What the Heck Is Ambient Occlusion?!

- Here's to another episode of the Minute Science playlist! If there's anything else you'd like me to test or explain in this category, let me know in the comments below. The moral of this story: don't neglect good ol' AO!
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[@GregSalazar]

- Hey everyone! I appreciate the feedback from this one, and I'm glad so many of you enjoyed it! Anti-aliasing tests and explanations will be in the next Minute Science video by popular demand. Thanks for watching.

[@junelsvtecturbo777]

Salazar Studio keep doing these

[@Matthewv1998]

Salazar Studio its a good video, but i am hearing odd buzzing when you talk in the background of the audio

[@foufoufun]

You should also make a video about global illumination, it goes hand in hand with Ambient Occlusion and have become quite common in most engines.

[@n__m]

to be fair, if you have accurate global illumination then ambient occlusion as a technique is entirely redundant.

[@foufoufun]

True, but global illumination in video game isn't that accurate. And even with pre-rendered raytracing images, an ambient occlusion pass is also needed.

[@samersaheer8600]

like to see more this type of videos ... 👍

[@ilcilc2910]

I agree. Not everyone is a seasoned PC gamer. There are plenty of teenies that would appreciate videos like this. At the same time you could be gaining a significant amount of long time subscribers.

[@DavorBa]

I agree. A video about every visual setting in games would mean a lot to gaming community.

[@Mavitros]

Possibly enough for a series on the channel devoted to it? It would definitely have my interest.

[@TSteaktheNilla]

the extracted map is gonna give me nightmares im calling it

[@transcendant7000]

YES, PLEASE, make more of these types of videos. Now this is where you can learn some neat things without needing to sit for hours (although still recommended) just to learn one thing. I love these.

[@groothelion9321]

Ambient Occlusion have always been one of my favorite settings. Always turn it to the highest since it improves the visuals so much without the cost of performance. Just tuning down the shadow-setting if i want more fps ;) EDIT: "With a small cost in performance".

[@ankitchaurasia6626]

Same I also use ambient occlusion on with low quality shadows

[@josephsalice8646]

this should be a weekly series they are awesome, short and sweet

[@SuperiorToiletTissue]

I love minute science, Lord Salazar. please bless us with a never-ending stream of more episodes 😊

[@nokyan]

More of this! It's just the explanation, to the point. Nothing unneccessary. Like it!

[@ArnaudG92]

short, straight​ to the point, informative videos with in-game exemple : perfect format for this type of content IMHO!

[@carlf4275]

So much more useful than a confusing description in a game settings menu. Thanks Greg

[@XDeadzX]

Do more of this. Even if I already know them, the videos are short, sweet, and good to see. Do more of this type of video.

[@frankblock3484]

this should definitely be a part of your channel, talk about settings, in detail like this one. also about if a game is optimized or not. its just good info.

[@yeetusj8152]

love to see more of these! 👌 been waiting for a clear cut video that explains ao

[@psychemike]

Awesome video! I love these types of videos from you. You do a great job at explaining it and making it east to understand.

[@Wat72-]

I just wondered this yesterday, perfect timing.

[@brendinventer6407]

Awesome! Def would love to see a lot more of the graphical settings explained and compared 👍🏻

[@Spfinator]

Can you do one of these that talks about the different Anti-Aliasing techniques. IE: FXAA vs MSAA vs TXAA vs SMAA

[@shivusarode]

Love to see more videos like this quick and clean

[@cybergproductions589]

Love this style of video! You should definitely do more like this!

[@cristianbam]

Dude, you should definitely do a miniseries on various graphical settings like this. Short yet very informative. More please! :D

[@Jedtgill]

As a new pc user I 100% agree. Idk what half of these graphical settings are or do

[@blindeuphoric]

Good explanation. I've seen other videos and read what AO is, but this made the most sense. Thank you!

[@razvandamian3286]

Would definitely love to see more of these in the future

[@satchboogie2058]

This is great and easy to understand. It would be great to make a series explaining all the terms and acronyms you can find in a modern PC game so that people who might not be into PC gaming get to learn and demystify the whole "PC is too hard" thing

[@AlphaLeader13]

I really like these sorts of videos. I'd love to see more!

[@TechNoPhobiaGirl]

Great info! LOVE these quick, INFORMATIVE vids! Keep up the great work!

[@JoePro]

Thank you! I think we need a LOT more videos like this.

[@SolomonCornish]

I like SCII's description of ambient occlusion: "Local lights will cast shadows" Overly simplistic but it gets the point across.

[@Sholities]

I did know what this did visually, but it was nice getting a detailed explanation of this.

[@coolissimo69]

Bro keep on doing this videos much appreciated and cant see any about these themes. Wel done

[@toxinskater]

this is like linus' techquickie channel, I like it. A lot. Keep on doing these kinds of videos pls

[@Smoke_and_Mirrors23]

Yeah Sal we need more vids like this, especially for the ppl just getting into PC gaming... Keep them coming !

