diff --git a/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.cpp b/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.cpp
index 7ee4fb9511..9fd206aad4 100644
--- a/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.cpp
+++ b/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.cpp
@@ -25,9 +25,16 @@
 #include <osg/io_utils>
 #include <osg/Depth>
 #include <osg/ClipControl>
+#include <osg/Math>
+#include <osgUtil/RenderStage>
+#include <osgUtil/StateGraph>
+#include <cstdlib>
+#include <cmath>
 
 #include <sstream>
 #include <vector>
+#include <future>
+#include <limits>
 
 #include "glextensions.hpp"
 #include "shadowsbin.hpp"
@@ -242,7 +249,7 @@ class VDSMCameraCullCallback : public osg::NodeCallback
 {
     public:
 
-        VDSMCameraCullCallback(MWShadowTechnique* vdsm, osg::Polytope& polytope);
+        VDSMCameraCullCallback(MWShadowTechnique* vdsm, const osg::Polytope& polytope);
 
         void operator()(osg::Node*, osg::NodeVisitor* nv) override;
 
@@ -257,47 +264,61 @@ class VDSMCameraCullCallback : public osg::NodeCallback
         osg::Polytope                           _polytope;
 };
 
-VDSMCameraCullCallback::VDSMCameraCullCallback(MWShadowTechnique* vdsm, osg::Polytope& polytope):
+VDSMCameraCullCallback::VDSMCameraCullCallback(MWShadowTechnique* vdsm, const osg::Polytope& polytope):
     _vdsm(vdsm),
     _polytope(polytope)
-{
-}
+{}
 
 void VDSMCameraCullCallback::operator()(osg::Node* node, osg::NodeVisitor* nv)
 {
     osgUtil::CullVisitor* cv = static_cast<osgUtil::CullVisitor*>(nv);
     osg::Camera* camera = node->asCamera();
     OSG_INFO<<"VDSMCameraCullCallback::operator()(osg::Node* "<<camera<<", osg::NodeVisitor* "<<cv<<")"<<std::endl;
+    // Make sure the current render bin is the camera's RTT render stage so that
+    // all render leaves generated below land in the RTT stage (not the parent).
+    if (osgUtil::RenderStage* stage = cv->getCurrentRenderStage())
+        cv->setCurrentRenderBin(stage);
 
-#if 1
     if (!_polytope.empty())
     {
-        OSG_INFO<<"Pushing custom Polytope"<<std::endl;
-
-        osg::CullingSet& cs = cv->getProjectionCullingStack().back();
-
-        cs.setFrustum(_polytope);
-
-        cv->pushCullingSet();
+        auto& stack = cv->getProjectionCullingStack();
+        if (!stack.empty())
+        {
+            osg::CullingSet& cs = stack.back();
+            cs.setFrustum(_polytope);
+            cv->pushCullingSet();
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            // No projection stack available; skip polytope for safety in parallel paths
+        }
+    }
+    // Push casting state and shadows bin while traversing the RTT camera
+    if (auto* cast = _vdsm->getCastingStateSet())
+    {
+        cv->pushStateSet(cast);
     }
-#endif
     // bin has to go inside camera cull or the rendertexture stage will override it
     cv->pushStateSet(_vdsm->getOrCreateShadowsBinStateSet());
     if (_vdsm->getShadowedScene())
     {
         _vdsm->getShadowedScene()->osg::Group::traverse(*nv);
     }
-    cv->popStateSet();
-#if 1
+    cv->popStateSet(); // pop shadows bin stateset
+    if (_vdsm->getCastingStateSet()){
+        cv->popStateSet();
+    }
     if (!_polytope.empty())
     {
-        OSG_INFO<<"Popping custom Polytope"<<std::endl;
-        cv->popCullingSet();
+        auto& stack = cv->getProjectionCullingStack();
+        if (!stack.empty())
+        {
+            cv->popCullingSet();
+        }
     }
-#endif
-
-    _renderStage = cv->getCurrentRenderBin()->getStage();
 
+    // Capture the RTT render stage after traversal for PSM adjustments later.
+    _renderStage = cv->getCurrentRenderStage();
     OSG_INFO<<"VDSM second : _renderStage = "<<_renderStage<<std::endl;
 
     if (cv->getComputeNearFarMode() != osg::CullSettings::DO_NOT_COMPUTE_NEAR_FAR)
@@ -305,10 +326,11 @@ void VDSMCameraCullCallback::operator()(osg::Node* node, osg::NodeVisitor* nv)
         // make sure that the near plane is computed correctly.
         cv->computeNearPlane();
 
-        osg::Matrixd projection = *(cv->getProjectionMatrix());
-
+        osg::RefMatrix* projRef = cv->getProjectionMatrix();
+        if (!projRef)
+            return; // cannot proceed safely without a projection matrix
+        osg::Matrixd projection = *projRef;
         OSG_INFO<<"RTT Projection matrix "<<projection<<std::endl;
-
         osg::Matrix::value_type left, right, bottom, top, zNear, zFar;
         osg::Matrix::value_type epsilon = 1e-6;
         if (fabs(projection(0,3))<epsilon  && fabs(projection(1,3))<epsilon  && fabs(projection(2,3))<epsilon )
@@ -316,7 +338,6 @@ void VDSMCameraCullCallback::operator()(osg::Node* node, osg::NodeVisitor* nv)
             projection.getOrtho(left, right,
                                 bottom, top,
                                 zNear,  zFar);
-
             OSG_INFO<<"Ortho zNear="<<zNear<<", zFar="<<zFar<<std::endl;
         }
         else
@@ -324,10 +345,8 @@ void VDSMCameraCullCallback::operator()(osg::Node* node, osg::NodeVisitor* nv)
             projection.getFrustum(left, right,
                                 bottom, top,
                                 zNear,  zFar);
-
             OSG_INFO<<"Frustum zNear="<<zNear<<", zFar="<<zFar<<std::endl;
         }
-
         OSG_INFO<<"Calculated zNear = "<<cv->getCalculatedNearPlane()<<", zFar = "<<cv->getCalculatedFarPlane()<<std::endl;
 
