Autostereographic ("Magic Eye-like") shader-based stereo mode for the BGE #41794

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Quentin Wenger · 2014-09-11T22:36:53+02:00

Quentin Wenger commented

2014-09-11 22:36:53 +02:00

Hello everyone,

This is the first coding project I've done for Blender.

The idea is to add a stereo rendering mode for the BGE, this mode being Autostereo (you can see examples at http:*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram). Images using that mode are often refered to as "Magic Eye-like", from a well-known society (http:*magiceye.com/) that published such images.

My implementation uses a GLSL shader (in the same way as 2D Filters) and the depth buffer (bgl_DepthTexture).

The first implementation I created was a Python script, which took about 5 minutes to render an single image... changing completely the logic, I managed to create a shader running at a constant 60 fps.

I completely imagined the rendering logic by myself: my only sources of inspiration are still images from books, etc., that I have been familiar with for many years now ;-)

At the moment, I see following parts that could be improved (but I first wanted to receive some general feedback before going into details...):

The "texture" that is being deformed is a simple (pseudo-random) noise. I maybe should be replaced by a more "user-friendly" pattern (i.e. making it simple to see how eyes should be moved). Its colors (BW) are static.
Some parameters have had to be fixed in order to make the shader work correctly, mainly:
- the near clipping distance of the camera (set to 0.1)
- perspective mode of the camera
When using autostereo, other 2D filters are disabled (it is surely useless to have filters under the autostereo, as they won't be visible, but they could be useful higher in the stack, modifying the output of the autostereo shader).
There are some artefacts remaining (at the right of the image), but it is quite common and normal, even in "professional" images of that kind (this is due to the so-called "second convergence").
I dont really know if this could be improved, but the depth buffer highly limits the depth resolution, showing in worst case sort of aliasing / layers effect in the direction of the depth (a bit like if you had used the Remesh Blocks modifier).

How to use this mode?

Switch to BGE render mode, choose Stereo -> Autostereographic in the Render Panel. Adjust the eye separation to a convenient value (0.2 is a good choice). You can also choose to make the noise dynamical (otherwise it's hard to see moving objects in autostereo) and to draw two black dots at the bottom of the screen (to make focalization easy).

Then launch the game ;-)

Here is the .diff:
blender_ge_autostereo.diff

A screenshot of the viewport in-game (with the default cube in the center):

And one of the render -> stereo panel

Thank you for your interest & feedback.

N.B.: it can requiere some time to get used to moving your eyes to see the 3D illusion... you can find good help topics on the Internet about how to manage that ;-)

Hello everyone, This is the first coding project I've done for Blender. The idea is to add a stereo rendering mode for the BGE, this mode being Autostereo (you can see examples at http:*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostereogram). Images using that mode are often refered to as "Magic Eye-like", from a well-known society (http:*magiceye.com/) that published such images. My implementation uses a GLSL shader (in the same way as 2D Filters) and the depth buffer (bgl_DepthTexture). The first implementation I created was a Python script, which took about 5 minutes to render an single image... changing completely the logic, I managed to create a shader running at a constant 60 fps. I completely imagined the rendering logic by myself: my only sources of inspiration are still images from books, etc., that I have been familiar with for many years now ;-) At the moment, I see following parts that could be improved (but I first wanted to receive some general feedback before going into details...): - The "texture" that is being deformed is a simple (pseudo-random) noise. I maybe should be replaced by a more "user-friendly" pattern (i.e. making it simple to see how eyes should be moved). Its colors (BW) are static. - Some parameters have had to be fixed in order to make the shader work correctly, mainly: - the near clipping distance of the camera (set to 0.1) - perspective mode of the camera - When using autostereo, other 2D filters are disabled (it is surely useless to have filters under the autostereo, as they won't be visible, but they could be useful higher in the stack, modifying the output of the autostereo shader). - There are some artefacts remaining (at the right of the image), but it is quite common and normal, even in "professional" images of that kind (this is due to the so-called "second convergence"). - I dont really know if this could be improved, but the depth buffer highly limits the depth resolution, showing in worst case sort of aliasing / layers effect in the direction of the depth (a bit like if you had used the Remesh Blocks modifier). How to use this mode? Switch to BGE render mode, choose Stereo -> Autostereographic in the Render Panel. Adjust the eye separation to a convenient value (0.2 is a good choice). You can also choose to make the noise dynamical (otherwise it's hard to see moving objects in autostereo) and to draw two black dots at the bottom of the screen (to make focalization easy). Then launch the game ;-) Here is the .diff: [blender_ge_autostereo.diff](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F109931/blender_ge_autostereo.diff) A screenshot of the viewport in-game (with the default cube in the center): ![ge_autostereo_viewport.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F109933/ge_autostereo_viewport.png) And one of the render -> stereo panel ![ge_autostereo_render_panel.png](https://archive.blender.org/developer/F109935/ge_autostereo_render_panel.png) Thank you for your interest & feedback. N.B.: it can requiere some time to get used to moving your eyes to see the 3D illusion... you can find good help topics on the Internet about how to manage that ;-)

