Ray Trace Depth
Ray trace depth sets the maximum
number of times the PhotoWorks application can subdivide a scene into
simple objects for ray trace calculations.
When ray tracing is enabled, the PhotoWorks application calculates the
effect of light rays passing through objects in a scene. It is impractical
to check every light ray against every object in the scene. The objects
may be too large or complex. Instead, the PhotoWorks application checks
for intersections between the light rays and simple objects in the scene.
Initially, the PhotoWorks application divides the scene into simple
objects. If a light ray hits an object, the PhotoWorks application subdivides
that object into even simpler objects. This process continues until the
number of subdivisions equals the Ray
trace depth value. The goal is to reduce the geometric complexity
of each object that is struck by a light ray.
Small Ray trace depth values
increase rendering time but decrease memory usage. The rendering time
increases because the PhotoWorks application needs to test the intersection
of light rays with more complex objects. Memory usage decreases because
the PhotoWorks application creates fewer objects.