         zNear = osg::maximum(zNear, cv->getCalculatedNearPlane());
@@ -337,7 +356,6 @@ void VDSMCameraCullCallback::operator()(osg::Node* node, osg::NodeVisitor* nv)
         cv->setCalculatedFarPlane(zFar);
 
         cv->clampProjectionMatrix(projection, zNear, zFar);
-
         //OSG_INFO<<"RTT zNear = "<<zNear<<", zFar = "<<zFar<<std::endl;
         OSG_INFO<<"RTT Projection matrix after clamping "<<projection<<std::endl;
 
@@ -652,7 +670,6 @@ MWShadowTechnique::Frustum::Frustum(osgUtil::CullVisitor* cv, double minZNear, d
         OSG_INFO<<"Projection matrix after clamping "<<projectionMatrix<<std::endl;
     }
 }
-
 void SceneUtil::MWShadowTechnique::Frustum::setCustomClipSpace(const osg::BoundingBoxd& clipCornersOverride)
 {
     useCustomClipSpace = true;
@@ -691,7 +708,6 @@ void SceneUtil::MWShadowTechnique::Frustum::init()
         ++itr)
     {
         *itr = (*itr) * clipToWorld;
-
         OSG_INFO<<"   corner "<<*itr<<std::endl;
     }
 
@@ -704,7 +720,6 @@ void SceneUtil::MWShadowTechnique::Frustum::init()
     center = (centerNearPlane+centerFarPlane)*0.5;
     frustumCenterLine = centerFarPlane-centerNearPlane;
     frustumCenterLine.normalize();
-
     OSG_INFO<<"   center "<<center<<std::endl;
 
     faces[0].push_back(0);
@@ -1048,7 +1063,6 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
         return;
     }
 
-    OSG_INFO<<std::endl<<std::endl<<"MWShadowTechnique::cull(osg::CullVisitor&"<<&cv<<")"<<std::endl;
 
     if (!_shadowCastingStateSet)
     {
@@ -1065,13 +1079,17 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
         _shadowedScene->osg::Group::traverse(cv);
         return;
     }
-    
+    OSG_INFO<<std::endl<<std::endl<<"MWShadowTechnique::cull(osg::CullVisitor&"<<&cv<<")"<<std::endl;
     Uniforms& vddUniforms = vdd->_uniforms[cv.getTraversalNumber() % 2];
 
     ShadowSettings* settings = getShadowedScene()->getShadowSettings();
+    const bool debugDraw = settings->getDebugDraw();
+    const bool isCascaded = settings->getMultipleShadowMapHint() == ShadowSettings::CASCADED;
+    const bool isParallelSplit = settings->getMultipleShadowMapHint() == ShadowSettings::PARALLEL_SPLIT;
 
     OSG_INFO<<"cv->getProjectionMatrix()="<<*cv.getProjectionMatrix()<<std::endl;
 
+
     osg::CullSettings::ComputeNearFarMode cachedNearFarMode = cv.getComputeNearFarMode();
 
     osg::RefMatrix& viewProjectionMatrix = *cv.getProjectionMatrix();
@@ -1125,8 +1143,6 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
     maxZFar = osg::minimum(settings->getMaximumShadowMapDistance(),maxZFar);
     if (minZNear>maxZFar) minZNear = maxZFar*settings->getMinimumShadowMapNearFarRatio();
 
-    //OSG_NOTICE<<"maxZFar "<<maxZFar<<std::endl;
-
     // Workaround for absurdly huge viewing distances where OSG would otherwise push the near plane out.
     cv.setNearFarRatio(minZNear / maxZFar);
 
@@ -1146,7 +1162,6 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
             if (itr != _viewDependentDataMap.end())
             {
                 OSG_INFO << "User provided a valid shared frustum hint, re-using previously generated shadow map" << std::endl;
-
                 copyShadowMap(cv, vdd, itr->second);
 
                 // return compute near far mode back to it's original settings
@@ -1184,8 +1199,6 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
     // return compute near far mode back to it's original settings
     cv.setComputeNearFarMode(cachedNearFarMode);
 
-    OSG_INFO<<"frustum.eye="<<frustum.eye<<", frustum.centerNearPlane, "<<frustum.centerNearPlane<<" distance = "<<(frustum.eye-frustum.centerNearPlane).length()<<std::endl;
-
 
     // 2. select active light sources
     //    create a list of light sources + their matrices to place them
@@ -1233,6 +1246,12 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
             continue;
         }
 
+        // Precompute inverse view and base local polytope once per light
+        osg::Matrixd invViewMatrix;
+        invViewMatrix.invert(viewMatrix);
+        osg::Polytope baseLocalPolytope(polytope);
+        baseLocalPolytope.transformProvidingInverse(invViewMatrix);
+
         // if we are using multiple shadow maps and CastShadowTraversalMask is being used
         // traverse the scene to compute the extents of the objects
         if (/*numShadowMapsPerLight>1 &&*/ (_shadowedScene->getCastsShadowTraversalMask() & _worldMask) == 0)
@@ -1323,12 +1342,9 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
 
             osg::Vec3d eye_ls = eye_v * projectionMatrix;
 
