[FIXED] CompositorManager::setCompositorEnabled() hiccups

[dark_sylinc]

According to the documentation:

Disabling a compositor stops it from rendering but does not free any resources. This can be more efficient than using removeCompositor and addCompositor in cases the filter is switched on and off a lot.

However this is CompositorInstance::setEnabled code:

Code: Select all

if (mEnabled != value)
{
    mEnabled = value;

    // Create of free resource.
    if (value)
    {
        createResources(false);
    }
    else
    {
        freeResources(false, true);
    }

	/// Notify chain state needs recompile.
    mChain->_markDirty();
}

What happens? I get a serious hiccup when enabling and disabling a compositor. I'm using one for God rays (also known as "crepuscular rays" "sun shafts") and they need to be disabled when looking away from the sun.

I get a serious spike each time I look to the sun again, which is annoying.

I'm probably going to fix this myself asap as I really need this functionality to work the way it should be.

Suggestions are appreciated.

[lingfors]

Pass a shader constant to the shader telling it if it should be on or off. If off, just bypass everything in the shader and output the corresponding texel without modifications...

[dark_sylinc]

That could work... if I weren't doing 5 different fullscreen passes. Thanks for the idea though.

[dark_sylinc]

Piece of cake!

It will remain in my local copy for a few days to check everything works. So far, so good.

Edit: Checked in rev 2678

[moagames]

I just tried your changes in the current trunk, but still get a "hiccup" when calling CompositorManager::setCompositorEnabled(false)

[dark_sylinc]

If the compositor has pooled textures, you may still get hiccups, as the next compositor instance in the chain needs to recreate it's buffers. It happens in a rare case, but it can happen. It's the best explanation why you're getting hiccups when disabling (usually, only reenabling causes the perf. spike).

Additionally, try calling CompositorInstance::setEnabled() instead of CompositorManager::setCompositorEnabled. A pointer to CompositorInstance is returned after calling CompositorManager::addCompositor. If you didn't save the pointer, use this code to get it:

Code: Select all

CompositorChain *chain = compoMgr->getCompositorChain( viewport );
//You can use CompositorChain::InstanceIterator it = chain->getCompositors(); to iterate instead of a for loop
for(size_t pos=0; pos < chain->getNumCompositors(); ++pos)
{
	CompositorInstance *instance = chain->getCompositor(pos);
	if(instance->getCompositor()->getName() == "MyCompositorName")
	{
	}
}

Just to discard stupid mistakes, make sure your Ogre project recompiled, you didn't forget to copy the new DLLs into your app folder, and that you're using default branch, not 1.7
(if you have a function method named CompositorInstance::setAlive, then you're using default branch)

Edit: What GPU are you using?