA/FSAA image will appear smoother.
 +
{{--}} Has largely been replaced by MSAA due to the huge stress it puts on the GPU, but due to the better result that it provides, some games still adopt it as an option in the in-game settings.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-aliasing#Super_sampling_.2F_full-scene_anti-aliasing</ref>
  
 
===Multisample Anti-Aliasing (MSAA)===
 
===Multisample Anti-Aliasing (MSAA)===
{{ii}} Essentially a 'budget' version of supersampling
+
{{ii}} Essentially a "budget" version of Supersampling
 
{{++}} To reduce the stress that SSAA/FSAA puts on a system, Multisampling optimises the process by evaluating each pixel only once, with true supersampling only occurring at the edges of a rendered object, and to depth values. This results in a similar (but less drastic) improvement in visual quality whilst reducing the load put on the system to render and downscale such high resolutions.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multisample_anti-aliasing</ref>
 
{{++}} To reduce the stress that SSAA/FSAA puts on a system, Multisampling optimises the process by evaluating each pixel only once, with true supersampling only occurring at the edges of a rendered object, and to depth values. This results in a similar (but less drastic) improvement in visual quality whilst reducing the load put on the system to render and downscale such high resolutions.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multisample_anti-aliasing</ref>
  
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{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} GeForce 8000 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>https://www.nvidia.com/object/coverage-sampled-aa.html</ref>
 
{{ii}} GeForce 8000 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>https://www.nvidia.com/object/coverage-sampled-aa.html</ref>
{{ii}} Aims to further reduce the additional stress that MSAA puts on the system, with nVidia claiming that a CSAA-rendered image will rival 8x-16x MSAA whilst only putting a load on the system comparable to 4x MSAA. It does this by reducing the number of settings each sample determines (by creating a new sample for coverage) whilst increasing the overall number of samples.
+
{{++}} Aims to further reduce the additional stress that MSAA puts on the system, with nVidia claiming that a CSAA-rendered image will rival 8x-16x MSAA whilst only putting a load on the system comparable to 4x MSAA. It does this by reducing the number of settings each sample determines (by creating a new sample for coverage) whilst increasing the overall number of samples.
  
 
===Quincunx Super Anti-Aliasing (QSAA)===
 
===Quincunx Super Anti-Aliasing (QSAA)===
Line 49: Line 54:
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} GeForce GTX 900 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/supported-gpus</ref>
 
{{ii}} GeForce GTX 900 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)<ref>http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/supported-gpus</ref>
{{ii}} According to nVidia it reduces performance cost while used with high resolutions and is more flexible to needs of different game engines due to its programmability.<ref>http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/technology</ref>
+
{{++}} According to nVidia it reduces performance cost while used with high resolutions and is more flexible to needs of different game engines due to its programmability.<ref>http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/mfaa/technology</ref>
 
{{--}} One note of importance is that MFAA doesn't function properly below 40FPS. Below that threshold, MFAA causes smearing and blurring in motion.<ref>http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=5137412&postcount=3109</ref>
 
{{--}} One note of importance is that MFAA doesn't function properly below 40FPS. Below that threshold, MFAA causes smearing and blurring in motion.<ref>http://forums.guru3d.com/showpost.php?p=5137412&postcount=3109</ref>
 
===Supersampling (SSAA)===
 
{{ii}} Also known as '''Fullscreen Anti-Aliasing (FSAA)'''
 
{{ii}} Applies the general anti-aliasing formula to fullscreen images, reducing the 'staircase effect' mentioned above.  When compared to a rendered image undergoing MSAA, a SSAA/FSAA image will appear smoother.
 
{{--}} Has largely been replaced by MSAA due to the huge stress it puts on the GPU, but due to the better result that it provides, some games still adopt it as an option in the in-game settings.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-aliasing#Super_sampling_.2F_full-scene_anti-aliasing</ref>
 
  
 
===Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing (SGSSAA)===
 
===Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing (SGSSAA)===
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
 
{{ii}} Developed by Nvidia
{{ii}} Modern version of SSAA, possessing superior quality to other anti-aliasing methods at a steep performance cost.
+
{{++}} Modern version of SSAA, possessing superior quality to other anti-aliasing methods at a steep performance cost.
 
{{ii}} Comes in two forms: FSSGSSAA (Full Scene Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing) and TRSGSSAA (Transparency Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing). More information can be found [http://naturalviolence.webs.com/sgssaa.htm here].
 
{{ii}} Comes in two forms: FSSGSSAA (Full Scene Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing) and TRSGSSAA (Transparency Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing). More information can be found [http://naturalviolence.webs.com/sgssaa.htm here].
  
Line 65: Line 65:
 
{{++}} Less taxing on resources than traditional methods
 
{{++}} Less taxing on resources than traditional methods
 
{{--}} In most cases the image quality can be worse/blurry
 
{{--}} In most cases the image quality can be worse/blurry
{{ii}} Applied after the image is rendered unlike more traditional methods. This means that many titles which are DirectX 9 and later and which did not previously support anti-aliasing can be forced
+
{{ii}} Applied after the image is rendered unlike the traditional methods. This means that many titles which are DirectX 9 and later and which did not previously support anti-aliasing can be forced
  
 
===Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA)===
 
===Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA)===
Line 73: Line 73:
  
 
===Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA)===
 
===Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA)===
{{ii}} Developed by Intel<ref>http://visual-computing.intel-research.net/publications/papers/2009/mlaa/mlaa.pdf</ref>  
+
{{ii}} Developed by Intel<ref>https://software.intel.com/sites/default/files/m/d/4/1/d/8/MLAA.pdf</ref>  
 
{{ii}} AMD claim it outperforms FXAA at comparable settings. SMAA is an upgraded form of it.
 