-            OSG_INFO<<"Angle between view vector and eye "<<osg::RadiansToDegrees(angle)<<std::endl;
-            OSG_INFO<<"eye_ls="<<eye_ls<<std::endl;
 
             if (eye_ls.y()>=-1.0 && eye_ls.y()<=1.0)
             {
-                OSG_INFO<<"Eye point inside light space clip region   "<<std::endl;
                 splitPoint = 0.0;
             }
             else
@@ -1339,13 +1355,108 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
                 double mid = eye_ls.y()+sqrt_nf;
                 double ratioOfMidToUseForSplit = 0.8;
                 splitPoint = mid * ratioOfMidToUseForSplit;
-
-                OSG_INFO<<"  n="<<n<<", f="<<f<<", sqrt_nf="<<sqrt_nf<<" mid="<<mid<<std::endl;
             }
         }
 #endif
 
-        // 4. For each light/shadow map
+        // Precompute per-cascade parameters and plane lists (parallelizable), reused below
+        struct SplitParams { double r_start = -1.0; double r_end = 1.0; double nearPlane = std::numeric_limits<double>::quiet_NaN(); double farPlane = std::numeric_limits<double>::quiet_NaN(); };
+        struct CascadePrep { SplitParams split; osg::Matrixd proj; std::vector<osg::Plane> extraPlanes; bool planesPushed = false; };
+        std::vector<CascadePrep> cascadePreps;
+        if (numShadowMapsPerLight > 1)
+        {
+            cascadePreps.resize(numShadowMapsPerLight);
+            std::vector<std::future<void>> preTasks;
+            if (mParallelShadowCullingEnabled)
+                preTasks.reserve(numShadowMapsPerLight);
+            auto doPrep = [&](unsigned int sm_i) {
+                    CascadePrep cp;
+                    // Split params
+                    const double n = reducedNear;
+                    const double f = reducedFar;
+                    const double i = static_cast<double>(sm_i);
+                    const double m = static_cast<double>(numShadowMapsPerLight);
+                    if (sm_i == 0)
+                    {
+                        cp.split.r_start = -1.0;
+                        cp.split.nearPlane = n;
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        const double ciLog = n * pow(f / n, i / m);
+                        const double ciUniform = n + (f - n) * i / m;
+                        const double ci = _splitPointUniformLogRatio * ciLog + (1.0 - _splitPointUniformLogRatio) * ciUniform + _splitPointDeltaBias;
+                        cp.split.nearPlane = ci;
+                        osg::Vec3d worldSpacePos = frustum.eye + frustum.frustumCenterLine * ci;
+                        osg::Vec3d lightSpacePos = worldSpacePos * viewMatrix * projectionMatrix;
+                        cp.split.r_start = lightSpacePos.y();
+                    }
+                    if (sm_i + 1 == numShadowMapsPerLight)
+                    {
+                        cp.split.r_end = 1.0;
+                        cp.split.farPlane = f;
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        const double ciLog = n * pow(f / n, (i + 1) / m);
+                        const double ciUniform = n + (f - n) * (i + 1) / m;
+                        const double ci = _splitPointUniformLogRatio * ciLog + (1.0 - _splitPointUniformLogRatio) * ciUniform + _splitPointDeltaBias;
+                        cp.split.farPlane = ci;
+                        osg::Vec3d worldSpacePos = frustum.eye + frustum.frustumCenterLine * ci;
+                        osg::Vec3d lightSpacePos = worldSpacePos * viewMatrix * projectionMatrix;
+                        cp.split.r_end = lightSpacePos.y();
+                    }
+
+                    // Parallel-split planes and projection tweak (if needed)
+                    if (isParallelSplit)
+                    {
+                        double r_start = cp.split.r_start;
+                        double r_end = cp.split.r_end;
+                        // Overlap bias is applied later with motion context, so only base planes here
+                        if (sm_i>0)
+                        {
+                            osg::Plane plane(0.0,1.0,0.0,-r_start);
+                            osg::Plane tplane = plane; tplane.transformProvidingInverse(projectionMatrix);
+                            cp.extraPlanes.push_back(tplane);
+                        }
+                        if (sm_i+1<numShadowMapsPerLight)
+                        {
+                            osg::Plane plane(0.0,-1.0,0.0,r_end);
+                            osg::Plane tplane = plane; tplane.transformProvidingInverse(projectionMatrix);
+                            cp.extraPlanes.push_back(tplane);
+                        }
+                        cp.planesPushed = !cp.extraPlanes.empty();
+                        if (cp.planesPushed)
+                        {
+                            // mid/range scaling matrix for projection tweak
+                            const double mid_r = (r_start + r_end)*0.5;
+                            const double range_r = (r_end - r_start);
+                            cp.proj = osg::Matrixd::translate(osg::Vec3d(0.0,-mid_r,0.0)) *
+                                      osg::Matrixd::scale(osg::Vec3d(1.0,2.0/range_r,1.0));
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                    cascadePreps[sm_i] = std::move(cp);
+            };
+            for (unsigned int sm_i = 0; sm_i < numShadowMapsPerLight; ++sm_i)
+            {
+                if (mParallelShadowCullingEnabled)
+                    preTasks.emplace_back(std::async(std::launch::async, doPrep, sm_i));
+                else
+                    doPrep(sm_i);
+            }
+            for (auto& t : preTasks) t.get();
+        }
+
+    // 4. For each light/shadow map
+    struct CascadeCullResult { osg::ref_ptr<ShadowData> sd; osg::ref_ptr<osg::Camera> camera; osg::ref_ptr<VDSMCameraCullCallback> cb; unsigned int sm_i = 0; bool rendered = false; double rStart = std::numeric_limits<double>::quiet_NaN(); double rEnd = std::numeric_limits<double>::quiet_NaN(); };
+    // Experimental parallel traversal: enabled only when both flags are on
+    const bool useParallelCull = (mParallelShadowTraversalEnabled && mParallelShadowCullingEnabled);
+        std::vector<std::future<CascadeCullResult>> parallelCullTasks;
+    // Note: we used to clone the main CullVisitor as a template, but we now construct
+    // a fresh CullVisitor per task and seed it explicitly to avoid inheriting unsafe state.
+        std::vector<CascadeCullResult> serialResults;
+        serialResults.reserve(numShadowMapsPerLight);
         for (unsigned int sm_i=0; sm_i<numShadowMapsPerLight; ++sm_i)
         {
             osg::ref_ptr<ShadowData> sd;
@@ -1367,167 +1478,196 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
             camera->setProjectionMatrix(projectionMatrix);
             camera->setViewMatrix(viewMatrix);
 
