Ambient occlusion is not only about realistic indirect lighting, but also about giving objects more depth. Great example here: https://developer.playcanvas.com/user-manual/graphics/lighti...

Also, looking just at inner corners of the room is too specific, SSAO affects creases everywhere, not just at the inner corners of the box.

I think part of this is the mach bands illusion. We perceive some darkening at the transition between shades and think we have to replicate it in rendering. But we really don't because the brain creates the effect, so artificially adding it makes it really exaggerated.

So what's the best real time alternative to SSAO?

Some Captain Obvious stuff.

Literally nothing real looks like CG. Shadows and lighting don't look like that. Optical effects don't look like that. People don't move like they do in games and CG animations. Physics IRL doesn't work like it does in games. Real world doesn't look like filtered JPEGs stretched over wireframes with LODs.

But corners do look better in video games like that.

From the photos they mostly look a bit like light SSOA. Obviously some devs overdo it, but that's not SSOA's fault. And we know SSAO isn't physically based. Of course it's not going to perfectly match reality.

Regardless of how right or wrong this is, I woulda walked around with a vacuum first to get all those cobwebs before trying to make my point.

I'm far from a neatfreak but if those are there can you imagine what the inside of bro's computer looks like? Poor thing is probably so hot

Author took his example photos in the backrooms lol

Previously...

Corners Don't Look Like That: Regarding Screenspace Ambient Occlusion (2012) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30595038 - March 2022 (43 comments)

Corners Don't Look Like That: Regarding Screenspace Ambient Occlusion (2012) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18559477 - Nov 2018 (36 comments)

Corners Don't Look Like That: Regarding Screenspace Ambient Occlusion (2012) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10105437 - Aug 2015 (19 comments)