This mod introduces advanced shader technology known as Parallax Occlusion Mapping in the game of S.T.A.L.K.E.R, never seen in any videogame before (except some next-gen games which are still in development, e.g. Crysis , Unreal3 and others) The mod is based on the original Parallax Occlusion HLSL code (Policarpo2005, McGuire2005, Tatarchuk2006), heavily modified by Sky4CE to allow for a considerably higher performance and maximum optimization. You might have heard of Parallax Occlusion Mapping being referred to as Steep Parallax Mapping, Per-Pixel Displacement Mapping With Distance Function, Relief Mapping, Interval Mapping - all of those are alternative names for Parallax Occlusion Mapping. This technology creates a very close-to-life illusion of true relief , turning flat textures into something that looks much like an actual relief made of polygons. A similar effect can be achieved via Bump Mapping or Parallax Mapping, but the difference between Parallax Occlusion Mapping and these two is utterly astonishing.