-            if (settings->getDebugDraw())
+            if (debugDraw)
             {
                 camera->getViewport()->x() = pos_x;
                 pos_x += static_cast<unsigned int>(camera->getViewport()->width()) + 40;
             }
 
-            // transform polytope in model coords into light spaces eye coords.
-            osg::Matrixd invertModelView;
-            invertModelView.invert(camera->getViewMatrix());
-
-            osg::Polytope local_polytope(polytope);
-            local_polytope.transformProvidingInverse(invertModelView);
-
             double cascaseNear = reducedNear;
             double cascadeFar = reducedFar;
+            // For skip-on-unchanged heuristic
+            double computedRStart = std::numeric_limits<double>::quiet_NaN();
+            double computedREnd = std::numeric_limits<double>::quiet_NaN();
+
+            // Local polytope used by both PARALLEL_SPLIT plane clipping and CASCADED cropping
+            osg::Polytope local_polytope;
+
+            // Start from precomputed base local polytope (light space eye coords)
+            local_polytope = baseLocalPolytope;
+
+            // compute the start and end range in non-dimensional coords if using multiple shadow maps
             if (numShadowMapsPerLight>1)
             {
-                // compute the start and end range in non-dimensional coords
-#if 0
-                double r_start = (sm_i==0) ? -1.0 : (double(sm_i)/double(numShadowMapsPerLight)*2.0-1.0);
-                double r_end = (sm_i+1==numShadowMapsPerLight) ? 1.0 : (double(sm_i+1)/double(numShadowMapsPerLight)*2.0-1.0);
-#elif 0
-
-                // hardwired for 2 splits
-                double r_start = (sm_i==0) ? -1.0 : splitPoint;
-                double r_end = (sm_i+1==numShadowMapsPerLight) ? 1.0 : splitPoint;
-#else
                 double r_start, r_end;
-
-                // split system based on the original Parallel Split Shadow Maps paper.
-                double n = reducedNear;
-                double f = reducedFar;
-                double i = double(sm_i);
-                double m = double(numShadowMapsPerLight);
-                if (sm_i == 0)
+                if (!cascadePreps.empty())
+                {
+                    cascaseNear = cascadePreps[sm_i].split.nearPlane;
+                    cascadeFar = cascadePreps[sm_i].split.farPlane;
+                    r_start = cascadePreps[sm_i].split.r_start;
+                    r_end = cascadePreps[sm_i].split.r_end;
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    // Fallback to scalar path if no splits
                     r_start = -1.0;
-                else
-                {
-                    // compute the split point in main camera view
-                    double ciLog = n * pow(f / n, i / m);
-                    double ciUniform = n + (f - n) * i / m;
-                    double ci = _splitPointUniformLogRatio * ciLog + (1.0 - _splitPointUniformLogRatio) * ciUniform + _splitPointDeltaBias;
-                    cascaseNear = ci;
-
-                    // work out where this is in light space
-                    osg::Vec3d worldSpacePos = frustum.eye + frustum.frustumCenterLine * ci;
-                    osg::Vec3d lightSpacePos = worldSpacePos * viewMatrix * projectionMatrix;
-                    r_start = lightSpacePos.y();
-                }
-
-                if (sm_i + 1 == numShadowMapsPerLight)
                     r_end = 1.0;
-                else
-                {
-                    // compute the split point in main camera view
-                    double ciLog = n * pow(f / n, (i + 1) / m);
-                    double ciUniform = n + (f - n) * (i + 1) / m;
-                    double ci = _splitPointUniformLogRatio * ciLog + (1.0 - _splitPointUniformLogRatio) * ciUniform + _splitPointDeltaBias;
-                    cascadeFar = ci;
-                    
-                    // work out where this is in light space
-                    osg::Vec3d worldSpacePos = frustum.eye + frustum.frustumCenterLine * ci;
-                    osg::Vec3d lightSpacePos = worldSpacePos * viewMatrix * projectionMatrix;
-                    r_end = lightSpacePos.y();
                 }
-#endif
-                // for all by the last shadowmap shift the r_end so that it overlaps slightly with the next shadowmap
+                // for all but the last shadowmap shift the r_end so that it overlaps with the next shadowmap
                 // to prevent a seam showing through between the shadowmaps
-                if (sm_i+1<numShadowMapsPerLight) r_end+=0.01;
+                double cascadeOverlapBias = 0.01; // fixed overlap bias
+                if (sm_i + 1 < numShadowMapsPerLight) r_end += cascadeOverlapBias;
 
+                // Record signature
+                computedRStart = r_start;
+                computedREnd = r_end;
 
