Conclusion

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In this chapter, we covered alpha blending and alpha testing as well as some related concepts. Alpha blending allows you to create realistic and interesting special effects. Alpha testing allows you to speed up rendering by avoiding writing pixels that are less opaque than others that occlude them. We also covered several concepts that relate to alpha blending: alpha palettized textures, texture stages using alpha information, and the use of premultiplied vs. nonpremultiplied alpha.

Combining these capabilities, you can create programs that simulate realistic real-world scenes.

In Chapter 11, we'll cover light mapping and environment mapping. These techniques add even more realism to a scene by making the scene appear to be accurately lit and by reflecting the surrounding scenery off other shiny objects in the scene.