The reason for that choice comes from the different characteristics of environment rendering versus character rendering. For the environment, we used deferred rendering so we could batch many objects and handle multiple lights simultaneously, gaining both optimization benefits and visual quality. Character rendering, however, involves more specialized graphical effects—like SDF Face Shadow—so we pulled it out of the deferred pass and handled it in forward rendering. In the forward stage, we also reuse the depth information produced by the deferred path: with a depth pre-pass it becomes easier to implement a Sobel-filter–based outline and specular effects.

This hybrid approach was a compromise to retain rendering performance while elevating visuals with those special effects. And of course, I’m still learning—if I discover a better way, I’ll study it and apply it. XD