                 // We can't add these clipping planes with cascaded shadow maps as they wouldn't be parallel to the light direction.
-
-                if (settings->getMultipleShadowMapHint() == ShadowSettings::PARALLEL_SPLIT && sm_i>0)
+                bool planesPushed = false;
+                if (isParallelSplit)
                 {
-                    // not the first shadowmap so insert a polytope to clip the scene from before r_start
+                    // Base planes from prepass; apply overlap bias now by tweaking r_end plane
+                    if (!cascadePreps.empty())
+                    {
+                        // Recreate planes with current r_start/r_end (already have base transformed planes, but we must account for bias)
+                        if (sm_i>0)
+                        {
+                            osg::Plane plane(0.0,1.0,0.0,-r_start);
+                            plane.transformProvidingInverse(projectionMatrix);
+                            local_polytope.getPlaneList().push_back(plane);
+                            planesPushed = true;
+                        }
+                        if (sm_i+1<numShadowMapsPerLight)
+                        {
+                            osg::Plane plane(0.0,-1.0,0.0,r_end);
+                            plane.transformProvidingInverse(projectionMatrix);
+                            local_polytope.getPlaneList().push_back(plane);
+                            planesPushed = true;
+                        }
+                        if (planesPushed)
+                            local_polytope.setupMask();
 
-                    // plane in clip space coords
-                    osg::Plane plane(0.0,1.0,0.0,-r_start);
-
-                    // transform into eye coords
-                    plane.transformProvidingInverse(projectionMatrix);
-                    local_polytope.getPlaneList().push_back(plane);
-
-                    //OSG_NOTICE<<"Adding r_start plane "<<plane<<std::endl;
-
-                }
-
-                if (settings->getMultipleShadowMapHint() == ShadowSettings::PARALLEL_SPLIT && sm_i+1<numShadowMapsPerLight)
-                {
-                    // not the last shadowmap so insert a polytope to clip the scene from beyond r_end
-
-                    // plane in clip space coords
-                    osg::Plane plane(0.0,-1.0,0.0,r_end);
-
-                    // transform into eye coords
-                    plane.transformProvidingInverse(projectionMatrix);
-                    local_polytope.getPlaneList().push_back(plane);
-
-                    //OSG_NOTICE<<"Adding r_end plane "<<plane<<std::endl;
-                }
-
-                local_polytope.setupMask();
-
-                if (settings->getMultipleShadowMapHint() == ShadowSettings::PARALLEL_SPLIT)
-                {
-                    // OSG_NOTICE<<"Need to adjust RTT camera projection and view matrix here, r_start="<<r_start<<", r_end="<<r_end<<std::endl;
-                    // OSG_NOTICE<<"  textureUnit = "<<textureUnit<<std::endl;
-
-                    double mid_r = (r_start + r_end)*0.5;
-                    double range_r = (r_end - r_start);
-
-                    // OSG_NOTICE<<"  mid_r = "<<mid_r<<", range_r = "<<range_r<<std::endl;
-
-                    camera->setProjectionMatrix(
-                        camera->getProjectionMatrix() *
-                        osg::Matrixd::translate(osg::Vec3d(0.0,-mid_r,0.0)) *
-                        osg::Matrixd::scale(osg::Vec3d(1.0,2.0/range_r,1.0)));
-                    
+                        // Apply projection tweak from prepass (based on base mid/range)
+                        if (cascadePreps[sm_i].planesPushed)
+                        {
+                            camera->setProjectionMatrix(camera->getProjectionMatrix() * cascadePreps[sm_i].proj);
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
             }
 
+            osg::ref_ptr<VDSMCameraCullCallback> vdsmCallback;
             std::vector<osg::Plane> extraPlanes;
-            if (settings->getMultipleShadowMapHint() == ShadowSettings::CASCADED)
+            extraPlanes.reserve(6);
+            bool planesPushed = false;
+            if (isCascaded)
             {
                 cropShadowCameraToMainFrustum(frustum, camera, cascaseNear, cascadeFar, extraPlanes);
                 for (const auto& plane : extraPlanes)
                     local_polytope.getPlaneList().push_back(plane);
-                local_polytope.setupMask();
+                planesPushed = !extraPlanes.empty();
+                if (planesPushed)
+                    local_polytope.setupMask();
             }
             else
+            {
                 cropShadowCameraToMainFrustum(frustum, camera, reducedNear, reducedFar, extraPlanes);
+            }
 
-            osg::ref_ptr<VDSMCameraCullCallback> vdsmCallback = new VDSMCameraCullCallback(this, local_polytope);
+            // Texel snapping for the nearest cascade only (directional light), to stabilize during motion
+            if (sm_i == 0 && pl.directionalLight)
+            {
+                const osg::Viewport* vp = camera->getViewport();
+                const double texW = vp ? static_cast<double>(vp->width()) : static_cast<double>(settings->getTextureSize().x());
+                const double texH = vp ? static_cast<double>(vp->height()) : static_cast<double>(settings->getTextureSize().y());
+                if (texW > 0.0 && texH > 0.0)
+                {
+                    osg::Vec3d clipCenter = frustum.center * camera->getViewMatrix() * camera->getProjectionMatrix();
+                    const double ndcX = clipCenter.x();
+                    const double ndcY = clipCenter.y();
+                    const double u = (ndcX * 0.5 + 0.5) * texW;
+                    const double v = (ndcY * 0.5 + 0.5) * texH;
+                    const double uSnap = std::round(u);
+                    const double vSnap = std::round(v);
+                    const double du = (uSnap - u) / texW; // in [0..1]
+                    const double dv = (vSnap - v) / texH;
+                    const double ndcOffX = du * 2.0;
+                    const double ndcOffY = dv * 2.0;
+                    if (std::fabs(ndcOffX) > 0.0 || std::fabs(ndcOffY) > 0.0)
+                    {
+                        camera->setProjectionMatrix(
+                            camera->getProjectionMatrix() *
+                            osg::Matrixd::translate(osg::Vec3d(ndcOffX, ndcOffY, 0.0)));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            // Ensure shadows bin StateSet exists before any parallel tasks to avoid races.
+            (void)getOrCreateShadowsBinStateSet();
+
+            // Use the camera's cull callback to set up the render stage, push casting/bin state, and apply the custom polytope.
+            vdsmCallback = new VDSMCameraCullCallback(this, local_polytope);
             camera->setCullCallback(vdsmCallback.get());
 