[@Klyclack]

This is a pretty good idea you should go through each of the anti aliasing methods used by devs like the differences between FXAA and SMAA and how those work because most of the time the descriptions can be rather vague.

[@wii166]

I want to see more of these i really do. Nice video once again.

[@TheGh0st67]

This is amazing it's short video, that's a plus and explains everything that you would want to know about something, MORE PLEASE!

[@Nascar995]

Actually I really liked this. I hope you do more videos like this!

[@supercooled]

Good video. You just earned a sub and a like. Please do more of these as some us really don't understand all the graphical settings and why we spend so much on graphics cards. I may never be able to take a part an engine of a car but I still like listening, watching and on the odd occasion, learn about it from Engineering Explained which you share a resemblance to, lol.

[@Earle96]

its pretty crazy how much your channel grew.

[@duckyishappy]

Please do more of these!

[@anthonytech]

Yeah I like this style video. Hell I like all your videos haha. Excited and curious to see how you fix the driver issue

[@the3rdid485]

These are excellent videos. I so often struggle with trying to find the right balance between performance and quality in graphics settings. I'd like to see some more side by side images though to get a better feel for how it actually effects the picture. Also I really like that you show performance differences. It's nice to know what settings are worth keeping and what can be sacrificed for better performance at minimal quality loss or visa versa.

[@ianlide1507]

Videos like this would have been very helpful a couple years ago when I was just getting into pc gaming. I'd love to see more like this for the newcomers to the pc master race

[@JeanClaudeBalam]

Would like to see more of this type of videos, well and easy explained

[@HumourIsHealthy]

I like this style of video and would like too see more in the future.

[@royvines7240]

Simple, quick, spot on!

[@ethanbelton9522]

I like this type of video. Please do more videos of this type.

[@jetcity7156]

Learn something new every day. Thanks, this is good to know.

[@wizardwithsmg4753]

Would like to see more videos explaining the different settings, because the more you know the easier it is to adjust settings to get the game to perform well. Which settings are more important for visuals and which ones affect performance the most, etc.

[@realHenryBayman]

I would like to see more of these setting breakdowns.

[@aydngulgun8936]

hey there, overall i like your videos but this one and few very similar ones to this consept, are outstanding. i really love them. because they are informative for even the very tech savvy, well thought and clean. i would be happy if you increase these kind of content.

[@room.beer.controller3032]

This explanation was most helpful. Thanks. Happy to be a new subscriber.

[@Gixxer983]

I always keep AO on, just makes everything look more real. And i still love your ⚡⚡ Ram .

[@Relax_pm17]

I would definitely like to see more of this!👍

[@jasop2332]

Super helpful, and very well explained... please do more!

[@doozerlooshbag5022]

A really good recent example of ambient occlusion can be drastically illustrated in Ghost Recon Wildlands. There's a variety of settings that give immediate feedback on this graphical technique. Great vid Sal, I like the direction your heading.

[@jbowen867]

This style video is really cool! You could drive into alot more of these topics

[@prathamsharma9082]

Thank you, Greg. You are a genius. Now I have better understanding of what the heck is ambient occlusion.

[@WanderingMindSR]

This helped me understand it better! Thank you for making this video

[@neversknows]

love this style short and informative

[@theblackmamba190ify]

This was verry cool. I'd definetly like to see more of this on the channel.

[@silvestrocalta8977]

Really cool video.. I'd really like to watch more of these.. Keep up the great work Greg :)

[@rodrax18]

Nice, I have already soaked myself in game settings knowledge, but having more of this kind of videos and specially if coming from people like you will further help anyone who still can't grasp and fully understand the different graphics settings. A pretty good example of what AO can do is shown in what I believe was an nvidia web page showcasing HBAO+ for The Witcher 3. It has been a lot since I took a look at it, but you can test some images in "real time" by moving a vertical line across the image itself to see the difference between the two AOs you choose. Maybe some kind of still image would help explaining the setting a lot more, you could try to do that in the next video.

[@AwesumEdGaming]

Nice short and informative video. More of these would be greatly appreciated :)

[@iMajorNova]

Please do more of this with more of the settings!

[@allenqueen]

yes,please make more of these videos explaining the graphic settings like Bloom and Depth of field

[@Martiin291]

good video, send more of this kind. keep the good work!

[@bakedpotatogames9301]

Very good stuff man. More of these videos please :)

[@Kaikholien]

Thank you so much Greg! Always wondered what ask these settings were

[@gerarddresch712]

Love these videos not only a break but cool to learn more for learning is what it is all about -- Thanks -- Also First 65 or Older -- Just do not want to stop Learning .

[@evelynx4374]

Taught me nothing on this particular topic BUT I would *LOVE* to see more of these. Especially for the unusual settings. *Have you considered doing videos that are similar to the Nvidia performance guide visual images?* Side by side comparisons for different settings etc. For example GTA5 - NoAO vs SSAO vs HBAO+ performance and visuals differences. That kind of video would be sooooo useful for sure. I'm a settings tweaker and I always will be but damn sometimes I just want the answers given to me. xD

[@SamFBM]

God damn 213k wow I remember the other year you were on like 21k when I first subbed but I didn't think you would grow this quick. Well done

[@noobyzero]

I remember when he had just around 400subs. It feels good to see someone talented go big.

