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Ray casting = where does a ray intersect an object Ray tracing = ray casting from the camera and where an object intersects trace rays (with ray casting) to li
by pasta 8y ago
Ray casting = where does a ray intersect an object
Ray tracing = ray casting from the camera and where an object intersects trace rays (with ray casting) to light sources and reflective materials (Turner Whitted).
Path tracing = ray tracing but when you hit an object start ray casting from that point as bounce and gather all energy so you can send it back to the camera (James Kajiya ?).
So to me path tracing is just a method (extension) of ray tracing.
- atq2119 8y ago... and yet, in the DXR API, the TraceRay function does what you're calling ray casting here, i.e. it figures out the intersection of a single ray with the scene (and calls a shader associated to the hit material, to somewhat simplify it; in any case, TraceRay doesn't trace multiple rays). The terminology just isn't 100% consistent.