Fractal noise is the idea of evaluating the same noise function multiple times with
different input parameters on each layer and then mixing the results. The individual
layers are usually called octaves.
The number of layers is controlled with a "Detail" slider.
The "Lacunarity" input controls a factor by which each successive layer gets scaled.
The existing Noise node already supports fractal noise. Now the Voronoi Noise node
supports it as well. The node also has a new "Normalize" property that ensures that
the output values stay in a [0.0, 1.0] range. That is except for the F2 feature where
in rare cases the output may be outside that range even with "Normalize" turned on.
How the individual octaves are mixed depends on the feature and output socket:
- F1/Smooth F1/F2:
- Distance/Color output:
The individual Distance/Color octaves are first multiplied by a factor of
`Roughness ^ (#layers - 1.0)` then added together to create the final output.
- Position output:
Each Position octave gets linearly interpolated with the combined output of the
previous octaves. The Roughness input serves as an interpolation factor with
0.0 resutling in only using the combined output of the previous octaves and
1.0 resulting in only using the current highest octave.
- Distance to Edge:
- Distance output:
The Distance octaves are mixed exactly like the Position octaves for F1/Smooth F1/F2.
It should be noted that Voronoi Noise is a relatively slow noise function, especially
at higher dimensions. Increasing the "Detail" makes it even slower. Therefore, when
optimizing a scene one should consider trying to use simpler noise functions instead
of Voronoi if the final result is close enough.
Pull Request: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/106827
144ad4d20b