JP2019121238A - Program, image processing method, and image processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To display a shade of an object at a faster speed.SOLUTION: There is provided a program causing an image processing device to perform the steps of: acquiring height information associated with each position on a horizontal plane of a virtual three-dimensional space; calculating a shade range on the horizontal plane on the basis of the height information and an incident direction of light beams with respect to the horizontal plane; and shading the region included in the shade range in a surface of an object on the virtual three-dimensional space and displaying the shaded region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a program, an image processing method, and an image processing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in computer games, simulations, etc., there is known a technique of displaying an object in a virtual three-dimensional space with a shadow on a light source such as the sun by three-dimensional computer graphics.

  In this technique, for example, using data of a three-dimensional model of each object, if the three-dimensional model of each object is obstructed from the position of a pixel and the light source can not be seen, the position of the pixel is shaded. There is known a technique for determining that (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Patent No. 4995054 Patent No. 4513423

  However, in the prior art, when the number of objects to be displayed is relatively large or the like, there is a problem that it takes time to determine whether each pixel is a shadow.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology capable of displaying the shadow of an object at higher speed.

  In one scheme, the image processing apparatus obtains information of heights corresponding to each position on the horizontal plane of the virtual three-dimensional space, the information on the heights, and the incident direction of the light beam to the horizontal plane. Calculating the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane, and applying a shadow to an area included in the range of the shadow on the surface of the object in the virtual three-dimensional space; A program is provided to execute the program.

  According to one aspect, the shadow of an object can be displayed faster.

It is a figure showing the example of hardware constitutions of the image processing device concerning an embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of an image processing device concerning an embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows an example of processing of an image processing device concerning an embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the height map concerning an embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of the calculation method of the range of the shadow concerning an embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of the calculation result of the range of the shadow concerning an embodiment. It is a figure explaining an example of a display of a shadow concerning an embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment. The image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 has a drive unit 100, an auxiliary storage unit 102, a memory unit 103, a CPU 104, an interface unit 105, a display unit 106, an input unit 107, etc. .

  A game program for realizing the processing in the image processing apparatus 10 is provided by the recording medium 101. When the recording medium 101 having the game program recorded thereon is set in the drive unit 100, the game program is installed from the recording medium 101 into the auxiliary storage unit 102 via the drive unit 100. However, the installation of the game program does not necessarily have to be performed from the recording medium 101, and may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed game program and also stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 103 is, for example, a memory such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM). . The CPU 104 implements functions related to the image processing apparatus 10 in accordance with a program stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network. The display device 106 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) according to a program. The input device 107 includes a controller, a keyboard and a mouse, or a touch panel and a button, and is used to input various operation instructions.

  In addition, as an example of the recording medium 101, a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disc, a Blu-ray disc, or a USB memory may be mentioned. In addition, examples of the auxiliary storage device 102 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, and the like. The recording medium 101 and the auxiliary storage device 102 both correspond to computer readable recording media.

<Functional configuration>
Next, the functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment.

  The image processing apparatus 10 has a storage unit 11. The storage unit 11 is realized using, for example, the auxiliary storage device 102 or the like. The storage unit 11 stores three-dimensional data 111, a height map 112, and the like. The three-dimensional data 111 is data such as a three-dimensional model (3D model) of each object, and is data including data of a three-dimensional model represented by a set of polygons and the like, data of texture images, and the like. The height map 112 is data of height corresponding to each position on the horizontal plane of the virtual three-dimensional space.

  The image processing apparatus 10 further includes an acquisition unit 12, a control unit 13, and a display control unit 14. These units are realized by processing that one or more programs installed in the image processing apparatus 10 cause the CPU 104 of the image processing apparatus 10 to execute.

  The acquisition unit 12 acquires data such as the three-dimensional data 111 and the height map 112 from the storage unit 11.

  The control unit 13 controls the progress of the game and the like. In addition, the control unit 13 determines the direction of incidence of parallel rays by the sun with respect to the horizontal plane in the virtual three-dimensional space (hereinafter simply referred to as “the sun's direction” based on the current date and time in the game (“virtual Also referred to as “incident direction”. The control unit 13 also calculates the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane based on the height map 112 and the incident direction of the sun.

According to the instruction from the control unit 13, the display control unit 14 applies shadows to the area included in the calculated shadow range on the surface of the object in the virtual three-dimensional space, and displays the area on the screen.
Display the image in the game on the screen.

<Processing>
Next, processing of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of the height map 112 according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method of calculating a shadow range according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an example of the calculation result of the range of the shadow according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of shadow display according to the embodiment.