             // 4.3 traverse RTT camera
             //
 
-            cv.pushStateSet(_shadowCastingStateSet.get());
+            // If full update frame and stationary, allow skipping deeper cascades whose light-space coverage is unchanged
+            if (!useParallelCull)
+            {
+                // Serial traversal on the main CullVisitor.
+                cv.pushStateSet(_shadowCastingStateSet.get());
+                cullShadowCastingScene(&cv, camera.get());
+                cv.popStateSet();
+                CascadeCullResult res; res.sd = sd; res.camera = camera; res.cb = vdsmCallback; res.sm_i = sm_i; res.rendered = true; res.rStart = computedRStart; res.rEnd = computedREnd;
+                serialResults.push_back(std::move(res));
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                // Parallel traversal using a private CullVisitor and render graph per cascade.
+                osg::ref_ptr<osg::Camera> taskCamera = camera;
+                osg::ref_ptr<VDSMCameraCullCallback> taskCb = vdsmCallback;
+                osg::ref_ptr<ShadowData> taskSd = sd;
+                const unsigned int castsMask = (_shadowedScene->getShadowSettings()->getCastsShadowTraversalMask() & _worldMask);
+                const auto mainComputeNF = cv.getComputeNearFarMode();
+                const auto mainTraversalNumber = cv.getTraversalNumber();
+                osg::ref_ptr<const osg::FrameStamp> mainFrameStamp = cv.getFrameStamp();
 
-            cullShadowCastingScene(&cv, camera.get());
+                parallelCullTasks.emplace_back(std::async(std::launch::async, [taskCamera, taskCb, taskSd, castsMask, mainComputeNF, mainTraversalNumber, mainFrameStamp, sm_i, computedRStart, computedREnd]() mutable {
+                    CascadeCullResult res; res.sd = taskSd; res.camera = taskCamera; res.cb = taskCb; res.sm_i = sm_i; res.rendered = false; res.rStart = computedRStart; res.rEnd = computedREnd;
+                    osg::ref_ptr<osgUtil::CullVisitor> localCv = new osgUtil::CullVisitor();
+                    localCv->reset();
+                    localCv->setTraversalMask(castsMask);
+                    localCv->setComputeNearFarMode(mainComputeNF);
+                    localCv->setTraversalNumber(mainTraversalNumber);
+                    if (mainFrameStamp.valid())
+                        localCv->setFrameStamp(const_cast<osg::FrameStamp*>(mainFrameStamp.get()));
+                    {
+                        osg::ref_ptr<osgUtil::StateGraph> rootGraph = new osgUtil::StateGraph();
+                        localCv->setStateGraph(rootGraph.get());
+                        osg::ref_ptr<osgUtil::RenderStage> rootStage = new osgUtil::RenderStage();
+                        rootStage->setViewport(taskCamera->getViewport());
+                        rootStage->setInitialViewMatrix(new osg::RefMatrix(taskCamera->getViewMatrix()));
+                        localCv->setCurrentRenderBin(rootStage.get());
+                    }
+                    taskCamera->accept(*localCv);
+                    res.rendered = true;
+                    return res;
+                }));
+            }
 
-            cv.popStateSet();
-
-            if (!orthographicViewFrustum && settings->getShadowMapProjectionHint()==ShadowSettings::PERSPECTIVE_SHADOW_MAP)
+            if (!useParallelCull && !orthographicViewFrustum && settings->getShadowMapProjectionHint()==ShadowSettings::PERSPECTIVE_SHADOW_MAP)
             {
                 assignValidRegionSettings(cv, camera, sm_i, vddUniforms);
-
-                if (settings->getMultipleShadowMapHint() == ShadowSettings::CASCADED)
-                    adjustPerspectiveShadowMapCameraSettings(vdsmCallback->getRenderStage(), frustum, pl, camera.get(), cascaseNear, cascadeFar);
-                else
-                    adjustPerspectiveShadowMapCameraSettings(vdsmCallback->getRenderStage(), frustum, pl, camera.get(), reducedNear, reducedFar);
+                const double adjustNear = isCascaded ? cascaseNear : reducedNear;
+                const double adjustFar = isCascaded ? cascadeFar : reducedFar;
+                adjustPerspectiveShadowMapCameraSettings(vdsmCallback->getRenderStage(), frustum, pl, camera.get(), adjustNear, adjustFar);
                 if (vdsmCallback->getProjectionMatrix())
-                {
                     vdsmCallback->getProjectionMatrix()->set(camera->getProjectionMatrix());
-                }
             }
  
             // 4.4 compute main scene graph TexGen + uniform settings + setup state
             //
+            if (!useParallelCull)
             {
                 assignShadowStateSettings(cv, camera, sm_i, vddUniforms);
             }
@@ -1545,9 +1685,55 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::cull(osgUtil::CullVisitor& cv)
             ++textureUnit;
             ++numValidShadows ;
 
