How to handle depth when using multiple shaders.

15

I was doing a bit more testing, trying to implement some basic effects into the mix, and ran into an issue.

It works fine when I use DepthStencilState.Default, and set it to BackToFront. However, when I use this code, it looks less then ideal.

greyScale just changes the gb value, and alphaTest is to clip the pixel if alpha < 0.9.

        DepthStencilState ds = ds_depthtest_greater;

        GraphicsDevice.SetRenderTarget(renderTarget1);
        GraphicsDevice.Clear(Color.CornflowerBlue)

         spriteBatch.Begin(SpriteSortMode.FrontToBack, null, null, ds, null, greyScale, null);

        spriteBatch.Draw(character, new Vector2(0, 0), null, Color.White, 0f, Vector2.Zero, 1f, SpriteEffects.None, 0.5f);

        spriteBatch.End();

        GraphicsDevice.SetRenderTarget(null);
        GraphicsDevice.Clear(ClearOptions.DepthBuffer, Color.Black, 0f, 0);

        spriteBatch.Begin(SpriteSortMode.FrontToBack, null, null, ds, null, alphaEffect, null);

        spriteBatch.Draw(renderTarget1, position, null, Color.White, 0f, Vector2.Zero, 1f, SpriteEffects.None, 0.5f);

        spriteBatch.End();

        spriteBatch.Begin(SpriteSortMode.FrontToBack, null, null, ds, null, alphaEffect, null);

        spriteBatch.Draw(fount, new Vector2(100, 100), topHalf1, Color.White, 0f, Vector2.Zero, 1f, SpriteEffects.None, 0.7f);
        
        spriteBatch.Draw(fount, new Vector2(100, 100 + bottomY1 ), bottomHalf1, Color.White, 0f, Vector2.Zero, 1f, SpriteEffects.None, 0.3f);

        spriteBatch.End();

The following is what is outputted.

The following is what I get when I use Default and BackToFront

Any direction would be appreciated!