  In the following, an open world (sandbox, free roaming) game will be described as an example. In the open world game, according to the movement of the player character operated by the user, three-dimensional data of terrain, buildings, plants and the like around the player character are read and displayed. As a result, the user can move the player character around the world in a relatively large virtual three-dimensional space seamlessly without switching maps or the like. In the open world game, the position of the sun changes according to the current time in the game. That is, when the current time in the game is sunrise time, the sun rises, and at noon, the sun is at the highest position of the day, and when the sunset time comes, the sun sinks. In the open world game, the weather also changes according to the time.

  In step S1, when the game is started by the user's operation or the like, the control unit 13 reads game data including the three-dimensional data 111, the height map 112, and the like. Here, the three-dimensional data 111 includes, for example, data of a three-dimensional model of each object in a virtual three-dimensional space, such as terrain, buildings, plants, and characters. Further, the height map 112 includes data of heights associated with each position on the horizontal plane of the virtual three-dimensional space.

  Subsequently, the control unit 13 calculates the incident direction of the sun based on the current date and time ("virtual time in virtual three-dimensional space") in the game (step S2).

  Subsequently, the control unit 13 calculates the range of the shadow of each object on the virtual three-dimensional space based on the calculated incident direction of the sun and the height map 112 (step S3).

  In the example of the height map 112 shown in FIG. 4, data for the hill object on the virtual three-dimensional space is set. In the height map 112 shown in FIG. 4, the value of one height is set for each coordinate (x, y) representing the horizontal plane in the virtual three-dimensional space by the x-axis and the y-axis. In the example of FIG. 4, the darker the color at each coordinate, the higher the height. The height map 112 is used, for example, to calculate a shadow for an object having no space from the highest position of the object to the position of the horizontal surface, such as a mountain representing a terrain and a hill.

  The control unit 13 may calculate the shadow by a known method for an object having a space from the highest position of the object to the horizontal position, such as a character, a building, and a plant. In this case, for example, among the plurality of objects in the virtual three-dimensional space, the control unit 13 sets an object for which the height map 112 is set, based on the height map 112 and the incident direction of the sun. Calculate the shadow range.

  Then, for example, among the plurality of objects in the virtual three-dimensional space, the control unit 13 sets the data of the three-dimensional model of the object included in the three-dimensional data 111 for an object for which the height map 112 is not set. , The range of the shadow is calculated based on the direction of incidence of the sun. The process of calculating the range of the shadow based on the data of the three-dimensional model and the incident direction of the sun may be performed using a known method. For example, the control unit 13 uses a ray-casting shadowing method, and a straight line extending from the position of one pixel on the surface of the object to the direction of the sun's incidence intersects with another object If so, it is determined that the one pixel is within the shadow range.

  In FIG. 5, a vertical plane is shown in which the incident direction of the sun is in the lateral direction (horizontal direction). The control unit 13 performs the following process on the coordinates of each position on the horizontal surface set in the height map 112. In the following, one position 501 included in each position is described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 13 calculates a straight line 503 which is parallel to the incident direction 500 of the sun, passing through the position 502 at a height relative to the position 501 in FIGS. 4 and 5. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the incident angle θ of the straight line 503 with respect to the horizontal plane in the virtual three-dimensional space is equal to the incident angle θ of the incident direction 500 of the sun.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 13 starts from the position 504 where the straight line 503 intersects the horizontal plane with respect to each coordinate (x, y) representing the horizontal plane in the virtual three-dimensional space by the x axis and the y axis. Coordinates on a straight line 505 connecting the position 501 are coordinates included in the range of the shadow.

  The control unit 13 performs the above processing on the coordinates of each position on the horizontal surface set in the height map 112 to determine the range of the shadow with respect to the object. In addition, the control unit 13 uses, for example, a method such as proximity ratio filtering (PCF, Percentage-Closer Filtering), etc., according to the darkness of the shadow at each coordinate according to the darkness of the shadow at the coordinates around the respective coordinates. May be adjusted. As a result, even when the horizontal and vertical resolutions of the height map 112 are set to be relatively low, it is possible to express natural shadows with relatively low discomfort.

  Subsequently, the control unit 13 causes the display control unit 14 to display each object in the virtual three-dimensional space and the shadow of each object on the screen by three-dimensional computer graphics (step S4). Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 13 adds a shadow to an area included in the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane on the virtual three-dimensional space in the surface of the object for which the height map 112 is set. Display on the screen. In the example of FIG. 7, a shadow 702 is added to the mountain object 701 and displayed. Here, in the example of the height map 112 shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 13 performs texture mapping, for example, by reducing the luminance of the texture image or the like to the range of the shadow on the surface of the hill object. You may

  Subsequently, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the game is ended by the user's operation or the like (step S5). If the game is not ended (NO in step S5), the process proceeds to step S2. Thus, the shadow of the object is calculated in real time and the calculated shadow is displayed according to the passage of virtual time in the virtual three-dimensional space.