-            if (_debugHud)
+            if (!useParallelCull && _debugHud)
+            {
                 _debugHud->draw(sd->_texture, sm_i, camera->getViewMatrix() * camera->getProjectionMatrix(), cv);
+            }
         }
+
+    // Parallel traversal join and finalization
+    if (useParallelCull)
+    {
+        for (auto& fut : parallelCullTasks)
+        {
+            CascadeCullResult res = fut.get();
+            if (!res.rendered)
+                continue;
+
+
+            // Finalize perspective shadow map adjustments if needed.
+            if (!orthographicViewFrustum && settings->getShadowMapProjectionHint()==ShadowSettings::PERSPECTIVE_SHADOW_MAP)
+            {
+                double useNear = reducedNear;
+                double useFar = reducedFar;
+                if (isCascaded && res.sm_i < cascadePreps.size())
+                {
+                    useNear = cascadePreps[res.sm_i].split.nearPlane;
+                    useFar = cascadePreps[res.sm_i].split.farPlane;
+                }
+                assignValidRegionSettings(cv, res.camera, res.sm_i, vddUniforms);
+                adjustPerspectiveShadowMapCameraSettings(res.cb->getRenderStage(), frustum, pl, res.camera.get(), useNear, useFar);
+                if (res.cb->getProjectionMatrix())
+                    res.cb->getProjectionMatrix()->set(res.camera->getProjectionMatrix());
+            }
+
+            // Assign main-scene shadow uniforms now.
+            assignShadowStateSettings(cv, res.camera, res.sm_i, vddUniforms);
+
+            // Schedule the actual shadow RTT render on the main CullVisitor so draw traversal executes it.
+            // The worker cull built an isolated render graph not used by the main SceneView.
+            // By culling the camera here, we link its pre-render stage into the main render graph for this frame.
+            if (_shadowCastingStateSet.valid())
+            {
+                cv.pushStateSet(_shadowCastingStateSet.get());
+                cullShadowCastingScene(&cv, res.camera.get());
+                cv.popStateSet();
+            }
+
+            if (_debugHud)
+                _debugHud->draw(res.sd-> _texture, res.sm_i, res.camera->getViewMatrix() * res.camera->getProjectionMatrix(), cv);
+        }
+    }
     }
 
     vdd->setNumValidShadows(numValidShadows);
@@ -1683,7 +1869,7 @@ void MWShadowTechnique::createShaders()
     {
         case(ShadowSettings::NO_SHADERS):
         {
-            OSG_INFO<<"No shaders provided by, user must supply own shaders"<<std::endl;
+            OSG_WARN<<"No shaders provided; user must supply own shaders"<<std::endl;
             break;
         }
         case(ShadowSettings::PROVIDE_VERTEX_AND_FRAGMENT_SHADER):
@@ -1783,10 +1969,7 @@ osg::Polytope MWShadowTechnique::computeLightViewFrustumPolytope(Frustum& frustu
                 result_mask = result_mask | selector_mask;
             }
         }
-
-        OSG_INFO<<"    planes.size() = "<<planes.size()<<std::endl;
-        OSG_INFO<<"    planes.getResultMask() = "<<polytope.getResultMask()<<std::endl;
-        OSG_INFO<<"    resultMask = "<<result_mask<<std::endl;
+    
         polytope.setResultMask(result_mask);
     }
     else
@@ -1799,6 +1982,7 @@ osg::Polytope MWShadowTechnique::computeLightViewFrustumPolytope(Frustum& frustu
 
             double d = planes[i].distance(positionedLight.lightPos3);
             OSG_INFO<<"      plane "<<planes[i]<<"  planes["<<i<<"].distance(lightPos3)="<<d;
+            
             if (d<0.0)
             {
                 OSG_INFO<<"     Need remove side "<<i<<std::endl;
@@ -1810,9 +1994,10 @@ osg::Polytope MWShadowTechnique::computeLightViewFrustumPolytope(Frustum& frustu
                 result_mask = result_mask | selector_mask;
             }
         }
+
         OSG_INFO<<"    planes.size() = "<<planes.size()<<std::endl;
         OSG_INFO<<"    planes.getResultMask() = "<<polytope.getResultMask()<<std::endl;
-        OSG_INFO<<"    resultMask = "<<result_mask<<std::endl;
+        OSG_INFO<<"    resultMask = "<<result_mask<<std::endl;    
         polytope.setResultMask(result_mask);
     }
 
@@ -1865,7 +2050,7 @@ osg::Polytope MWShadowTechnique::computeLightViewFrustumPolytope(Frustum& frustu
     const osg::Polytope::PlaneList& planes = lightVolumePolytope.getPlaneList();
     for(unsigned int i=0; i<planes.size(); ++i)
     {
-        OSG_INFO<<"      plane "<<planes[i]<<"  "<<((lightVolumePolytope.getResultMask() & (0x1<<i))?"on":"off")<<std::endl;
+    
     }
 
     return lightVolumePolytope;
@@ -1928,7 +2113,7 @@ bool MWShadowTechnique::computeShadowCameraSettings(Frustum& frustum, LightData&
             zMax = osg::maximum( zMax, cornerInLightCoords.z());
         }
 
-        OSG_INFO<<"before bs xMin="<<xMin<<", xMax="<<xMax<<", yMin="<<yMin<<", yMax="<<yMax<<", zMin="<<zMin<<", zMax="<<zMax<<std::endl;
+        OSG_INFO<<"before bs xMin="<<xMin<<", xMax="<<xMax<<", yMin="<<yMin<<", yMax="<<yMax<<", zMin="<<zMin<<", zMax="<<zMax<<std::endl; 
 
         osg::BoundingSphere bs = _shadowedScene->getBound();
         osg::Vec3d modelCenterRelativeFrustumCenter(bs.center()-frustum.center);
@@ -1963,6 +2148,7 @@ bool MWShadowTechnique::computeShadowCameraSettings(Frustum& frustum, LightData&
     {
         double zMax=-dbl_max;
 
