Why standard directional shadow maps look pixelated across large outdoor game environments:

A single $2048\times 2048$ shadow map stretched across an entire 1km landscape gives only ~2mm shadow resolution near the camera, causing blurry pixelated shadows.

Cascaded Shadow Maps (CSM):

• Split view frustum into 3-4 depth cascades (e.g. 0-15m, 15-60m, 60-250m, 250-1000m).
• Render separate shadow map tightly bound to each cascade slice.
• Close-up shadows get crystal-sharp pixel resolution while distant terrain maintains soft coverage!

CSM is standard in open-world titles. Blending between cascade split seams eliminates visual popping.

Using logarithmic depth partitioning provides optimal distribution of shadow map texels.