Shimmer, mipmaps and anisotropy
Left: no mipmaps. Middle: the default. Right: anisotropy 16. The numbers 1006 and 1008 are the constants LinearFilter and LinearMipmapLinearFilter. A still picture cannot show flicker: look at the left strip while the page scrolls or run it in a window you resize.
A screen pixel rarely covers exactly one texel. Filtering decides how texels are blended when the picture is magnified or shrunk. Mipmaps and anisotropy keep a far floor from shimmering or turning to mush.
Change the code and press Run (Ctrl+Enter). Predict what will happen first, then break it on purpose and read what changes. Your edits are saved and match the lesson page.
Ready for more? This phase has 4 hands-on exercises with automatic checks.
Practice questions
Write the code in the editor, run it, then open the model answer to compare.
A road texture looks blurry in the distance but sharp near the camera. Which one setting do you change, and what does it cost?
How many mip levels does a 2048 × 2048 texture have?
Explain it without notes
Why does a far floor flicker when the camera moves, and what is the fix?
What does anisotropic filtering add that mipmaps do not?
Console
Nothing logged yet.Expected console output
no mipmaps (Linear) | minFilter: 1006 | generateMipmaps: false | anisotropy: 1
mipmaps (the default) | minFilter: 1008 | generateMipmaps: true | anisotropy: 1
mipmaps + anisotropy 16 | minFilter: 1008 | generateMipmaps: true | anisotropy: 16