====== Alpha maps ======

//Alpha maps// are images used for run-time texture blending (or '[[wp>Texture_Splatting|texture splatting]]'), which is a technique typically used in games to achieve high-resolution terrain detail. Alpha maps consist of one or more layers (read: colours), which each represent the coverage of a texture/land type over the surface of the terrain. This is similar to the [[l3dt:reference:maps:am|attributes map]] used in L3DT, and alpha maps are in-fact generated //from// the attributes map by L3DT. 

===== Example map =====

| {{:l3dt:reference:maps:alpha1.png?250|Alpha map #1}} | {{:l3dt:reference:maps:alpha2.png?250|Alpha map #2}} |
^  Alpha maps for a 6-component terrain texture, rendered in RGB.  ^^

===== Further reading =====

  * User-guide topics:
    * [[l3dt:userguide:ops:alpha|Generating alpha maps]].
  * Algorithm information:
    * [[l3dt:algorithms:splatting|Texture-splatting algorithms]].