[TUTORIAL] How to Use Shaders for Simulations

http://www.alanzucconi.com/2016/03/02/4539/

If you're a game developer, you know that good effects are often achieved by cheating. Reproducing realistic water and smoke, for instance, is something delegated to an artist, rather than a physicist. This new series of tutorial focuses on how to simulate these phenomena using nothing more but shaders.

The first post teaches the basic of using shaders to perform computation. Compared to Unity's compute shaders, this technique works on all platforms that support shaders.

To fully understand this tutorial you might also need to refresh your knowledge on:

• Screen Shaders & Image Effects

• Vertex and Fragment Shaders

The tutorial is scheduled in three parts:

• Part 1. How to Use Shaders for Simulations

• Part 2. How to Simulate Smoke with Shaders 

• Part 3. How to Simulate Water with Shaders

I'm also working on a tutorial on fluid dynamics, based on the Navier-Stoke equations. For that one, you'll need to wait a little bit longer.

If you have any question, let me know. ♥