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The downside is that is the ONLY shape you can get with the normal map you have. If you want any variation of that, you have to get a new normal map. With a bump map, you don't.

I don't see that as a downside though. Every map I ever make, textures, displacements, or normals, I make for a specific purpose, a specific model in a specific setting. It's fun. ;-)

But in other words, I agree normal maps are what they are - WYSIWYG, and I make them with no intention of altering them.
Mostly for furniture and houses and walls and shit, since I mostly do arch-viz.

Oops, are we allowed to say shit here? ;-)
Gotta forgive me, I'm delirious from lack of sleep. Big project that needs to be done... last week.