  When the game is ended (YES in step S5), the process is ended.

<Effect>
In an open world game in which player characters can freely move the world in a vast virtual three-dimensional space, it is possible to express a large-scale image, for example, when looking at a landscape from a high position. In this case, it is preferable from the point of reality to display not only objects such as surrounding buildings and trees but also objects located far away as much as possible. Moreover, it may be preferable that the virtual three-dimensional space is rich in undulations, such as mountains and hills.

  Therefore, in an open world game, the amount of data such as objects to be read in memory, display of objects, etc., as compared to a game that is not an open world, such as switching to another space when reaching an edge of each space Processing load for is heavy.

  Also, in an open world game, the position of the sun changes according to the virtual time in the virtual three-dimensional space, so calculating and storing the range of shadows in advance is an aspect such as the amount of memory usage etc. It is difficult from

  There is an upper limit to the operation speed of the memory size, CPU, etc. due to the performance of the hardware of the game device. Therefore, in the prior art using the ray casting method etc., for example, when the processing load for calculating the shadow of each object in real time is relatively high due to the large number of objects to be displayed, such as an open world game, display It is necessary to take measures such as reducing the number of objects to be sent.

  On the other hand, according to the above-described embodiment, the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane is determined based on the information of the height corresponding to each position on the horizontal plane of the virtual three-dimensional space and the incident direction of the light beam to the horizontal plane. calculate. Then, of the surface of the object in the virtual three-dimensional space, a region included in the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane is shaded and displayed on the screen. This makes it possible to display the shadow of an object more quickly.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims.・ Change is possible.

  Each functional unit of the image processing apparatus 10 may be realized by, for example, cloud computing configured by one or more computers. In addition, the image processing apparatus 10 may be a server for an online game that displays a game screen on the terminal of the user.

  In the embodiment described above, an open world game has been described as an example, but the disclosed technology relates to a predetermined object in a virtual three-dimensional space in three-dimensional computer graphics such as games other than open world games and simulations. It is applicable when putting on another object.

  The control unit 13 is an example of a “calculation unit”.

10 image processing device 11 storage unit 111 three-dimensional data 112 height map 12 acquisition unit 13 control unit 14 display control unit

Claims (6)

In the image processing device,
Acquiring height information associated with each position on the horizontal plane of the virtual three-dimensional space;
Calculating the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane based on the information on the height and the incident direction of the light beam on the horizontal plane;
Shadowing an area included in the range of the shadow in the surface of the object in the virtual three-dimensional space, and displaying the area on the screen;
A program that runs The calculating step calculates the incident direction of the light beam with respect to the horizontal plane according to the passage of virtual time in the virtual three-dimensional space, and information of the height and the incident direction of the light beam with respect to the horizontal plane calculated Based on the range of the shadow,
The program according to claim 1. In the calculating step, a straight line parallel to the incident direction of the light beam is calculated by passing through the position at a height corresponding to the predetermined position on the horizontal surface, the position where the straight line intersects the horizontal surface, and the predetermined Calculate the range between the position of
The program according to claim 1 or 2. The calculating step is performed based on the information on the height and the incident direction of the light beam on the horizontal surface, for the object for which the information on the height is set among the plurality of objects in the virtual three-dimensional space. Calculate the range of the shadow,
For an object for which the height information is not set, the shadow of the object is calculated based on the information of the three-dimensional model of the object and the incident direction of the light beam on the horizontal plane.
The program according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The image processing device
Acquiring height information associated with each position on the horizontal plane of the virtual three-dimensional space;
Calculating the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane based on the information on the height and the incident direction of the light beam on the horizontal plane;
Shadowing an area included in the range of the shadow in the surface of the object in the virtual three-dimensional space, and displaying the area on the screen;
Image processing method to perform. An acquisition unit for acquiring information of heights corresponding to respective positions on the horizontal plane of the virtual three-dimensional space;
A calculation unit that calculates the range of the shadow in the horizontal plane based on the information on the height and the incident direction of the light beam on the horizontal plane;
A display control unit that applies shadows to areas included in the range of the shadow among surfaces of objects in the virtual three-dimensional space;
An image processing apparatus having: