What Is Tessellation In Gaming?

Trevor GTA V
GTA V

Tessellation in gaming isn’t new technology. It’s been talked about for a long time by Epic, Crytek, and Nvidia. However, the visual effect has become more noticeable in modern video games.

Certain games, such as Grand Theft Auto V, provide a tessellation toggle in their graphics settings. Gamers can use it to tweak the effect to adjust the performance impact.

Like many of the terms found in the graphics settings, it’s one of those features that isn’t really understood. We can adjust the tessellation setting, but most aren’t really sure what it is doing beyond impacting the game’s visuals. Here’s everything you need to know about tessellation.

 

Tessellation FAQ

Understanding Tessellation

Typically, surfaces in three-dimensional games are constructed out of quads, which are made up of two triangles that are mashed together to form a square. This is how most 3D graphics are created.

Tessellation basically adds more edges between the points where segments connect, known as the vertex locations. This is done even if the original 3D model doesn’t include them.

This construction technique allows for a smoother model that is of higher quality. Tessellation allows for the detail in any given scene to be increased. Unfortunately, it does this at the cost of the system’s performance.

Tessellation is normally combined with displacement mapping. This effect allows a texture to store information about how far it protrudes from the base.

 

Tessellation Performance Impact

Honestly, tessellation isn’t too hard on your fps. Research has been done on games that use tessellation, like GTA V, and it reveals that the impact on fps is minimal at best. On average, you will only lose around a few frames per second, even with displays that heavily rely on tessellation.

Other visual effects, including HDR and depth of field, have a much larger performance impact than tessellation does. There is really no reason not to keep it on.

With that being said, if your monitor is lower quality, tessellation can decrease your fps by around 15% when it is enabled. However, the difference between normal, high, and very high tessellation levels is minuscule, so if you can manage with tessellation on, go big or go home.

 

Why Use Tessellation?

There is no reason why a game designer couldn’t accomplish desired visual effects with a similar model that was designed with depth, scale, and adequate textures. So, what’s the purpose of tessellation, and why is it useful?

The simple answer is that tessellation is easier to accomplish and cheaper. The term cheaper does not refer to money, but the amount of resources it uses in your system.

Creating a low detail model is simpler. Then, high-quality texture and a displacement map can be added to it to achieve amazing visuals. Highly detailed models and textures are not easy to create, which is why a lot of game designers opt for tessellation.

By using tessellation, game designers can create stunningly detailed scenes quite easily and without using a ton of system resources. Overall, it’s a win-win.

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