From 9d1523f476aff3e894242705b038f370bab64a10 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Ralph Kuepper Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2026 14:51:38 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] docs: clouds-off HW-vs-SW GI A/B verdict - tonal difference only, SW stays default --- docs/tickets.md | 15 ++++++++++++--- 1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/tickets.md b/docs/tickets.md index 5099129..f9149ad 100644 --- a/docs/tickets.md +++ b/docs/tickets.md @@ -1776,9 +1776,18 @@ Two more things learned while verifying: single instant mixes tier-warmup states — trust 60 s averages only. - An apparent "HW loses the sun shadows" difference between screenshot pairs did NOT survive scrutiny: the drifting cloud deck (45% shadow strength) - confounds any two captures taken minutes apart. A real GI-quality A/B needs - clouds off (`setCloudShadows(0,...)`) and same-frame capture. UNRESOLVED — - do this before ever defaulting HW on. + confounds any two captures taken minutes apart. +- **The clouds-off A/B was then done (same evening, + `setCloudShadows(0,...)` probe, 30 s settle each, gate prints verified):** + both paths render correct sun shadows; the difference is TONAL — HW GI is + mildly warmer/brighter in the indirect term (most visible on the house + facade picking up warm ground bounce; SW reads slightly greyer). At the + outdoor vantage it is a subtle grade-level difference, not a structural + quality win, for ~30% of the frame (14.4 vs 20.3 fps). Verdict: SW stays + the default; opt in per box with `BLOOM_HW_GI=1` where the GPU affords it. + Captures archived in the shooter's `tools/.testout/gi-ab-{sw,hw}.png`. + Re-open the default question for INDOOR scenes (bounce matters more there; + the menu backdrop cannot exercise INDOORCAM) or on stronger hardware. ## HW-vs-SW Lumen: MEASURED at last (2026-07-16 evening) — HW costs +20 ms/frame on the 760M