Quentin Wenger commented

2014-09-11 22:36:53 +02:00

Changed status to: 'Open'

Quentin Wenger commented

2014-09-11 22:36:53 +02:00

Added subscriber: @QuentinWenger

Bastien Montagne commented

2014-09-12 11:55:08 +02:00

Added subscribers: @dfelinto, @Moguri

Dalai Felinto commented

2014-09-12 13:51:42 +02:00

Hehe that sounds like a fun patch. Have you tried to implement this as a 2D Filter? Or rather, as a Custom Filter 2D Filter?

Quentin Wenger commented

2014-09-13 19:48:55 +02:00

Thank you ;-)

Yes, sure, I tried it as a Custom 2D Filter! It actually is a 2D custom filter, internally, managed by RAS_2DFilterManager.h / .cpp. But I believe it fits better in the Stereo context, as far as the UI is concerned.

What do you think?

Thank you ;-) Yes, sure, I tried it as a Custom 2D Filter! It actually is a 2D custom filter, internally, managed by RAS_2DFilterManager.h / .cpp. But I believe it fits better in the Stereo context, as far as the UI is concerned. What do you think?

Quentin Wenger commented

2014-10-18 00:18:03 +02:00

I have posted a build on GraphicAll (compiled against 2.72 - Win64):

http://graphicall.org/1138

EDIT: now for linux too:

http://graphicall.org/1139

I have posted a build on GraphicAll (compiled against 2.72 - Win64): http://graphicall.org/1138 EDIT: now for linux too: http://graphicall.org/1139

Ulysse Martin commented

2015-05-23 02:37:39 +02:00

Added subscriber: @you.le

Aaron Carlisle commented

2015-09-08 00:48:28 +02:00

Added subscriber: @Blendify

Aaron Carlisle commented

2015-09-08 00:48:28 +02:00

@QuentinWenger can you add this to the differential tool?

Quentin Wenger commented

2015-09-08 21:44:27 +02:00

@Blendify: Hi, thanks for your interest. This project is currently abandoned from my side. Main reason (appart from the fact that it's not that well written, doesn't completly work, and that I would make many changes if I had to take it up again) is that, as @dfelinto said and as we discussed together, the patch mainly consists in a GLSL shader system. Thus, with minimal effort it is possible to use the functionality without having to put it into the source code.

But, if you really are interested with that functionality, we can theoretically still discuss about implementing such an effect "for real". I was for example thinking about an autostereo custom renderer (coded as a Python addon) in Blender... but that's another story.

@Blendify: Hi, thanks for your interest. This project is currently abandoned from my side. Main reason (appart from the fact that it's not that well written, doesn't completly work, and that I would make many changes if I had to take it up again) is that, as @dfelinto said and as we discussed together, the patch mainly consists in a GLSL shader system. Thus, with minimal effort it is possible to use the functionality without having to put it into the source code. But, if you really are interested with that functionality, we can theoretically still discuss about implementing such an effect "for real". I was for example thinking about an autostereo custom renderer (coded as a Python addon) in Blender... but that's another story.

Aaron Carlisle commented

2015-09-08 23:09:48 +02:00

Changed status from 'Open' to: 'Archived'

Aaron Carlisle closed this issue

2015-09-08 23:09:48 +02:00

Aaron Carlisle self-assigned this 2015-09-08 23:09:48 +02:00

Aaron Carlisle commented

2015-09-08 23:09:48 +02:00

Sounds like it is best to archive this. At this point it sounds like it is better to start fresh

Quentin Wenger commented

2015-09-08 23:12:46 +02:00

Yep, agreed. ;-)

I should have closed it already before, actually.

Yep, agreed. ;-) I should have closed it already before, actually.

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Autostereographic ("Magic Eye-like") shader-based stereo mode for the BGE #41794