GPU Gems: Programming Techniques, Tips and Tricks for Real-Time Graphics

Chapter 7. Rendering Countless Blades of Waving Grass

Kurt Pelzer Piranha Bytes

Introduction

To simulate an idyllic nature scene in a realistic fashion, besides detailed trees and bushes, as well as a complex water and sky dome simulation, we need a high-quality grass effect. We must be able to cover large areas of the terrain with it, without monopolizing the GPU. The grass should look naturally grown and should wave realistically in the wind.

In the past, a high-quality grass simulation would have been considered too complex for real-time applications. The Codecreatures Benchmark (published by Codecult in 2002) disproved this pessimistic assertion. See Figure 7-1. In this chapter, we describe a flexible, widely applicable grass simulation based ...