[@GregSalazar]

I appreciate it, fellas.

[@robertbondar6640]

I think being the tech geek you are (as am I) I think you should do a whole series on each graphical setting kinda like Linus does "tech quickie". Spin it how you would but I think it could generate some possible extra site visits, I know at one point or another I've googled specific stuff trying to learn more. Great video.

[@Quuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu]

Great video,make 1 for every setting if you can!

[@sairaj6875]

This is an awesome video. Thank you!

[@anubis1800]

It's never a bad thing to learn new things or more about things you thought you knew, so this video gets my approval.

[@anubis1800]

Personally, I would like to know about native resolution vs. "checkerboarding." I've heard people referring to it when they talk about the PS4 Pro's 4k and XBox One's HD. I kind of understand it but would love if you could make a video clearing it up. Also, the video you made a while back about AMD's chip architecture vs. Intel's was great (actually it was the video that brought me here in the first place). I think an updated video on the architecture of the new chips would be great, too.

[@AngelGomez-if5un]

Great video, very informative!, I'd like to see more videos like this covering other graphical settings.

[@pmhops77]

Definitely like learning with you... More like this would be awesome!

[@Dykestrike]

more of these bruh. good job

[@pitonlpz]

cool! it is good that you show this kind of content. i like it!

[@NotCerius]

I'd like more videos like this. Thanks for being so awesome. Love from India.

[@vicex6973]

I want more videos like this!

[@zyx1394]

I was wondering what the heck is AO/SSAO/Ambient Occlusion is for 5 minutes ago. So I decided to look it up. Thanks for this short and direct to the point explanation.

[@muhammedzariff1098]

great video. Need more like this.

[@kmitchell6748]

great explanation. will definitely take a closer look at this option in the future. it has been something ive just disabled for the sake of performance

[@Pocketkid2]

I love this type of video, the only thing I would add is more real game comparisons if the video setting! Can you do one on tessellation?

[@knausdj]

It would be really cool to have a series on all the graphical settings in games. It would really help when setting up a bunch of different games just so a person could know what is really needed and what can be sacrificed for performance.

[@Fjuron]

very nicely explained, thank you!

[@yatsuillustrations]

Yes! More Art terms used in video games! New subscriber!

[@xvbd6067]

dude, this is the type of video is why subscribed in the first place

[@RaoulsRandomVideos]

Awesome video, It would be great if you did more video on game rendering and post processing like this. Like video on Various type of AA and also things like Anisotropic Filtering, volumetric lighting and PhysX

[@OfirWasHere]

hey, salazar I really want to know what is the diffrence between FXAA and TTAX and the SMAA i think they called like that but it would be nice if you could explain; In my prospective I dont see any diffrence Between them.

[@AnalogFoundry]

MGamingIL - TTAX? You mean TXAA?

[@jordanmcgaw5591]

YES! I want to see an explanation of pretty much all graphics setting you find in games, how much they impact game performance etc. I think it would be fantastic, and lots of views may come form it, who knows?

[@jort93z]

MSAA is multisampling(rendered in higher resultion, then scaled down while smoothing everything. very taxing on GPU). FXAA is fast approximate anti-aliasing. that means your graphicscard actively searches for edges and smoothes them(very efficient and easy to run for most GPU's, but it doesn't look that great). TXAA is basically a better version of MSAA. more efficient and better looking than MSAA: better looking in regards of the edges. there is a problem that it makes the picture very blurry. similar to FXAA just even worse.(a blur like motion blur kinda)

[@ricohaus1989]

ghost recon wild lands will show the difference visually and tell what the difference is so will rainbow six siege, fine details at close and long range with backgrounds pixels

[@addi.1813]

check out Linus' vid on techquickiw

[@nuddin99]

Please Greg do more of these explaining game settings, even if we can find it online it feels better when you explain.

[@crapnebula8422]

I love this playlist of yours. Please keep doing minute science. Also as a request can you do anti-aliasing next time? Like a detailed explanation? :)

[@nikolayrayanov2895]

Great video, give us more!

[@Marco-vu8eb]

More of these videos..., yes!

[@yukiplays1925]

thissssssssssss i needed this made my games not look blurry anymoreee

[@ahmedshaikh7662]

Good video. Short and to the point.

[@juliantaffa4089]

Awesome type of video, would be great see more like it ;D

[@MrJlamb2011]

love the quick tech tip Keep it up

[@joebones1]

this was informative..please do more, just cause graphics settings sometimes confuse me lol

[@Steel0079]

i would like to see a video on different types of ambient occlusion :) SSAO , HDAO , HBAO , idk what these terms are . which is better in the terms of resource consumption and effect produced quality . thanks