[Bf-viewport] GLSL Node

[Jacob Merrill]

Hey kupoman, any chance at fitting a new 'core profile'?
with the old shader nodes?

Thanks,
BPR.
On Jun 7, 2015 7:57 PM, "Daniel Stokes" <kupomail at gmail.com> wrote:

> Greetings Bf-viewport,
>
> I would like to start some discussion on the customizable shading of the
> viewport. This is an area that I have a strong personal interest in, and I
> may be able to contribute development time toward it. From the first email
> on this mailing list, I am referring to this item:
>
> 3) GLSL node/GLSL renderer node tree.
>
> This sounds scary, but for now we can just add GLSL specific BSDF-like
> shaders, reuse the existing node shaders and write a special GLSL node.
> That node will act similarly to the OSL node, basically you will be able
> to attach a tet file with GLSL code in it. The GLSL code will need a
> function with a predefined name, which will be parsed for -in and -out
> variables and sockets will be created in the node accordingly. Then users
> should be able to write their own shaders to drive real time display. The
> system will be able to request data from the meshes using the batch manager
> outlined in 1) based on the inputs the user will plug into this shader.
> Those inputs will be used to request mesh data during node tree compilation.
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Here are some of my initial thoughts on this:
>
> 1) The node system, as proposed, could be a great place for this since
> this code is heavily shared with the Game Engine. This opens up the
> possibility of making these custom shaders usable in the Game Engine with
> hopefully little extra development cost. It is worthwhile to note that
> there are several open material node bugs [1][2][3][4] that would be nice
> to look at when considering better Game Engine integration.
>
> 2) How would we deal with adding nodes that aren't compatible with a
> renderer? Furthermore, would the GLSL node be added to the nodes for
> Blender Internal?
>
> 3) While the current node system works well for custom fragment shaders,
> what about vertex, tessellation control, tessellation evaluation, geometry,
> and compute shaders? Other than compute shaders, the remaining shader
> stages could possibly be handled by new mesh node system. Again this brings
> up the question of compatibility with a renderer.
>
> 4) While it may be beyond the initial scope of this project, I would like
> to bring up the possibility of making more use of the material panel for
> material nodes. It could be very useful to allow the author of a node
> system to expose inputs to the node system that appear in the material
> panel. This would make it easier for another user to use and adjust the
> material without needing to know what the individual nodes do.
>
> Finally, I would like to present a good case study for the usefulness of
> this feature. At the 2015 Game Developer's Conference Junya Motomura, a
> technical artist from ArcSystemWorks, talked about the shading used in
> their game Guilty Gear Xrd [5]. In this talk, Motomura describes how the
> shaders relied heavily on artist created content (a lot of which was stored
> in vertex colors), and how it was essential for artists to see the effects
> of their changes as they were making them.
>
> I look forward to discussing these details and moving this project along.
> For anyone who wishes to talk with me on IRC, I am usually lurking in
> Blender channels, including #blendercoders, as Kupoman when I am not at
> work. I am in the Pacific Time Zone.
>
> Regards,
> Daniel Stokes
>
> [1] T17869 Geometry Node Material doesn't work properly with shared mesh
> in BGE <https://developer.blender.org/T17869>
> [2] T41829 Normal Map in Material Node going wrong
> <https://developer.blender.org/T41829>
> [3] T33730 Node Materials Won't Display Multiple UVs
> <https://developer.blender.org/T33730>
> [4] T34792 game engine node material bug with 2 vertex color channels
> <https://developer.blender.org/T34792>
> [5] http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022031/GuiltyGearXrd-s-Art-Style-The
>
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