Multisampling/jagged edges in Metal (iOS)

Question

I'm currently trying to draw a graphic that will be animated using Metal in Swift. I have successfully drawn a single frame of my graphic. The graphic is simple, as you can see from this image. What I can't figure out is how to multisample the drawing. There seems to be few references on Metal in general, especially in regards to the Swift syntax.

self.metalLayer = CAMetalLayer()
self.metalLayer.device = self.device
self.metalLayer.pixelFormat = .BGRA8Unorm
self.metalLayer.framebufferOnly = true
self.metalLayer.frame = self.view.frame
self.view.layer.addSublayer(self.metalLayer)

self.renderer = SunRenderer(device: self.device, frame: self.view.frame)

let defaultLibrary = self.device.newDefaultLibrary()
let fragmentProgram = defaultLibrary!.newFunctionWithName("basic_fragment")
let vertexProgram = defaultLibrary!.newFunctionWithName("basic_vertex")

let pipelineStateDescriptor = MTLRenderPipelineDescriptor()
pipelineStateDescriptor.vertexFunction = vertexProgram
pipelineStateDescriptor.fragmentFunction = fragmentProgram
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].pixelFormat = .BGRA8Unorm
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].blendingEnabled = true

pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].rgbBlendOperation = MTLBlendOperation.Add
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].alphaBlendOperation = MTLBlendOperation.Add
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].sourceRGBBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.SourceAlpha
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].sourceAlphaBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.SourceAlpha
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].destinationRGBBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.OneMinusSourceAlpha
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].destinationAlphaBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.OneMinusSourceAlpha

The question, how do I smooth these edges?

UPDATE:

So I have implemented a MultiSample texture and set the sampleCount to 4. I don't notice any difference so I suspect I did something wrong.

FINAL:

So, in the end, it does appear the multisampling works. Initially, I had vertices wrapping these "rays" with a 0 alpha. This is a trick to make smoother edges. With these vertices, multisampling didn't seem to improve the edges. When I reverted back to have 4 vertices per ray, the multi-sampling improved their edges.

let defaultLibrary = self.device.newDefaultLibrary()
let fragmentProgram = defaultLibrary!.newFunctionWithName("basic_fragment")
let vertexProgram = defaultLibrary!.newFunctionWithName("basic_vertex")
        
let pipelineStateDescriptor = MTLRenderPipelineDescriptor()
pipelineStateDescriptor.vertexFunction = vertexProgram
pipelineStateDescriptor.fragmentFunction = fragmentProgram
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].pixelFormat = .BGRA8Unorm
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].blendingEnabled = true
pipelineStateDescriptor.sampleCount = 4
        
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].rgbBlendOperation =    MTLBlendOperation.Add
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].alphaBlendOperation = MTLBlendOperation.Add
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].sourceRGBBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.SourceAlpha
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].sourceAlphaBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.SourceAlpha

pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].destinationRGBBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.OneMinusSourceAlpha
pipelineStateDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].destinationAlphaBlendFactor = MTLBlendFactor.OneMinusSourceAlpha

let desc = MTLTextureDescriptor()
desc.textureType = MTLTextureType.Type2DMultisample
desc.width = Int(self.view.frame.width)
desc.height = Int(self.view.frame.height)
desc.sampleCount = 4
desc.pixelFormat = .BGRA8Unorm
        
self.sampletex = self.device.newTextureWithDescriptor(desc)


// When rendering
let renderPassDescriptor = MTLRenderPassDescriptor()
renderPassDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].texture = sampletex
renderPassDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].resolveTexture = drawable.texture
renderPassDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].loadAction = .Clear
renderPassDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].clearColor = MTLClearColor(red: 23/255.0, green: 26/255.0, blue: 31/255.0, alpha: 0.0)
renderPassDescriptor.colorAttachments[0].storeAction = .MultisampleResolve
    
    
let commandBuffer = commandQueue.commandBuffer()
    
let renderEncoder = commandBuffer.renderCommandEncoderWithDescriptor(renderPassDescriptor)
renderEncoder.setRenderPipelineState(pipelineState)

Answer 1

This is substantially simpler with MTKView (just set sampleCount to your desired number of MSAA samples on the view and the pipeline descriptor), but here are the steps for rolling your own.

1. When creating a render pipeline state, set the sampleCount of your render pipeline state descriptor to your multisample count.

2. At startup, and whenever the layer resizes, create a multisample texture with dimensions equal to your layer's drawable size by creating a texture descriptor whose textureType is MTLTextureType2DMultisample and whose sampleCount is your multisample count. If you are using a depth and/or stencil buffer, set these properties on their descriptors as well.

3. When rendering, set the MSAA texture as the texture of the render pass descriptor's primary color attachment, and set the current drawable's texture as the resolveTexture.

4. Set the storeAction of the color attachment to MTLStoreActionMultisampleResolve so that the MSAA texture is resolved into the renderbuffer at the end of the pass.

5. Draw and present as you normally would.