Chapter 266: RenderTarget

Core Idea

A render target is a buffer where the video card draws pixels for a scene that is being rendered in the background. It is used in different effects, such as applying postprocessing to a rendered image before displaying it on the screen.

Key Concepts

depth : number: The depth of the render target.
depthBuffer : boolean: Whether to allocate a depth buffer or not.
depthTexture : DepthTexture: Instead of saving the depth in a renderbuffer, a texture can be used instead which is useful for further processing e.g. in context of post…
height : number: The height of the render target.
isRenderTarget : boolean (readonly): This flag can be used for type testing.
multiview : boolean: Whether to this target is used in multiview rendering.
resolveDepthBuffer : boolean: Whether to resolve the depth buffer or not.
resolveStencilBuffer : boolean: Whether to resolve the stencil buffer or not.
samples : number: The number of MSAA samples.
scissor : Vector4: A rectangular area inside the render target's viewport. Fragments that are outside the area will be discarded.

Reference Tables

Constructor

Signature
`new RenderTarget( width : number, height : number, options : RenderTarget~Options )`

Properties

Property	Description
`.depth : number`	The depth of the render target.
`.depthBuffer : boolean`	Whether to allocate a depth buffer or not.
`.depthTexture : DepthTexture`	Instead of saving the depth in a renderbuffer, a texture can be used instead which is useful for further processing e.g. in context of post-processing.
`.height : number`	The height of the render target.
`.isRenderTarget : boolean (readonly)`	This flag can be used for type testing.
`.multiview : boolean`	Whether to this target is used in multiview rendering.
`.resolveDepthBuffer : boolean`	Whether to resolve the depth buffer or not.
`.resolveStencilBuffer : boolean`	Whether to resolve the stencil buffer or not.
`.samples : number`	The number of MSAA samples.
`.scissor : Vector4`	A rectangular area inside the render target's viewport. Fragments that are outside the area will be discarded.
`.scissorTest : boolean`	Indicates whether the scissor test should be enabled when rendering into this render target or not.
`.stencilBuffer : boolean`	Whether to allocate a stencil buffer or not.
`.texture : Texture`	The texture representing the default color attachment.
`.textures : Array.<Texture>`	An array of textures. Each color attachment is represented as a separate texture. Has at least a single entry for the default color attachment.
`.useArrayDepthTexture : boolean`	Whether to create the depth texture as an array texture for per-layer depth testing. This is separate from multiview so layered render targets can use array depth without the multiview extension.
`.viewport : Vector4`	A rectangular area representing the render target's viewport.
`.width : number`	The width of the render target.

Methods

Method	Description
`.clone() : RenderTarget`	Returns a new render target with copied values from this instance.
`.copy( source : RenderTarget ) : RenderTarget`	Copies the settings of the given render target. This is a structural copy so no resources are shared between render targets after the copy. That includes all MRT textures and the depth texture.
`.dispose()`	Frees the GPU-related resources allocated by this instance. Call this method whenever this instance is no longer used in your app.
`.setSize( width : number, height : number, depth : number )`	Sets the size of this render target.

Key Takeaways

RenderTarget extends: EventDispatcher
Most relevant properties: depth, depthBuffer, depthTexture, height.
Key methods: clone, copy, dispose, setSize.

Connects To

EventDispatcher: parent class
Source: src/core/RenderTarget.js