{{ii}} AMD claim it outperforms FXAA at comparable settings. SMAA is an upgraded form of it.
  

Revision as of 16:33, 25 November 2015

For a list of games, see List of games that support anti-aliasing (AA).


Anti-aliasing (AA) is a computer graphics technique that attempts to minimise the unwanted 'staircase' or jagged object outlines which occur due to the limited resolution in 3D-Renderers, essentially by 'smoothing' these lines. Enabling this graphics feature will also increase the texture quality in some cases.

Example of Anti-Aliasing

No anti-aliasing 16x anti-aliasing
Not antialiased Cube.png Antialiased Cube.png

Types of Anti-Aliasing

There are a number of anti-aliasing techniques today but all of them are based on the same principle. They simply render multiple pixels per pixel of the final image.

The techniques only differ on two factors:

  • How they determine which pixels are aliased.
  • How they "mix" the multiple rendered pixels to get the final pixel.

These algorithms are also variable on how many pixels they use to determine one final pixel. In video games this is represent by a simple number which is a power of 2 like 2x, 4x, 8x etcetera.

There are several terms associated with anti-aliasing, most of which are derivatives on the standard anti-aliasing formula.

Traditional methods

The result is much sharper and clearer than post-processing methods
Usually more taxing on resources

Supersampling (SSAA)

Also known as Fullscreen Anti-Aliasing (FSAA)
Applies the general anti-aliasing formula to fullscreen images, reducing the "staircase effect". When compared to a rendered image undergoing MSAA, a SSAA/FSAA image will appear smoother.
Has largely been replaced by MSAA due to the huge stress it puts on the GPU, but due to the better result that it provides, some games still adopt it as an option in the in-game settings.[1]

Multisample Anti-Aliasing (MSAA)

Essentially a "budget" version of Supersampling
To reduce the stress that SSAA/FSAA puts on a system, Multisampling optimises the process by evaluating each pixel only once, with true supersampling only occurring at the edges of a rendered object, and to depth values. This results in a similar (but less drastic) improvement in visual quality whilst reducing the load put on the system to render and downscale such high resolutions.[2]

Coverage Sampling Antialiasing (CSAA)

Developed by Nvidia
GeForce 8000 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)[3]
Aims to further reduce the additional stress that MSAA puts on the system, with nVidia claiming that a CSAA-rendered image will rival 8x-16x MSAA whilst only putting a load on the system comparable to 4x MSAA. It does this by reducing the number of settings each sample determines (by creating a new sample for coverage) whilst increasing the overall number of samples.

Quincunx Super Anti-Aliasing (QSAA)

Developed by Nvidia
Improves on standard MSAA somewhat. For example, 2x QSAA roughly equates to 3x MSAA in terms of quality.[4]

Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA)

Developed by Nvidia
GeForce GTX 600 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)[5]
Film–style technique designed specifically to reduce temporal aliasing (crawling and flickering seen in motion when playing games)
Combines the raw power of MSAA with sophisticated resolve filters similar to those employed in CG films to produce a smooth image.

Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing (MFAA)

Developed by Nvidia
GeForce GTX 900 series and higher (Nvidia exclusive)[6]
According to nVidia it reduces performance cost while used with high resolutions and is more flexible to needs of different game engines due to its programmability.[7]
One note of importance is that MFAA doesn't function properly below 40FPS. Below that threshold, MFAA causes smearing and blurring in motion.[8]

Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing (SGSSAA)

Developed by Nvidia
Modern version of SSAA, possessing superior quality to other anti-aliasing methods at a steep performance cost.
Comes in two forms: FSSGSSAA (Full Scene Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing) and TRSGSSAA (Transparency Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing). More information can be found here.

Post-processing methods

Less taxing on resources than traditional methods
In most cases the image quality can be worse/blurry
Applied after the image is rendered unlike the traditional methods. This means that many titles which are DirectX 9 and later and which did not previously support anti-aliasing can be forced

Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA)

Developed by Nvidia
Does not require large amounts of computing power. It achieves this by smoothing jagged edges ("jaggies")[9] according to how they appear on screen as pixels, rather than analyzing the 3D models itself as in conventional anti-aliasing
However, the image quality improvement it provides is significantly less impressive than traditional AA methods such as MSAA.[10]

Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA)

Developed by Intel[11]
AMD claim it outperforms FXAA at comparable settings. SMAA is an upgraded form of it.

Subpixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing (SMAA)

Developed by Crytek
Image quality varies from game to game due to differing implementations, but it is arguably better than FXAA or MLAA. You can find pictures, videos and a demo from the developer's site.

Impact on Graphical Quality

Anti-aliasing improves the general graphics quality but lowers the frame rate quite significantly. Lowering or disabling the anti-aliasing effect is a good way to improve the overall frame-rate. An anti-aliasing setting is present in most PC games. If its not available in a specific title, it is usually possible to force it via the graphics card driver or a mod/hack. For ATI cards, anti-aliasing can be forced via the Catalyst Control Centre (CCC), and for nVidia cards it can be forced via the Control Panel.

For lower-end systems, prioritise post-process anti-aliasing types such as FXAA and MLAA, as these will result in a much lower reduction in frame rates. If your system is up to it, however, use more traditional anti-aliasing methods such as MSAA to drastically improve overall image quality.

External links

References