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Which is faster, modeling or normal map?

Say I want to add some indentations or something to a model, would using a Normal Map to it be faster, or would modeling it be faster?

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asked Jul 15 '11 at 09:23 PM

Emanrice gravatar image

Emanrice
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2 answers: sort voted first

:D what a question. Normalmapping has been invented to reduce the poly count and to increase the performance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_mapping

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answered Jul 15 '11 at 10:39 PM

Bunny83 gravatar image

Bunny83
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So I should use a Normal Map instead?

Jul 16 '11 at 01:41 AM Emanrice

As DaveA said for small optical bumps you almost always use a normalmap. What do you actually mean by "faster"? Do you worry about the performance of your game, or do you want to create your model faster (speed up the workflow)?

I'm a programmer so i can't give you any good tips on how to create normalmaps the most efficient way.

Jul 16 '11 at 01:27 PM Bunny83

Performance wise. I've read somwhere that Normal Maps are pretty expensive, so I was wondering if they really were. So I guess Normal Maps it is then, thanks!

Jul 16 '11 at 05:08 PM Emanrice
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Depends on the depth of the dents. If they're pretty substantial, then you'd have to model it, but normal mapping helps with light stuff. There are other types of maps to help with slightly deeper stuff (self-occlusion or some such), but their aren't many shaders that support that. BTW Check out Crazy Bump (google it), and also there's a good video tutorial about how to use Blender to create good normal maps for low-poly high-quality models.

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answered Jul 16 '11 at 12:09 AM

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They're just slight ones, not very deep at all. And I'll check Crazy Bump, thanks!

Jul 16 '11 at 01:42 AM Emanrice
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asked: Jul 15 '11 at 09:23 PM

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Last Updated: Jul 16 '11 at 05:08 PM