rtcSetGeo...ationRate(3)

✨ rtcSetGeometryTessellationRate ✨ — aka the "how smooth do u want it bestie" button

okay so real quick before anything else: this page lives in the Embree Ray Tracing Kernels 3 manual (that's the 3 hanging out in rtcSetGeo...ationRate(3) if you were wondering why the title looks like it got cut off mid-sentence — it's just the name being long and the man page being dramatic about it 💅).

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🌸 NAME 🌸

rtcSetGeometryTessellationRate — sets the tessellation rate of the geometry

like. it does exactly what it says on the tin, no plot twist, no hidden lore 🫶

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

#include <embree3/rtcore.h>

void rtcSetGeometryTessellationRate(
  RTCGeometry geometry,
  float tessellationRate
);

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🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so rtcSetGeometryTessellationRate sets the tessellation rate (that's the tessellationRate argument, iconic) for the geometry you point at (that's the geometry argument, also iconic). slay ✨

BUT — and this is the part where u gotta pay attention bestie, no cap — the tessellation rate can only be set for flat curves and subdivision geometries. that's the whole guest list. if ur geometry isn't one of those two, this is not the function for u, sorry babe 😭

and here's what the number actually means, because it's different depending on who u are:

• For curves — the tessellation rate specifies the number of ray-facing quads per curve segment. so like, more quads = more little flat faces facing the ray = smoother vibes. it's giving "how many lil panels am i building this curve out of" 🌀
• For subdivision surfaces — the tessellation rate specifies the number of quads along each edge. so it's literally "how many quads am i slicing each edge into" 🔥

lowkey important: this is a tessellation rate, not a "make it look good" slider. it's telling Embree how finely to chop things up, and that's the whole story. don't go inventing extra meaning, bestie 🙈

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💀 EXIT STATUS 💀

on failure an error code is set that can be queried using rtcGetDeviceError. so if something goes sideways, go ask the device what happened, it'll tell u 👑

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🫶 SEE ALSO 🫶

• RTC_GEOMETRY_TYPE_CURVE
• RTC_GEOMETRY_TYPE_SUBDIVISION

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! go forth and tessellate responsibly 🌈✨

this has been rtcSetGeo...ationRate(3) from the Embree Ray Tracing Kernels 3 manual — same source, same version, same page name as always, just with way more glitter on it now. mwah 💖