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Let's talk about HBAO+

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dex3108

Member
Since it was introduced years ago i was really amazed how good this one thing can make games look so much better. And at the same time i was wondering why more devs are not using it. It is one of the best AO solutions out there (if not the best) so what is reason behind very little usage in games? Are licencing costs that big?

I mean just look at this examples from Nvidia Performance Guides

Assassin's Creed Unity

http://international.download.nvidi...occlusion-comparison-2-hbao-plus-vs-ssao.html

http://international.download.nvidi...occlusion-comparison-1-hbao-plus-vs-ssao.html

Assassin's Creed Syndicate

http://images.nvidia.com/geforce-co...e-comparison-001-hbao-plus-ultra-vs-ssao.html

http://images.nvidia.com/geforce-co...e-comparison-006-hbao-plus-ultra-vs-ssao.html

Batman Arkham Origins

http://international.download.nvidi...am-origins-nvidia-hbao-plus-comparison-6.html

http://international.download.nvidi...am-origins-nvidia-hbao-plus-comparison-3.html

Rise of the Tomb Raider

http://images.nvidia.com/geforce-co...teractive-comparison-003-hbao-plus-vs-on.html

http://images.nvidia.com/geforce-co...ctive-comparison-001-hbao-plus-vs-on-alt.html

Witcher 3

http://international.download.nvidi...ve-comparison-3-nvidia-hbao-plus-vs-ssao.html

http://international.download.nvidi...ve-comparison-1-nvidia-hbao-plus-vs-ssao.html

I am now at the point where whenever game uses HBAO+ that option must be on even if that means i need to drop down some other options. I really wish that HBAO+ is standard AO solution in games.
 
While I agree that it should be the standard, I actually kinda like shitty and overdone regular AO in some games like Wind Waker HD.
 
Never really believed AO was worth the hit until I saw this.

hbao2.gif
 
HBAO+ provides a fantastic effect/performance ratio. It's very often significantly better than other algorithms implemented in games.

I'm curious to see VXAO in person, I haven't played any game yet which includes it.

Truant said:
While I agree that it should be the standard, I actually kinda like shitty and overdone regular AO in some games like Wind Waker HD.
Click to expand...
True story: as I worked on AO for a while seeing obvious artifacts in its implementation like the ones in WWHD actively detracts from my ability to enjoy a game :/
 
Durante said:
HBAO+ provides a fantastic effect/performance ratio. It's very often significantly better than other algorithms implemented in games.

I'm curious to see VXAO in person, I haven't played any game yet which includes it.
Click to expand...

Do you know why very little devs are using HBAO+? Licencing? Hard to implement?

Only RotTR uses VXAO so far i think.
 
Truant said:
While I agree that it should be the standard, I actually kinda like shitty and overdone regular AO in some games like Wind Waker HD.
Click to expand...
Nothing can be worse than far cry 3

I legit have no idea how someone worked on that game and said, "yep that's good; ship it!"
 
dex3108 said:
Do you know why very little devs are using HBAO+? Licencing? Hard to implement?

Only RotTR uses VXAO so far i think.
Click to expand...
I just read most of the HBAO+ EULA and it doesn't seem like the licensing is particularly problematic (at least on PC). Also, it's not any harder to implement than any other AO.

Generally though I wouldn't agree with "very little devs" using it. It seems like one of the most successful Gameworks components overall.
 
Durante said:
I just read most of the HBAO+ EULA and it doesn't seem like the licensing is particularly problematic (at least on PC). Also, it's not any harder to implement than any other AO.

Generally though I wouldn't agree with "very little devs" using it. It seems like one of the most successful Gameworks components overall.
Click to expand...

Yeah but even Ubisoft is abandoning it for their own AO solutions (Watch_Dogs 2).
 
Other solutions seem to have caught up (we seem to be past the time of SSAO being the new bloom/piss filter in terms of awful usage and implementations), but HBAO+ was one of the first versions that was actually good and not full of nasty artifacts.
 
 
I'm with OP - I always prioritize HBAO over other features because it looks so good. It does wonders in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Gears 4.
 
Peltz said:
What is it actually doing? I see the difference, but don't understand how it works.
Click to expand...
All forms of ambient occlusion try to simulate indirect lighting.

Basically, in normal 3D rendering, you calculate the impact of each light on a surface in the absence of shadows, and you also calculate direct shadows for (some subset of) the objects and lights in the scene.

However, at least some of the illumination you see in reality is indirect -- basically caused by light reflecting from other surfaces. Calculating this in real time is very expensive. What ambient occlusion methods do to approximate a similar effect is look at the immediate surroundings of each part of the final rendered image, and figure out based on the geometry of that part how much ambient (indirect) light will reach it. E.g. if you have a narrow, deep indentation then much less light will reach down there.
 
Mman235 said:
Other solutions seem to have caught up (we seem to be past the time of SSAO being the new bloom/piss filter in terms of awful usage and implementations), but HBAO+ was one of the first versions that was actually good and not full of nasty artifacts.
Click to expand...

It is still the best in my opinion.
 
Durante said:
All forms of ambient occlusion try to simulate indirect lighting.

Basically, in normal 3D rendering, you calculate the impact of each light on a surface in the absence of shadows, and you also calculate direct shadows for (some subset of) the objects and lights in the scene.

However, at least some of the illumination you see in reality is indirect -- basically caused by light reflecting from other surfaces. Calculating this in real time is very expensive. What ambient occlusion methods do to approximate a similar effect is look at the immediate surroundings of each part of the final rendered image, and figure out based on the geometry of that part how much ambient (indirect) light will reach it. E.g. if you have a narrow, deep indentation then much less light will reach down there.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
VXAO looks even better. Crazy to me that more games aren't shipping with quality AO.

BF1 and Skyrim SE come to mind.
 
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