Rendering Time Estimation for Real-Time Rendering

This paper addresses the problem of estimating the rendering time for a real-time simulation. We study different factors that contribute to the rendering time in order to develop a framework for rendering time estimation. Given a viewpoint (or view cell) and a list of potentially visible objects, we propose several algorithms that can give reasonable upper limits for the rendering time on consumer hardware. This paper also discusses several implementation issues and design choices that are necessary to make the rendering time predictable. Finally, we lay out two extensions to current rendering hardware which would allow implementing a system with constant frame rates.