+    
         OSG_INFO<<"lightDir = "<<positionedLight.lightDir<<std::endl;
         OSG_INFO<<"lightPos3 = "<<positionedLight.lightPos3<<std::endl;
         for(Frustum::Vertices::iterator itr = frustum.corners.begin();
@@ -2735,7 +2921,7 @@ bool MWShadowTechnique::adjustPerspectiveShadowMapCameraSettings(osgUtil::Render
 #if 0
     OSG_NOTICE<<"ws ConvexHull xMin="<<convexHull.min(0)<<", xMax="<<convexHull.max(0)<<std::endl;
     OSG_NOTICE<<"ws ConvexHull yMin="<<convexHull.min(1)<<", yMax="<<convexHull.max(1)<<std::endl;
-    OSG_NOTICE<<"ws ConvexHull zMin="<<convexHull.min(2)<<", zMax="<<convexHull.max(2)<<std::endl;
+    OSG_NOTICE<<"ws ConvexHull zMin="<<convexHull.min(2)<<", zMax="<<convexHull.max(2)<<std::endl;    
 
     convexHull.output(osg::notify(osg::NOTICE));
 #endif
@@ -2912,7 +3098,7 @@ bool MWShadowTechnique::adjustPerspectiveShadowMapCameraSettings(osgUtil::Render
 #if 0
     if (eye_ls.y()>-1.0)
     {
-        OSG_NOTICE<<"Eye point within light space - use standard shadow map."<<std::endl;
+    
         return true;
     }
 #endif
diff --git a/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.hpp b/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.hpp
index 1b7307024a..6f93d439b6 100644
--- a/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.hpp
+++ b/components/sceneutil/mwshadowtechnique.hpp
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include <array>
 #include <mutex>
 #include <string>
+#include <limits>
 
 #include <osg/Camera>
 #include <osg/Material>
@@ -90,6 +91,11 @@ namespace SceneUtil {
 
         virtual void setupCastingShader(Shader::ShaderManager &shaderManager);
 
+        // Experimental: enable parallel shadow preparation/culling
+        void setParallelShadowCullingEnabled(bool enabled) { mParallelShadowCullingEnabled = enabled; }
+        // Experimental: enable parallel per-cascade RTT traversal
+        void setParallelShadowTraversalEnabled(bool enabled) { mParallelShadowTraversalEnabled = enabled; }
+
         class ComputeLightSpaceBounds : public osg::NodeVisitor, public osg::CullStack
         {
         public:
@@ -272,6 +278,7 @@ namespace SceneUtil {
         void setWorldMask(unsigned int worldMask) { _worldMask = worldMask; }
 
         osg::ref_ptr<osg::StateSet> getOrCreateShadowsBinStateSet();
+        osg::StateSet* getCastingStateSet() const { return _shadowCastingStateSet.get(); }
 
     protected:
         virtual ~MWShadowTechnique();
@@ -309,6 +316,9 @@ namespace SceneUtil {
 
         unsigned int                            _worldMask = ~0u;
 
+        bool                                    mParallelShadowCullingEnabled = false;
+        bool                                    mParallelShadowTraversalEnabled = false;
+
         class DebugHUD final : public osg::Referenced
         {
         public:
diff --git a/components/sceneutil/shadow.cpp b/components/sceneutil/shadow.cpp
index a03700578d..7475a9a061 100644
--- a/components/sceneutil/shadow.cpp
+++ b/components/sceneutil/shadow.cpp
@@ -80,6 +80,9 @@ namespace SceneUtil
             mShadowTechnique->enableDebugHUD();
         else
             mShadowTechnique->disableDebugHUD();
+
+        mShadowTechnique->setParallelShadowCullingEnabled(settings.mParallelShadowCulling);
+        mShadowTechnique->setParallelShadowTraversalEnabled(settings.mParallelShadowTraversal);
     }
 
     void ShadowManager::disableShadowsForStateSet(osg::StateSet& stateset) const
diff --git a/components/settings/categories/shadows.hpp b/components/settings/categories/shadows.hpp
index b6349dfd44..feb9091363 100644
--- a/components/settings/categories/shadows.hpp
+++ b/components/settings/categories/shadows.hpp
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ namespace Settings
         SettingValue<bool> mTerrainShadows{ mIndex, "Shadows", "terrain shadows" };
         SettingValue<bool> mObjectShadows{ mIndex, "Shadows", "object shadows" };
         SettingValue<bool> mEnableIndoorShadows{ mIndex, "Shadows", "enable indoor shadows" };
+        SettingValue<bool> mParallelShadowCulling{ mIndex, "Shadows", "parallel shadow culling" };
+        SettingValue<bool> mParallelShadowTraversal{ mIndex, "Shadows", "parallel shadow traversal" };
     };
 }
 
diff --git a/files/settings-default.cfg b/files/settings-default.cfg
index 2c4bbab953..a6bd09d43b 100644
--- a/files/settings-default.cfg
+++ b/files/settings-default.cfg
@@ -1021,6 +1021,12 @@ wait for all jobs on exit = false
 # Enable or disable shadows. Bear in mind that this will force OpenMW to use shaders as if "[Shaders]/force shaders" was set to true.
 enable shadows = false
 
+# compute per-cascade prep and cull RTT cameras in parallel
+parallel shadow culling = false
+
+# compute per-cascade RTT traversal in parallel
+parallel shadow traversal = false
+
 # How many shadow maps to use - more of these means each shadow map texel covers less area, producing better looking shadows, but may decrease performance.
 number of shadow maps = 3