Nonmipmapped

Nonmipmapped refers to textures in computer graphics that do not utilize mipmaps. Mipmaps are pre-calculated, progressively smaller versions of a texture used to improve rendering performance and visual quality. When a texture is rendered at a distance or at a small size on screen, a mipmap version is typically used instead of the full-resolution texture. This reduces aliasing artifacts and the amount of processing required to sample the texture.

A nonmipmapped texture, therefore, always uses its full, original resolution regardless of its apparent size on screen. This can lead to several consequences. Visually, when viewed from afar, nonmipmapped textures can appear aliased, meaning they may exhibit jagged edges or shimmering. This is because a single pixel on the screen might need to represent a large area of the texture, and simply sampling the nearest texel can produce an inaccurate representation. In terms of performance, rendering a full-resolution texture at all scales can be computationally more expensive than using appropriate mipmap levels. The graphics hardware has to perform more complex filtering operations to determine the correct color for each pixel.

In modern graphics, mipmapping is a standard technique and is often enabled by default. However, there might be specific scenarios where nonmipmapped textures are intentionally used. For instance, in certain pixel art styles or when very specific aliasing patterns are desired for artistic effect. Sometimes, developers might disable mipmapping during early development or for debugging purposes. While generally less common for final game or application releases, understanding the concept of nonmipmapped textures is crucial for comprehending texture filtering and optimization in computer graphics.