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| − | __NOTOC__
| + | #REDIRECT [[Glossary#Alpha_Channel]] |
| − | = Alpha Channel =
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| − | An optional channel in the texture file that usually defines the [[Transparency map|transparency]] of the texture’s [[Pixel|pixels]].
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| − | It can also be used for other things like a [[Height map|height map]] or grey-scale [[Category:Specular map|specular map]].
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| − | The alpha is usually anywhere from 1bit up to 8bits, depending on the amount of detail you need. Generally, the lower the [[BitDepth|bit depth]] you use, the more [[Memory|memory]] you save, but the less image quality you get. See [[Transparency map]] for more information, and some visual examples can be found on the Glossary page [[Transparency#Alpha_Bit_Depths]].
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| − | Different image channels can be extracted by a [[Category:Shaders|shader]] to use them for particular effects, like alpha for physics info, red channel for glow and green channel for specular and blue channel for sound types, etc. In this way, a bitmap can store more information than just RGB color.
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| − | ----
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| − | [[Category:Glossary]]
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