Looking around the material editor in Vue 8 infinite and I noticed a button to load a normal map.  I was wondering if anyone has tried that and if so, does it use less resources than a displacement map ?
inquiring minds would like to know (plus I haven't figured out how to export displacement maps from ZBrush yet let alone normal maps :biggrin) )

Frank

Normal maps require less memory, but they require the object you apply it to to be fully UV mapped, for example, you can't use a normal map on a Vue terrain. In order to use a normal map, you need to check displacement first, which is quite odd...
I successfully imported Zbrush displacement maps in Vue ( since Vue6), but since I don't have ZB, I used free models and mpas from ZB Central (the sword and the humanoid head, if you know them). The maps were GUV tiles (for what this means), and they worked very well, once they were flipped in the Y axis in the function editor ( map size set to -1 in the FE)
Hey! just realizing it's almost midnight in the UK, so Happy New Year, Frank!)

Quote - Looking around the material editor in Vue 8 infinite and I noticed a button to load a normal map.  I was wondering if anyone has tried that and if so, does it use less resources than a displacement map ?
inquiring minds would like to know (plus I haven't figured out how to export displacement maps from ZBrush yet let alone normal maps :biggrin) )

Frank

Normal maps work like bump maps, only better.  Great for making lo-poly models look like they're hi-poly models.  Displacement maps generate polys while normal maps do not.

I've never created a normal map, but here is my understanding of the difference between a normal map and a bump map, such as it is... Bump maps give the effect of a surface that can interact with a light, casting shadows where the map indicates extrusion, but if you look at the edge of the object, it remains smooth. I think normal maps will actually distort the profile.  

Normal maps have more depth than bump maps.  But they are both flat when looked at from the edges.  Displacement maps will nudge polygons if you have a high enough resolution of both the polygons and the displacement map image applied to them.

Some 3D apps will use bump and normal maps for displacing with.  But displacement maps really do a better job of that.

I often sprinkle bumps on top of my displacements when texturing.

Thanks for the info peeps.  I may have to dive into ZBrush and have a play around

 In my understanding, the biggest difference between bump and normal map, is that a normal map actually contains 3dimensional information (in the r, b and g channel), while a bump map only has height information (black is low, white is high).

So when you wil get a 'hill' when black gradually goes to gray, a normal map can contain information about the side of the hill, apart from what you see from above...

For instance, in my 'main' 3D app Carrara, I can (with a plugin), generate a normal map from geometry (like a face). When you use a map like that, the face you see in the resulting render looks really like a complete modelled face 'rising' from the surface.

The interaction with light and shadows is much more convincing, but without the render load of displacement maps. It is used a lot in the games industry, to make low-poly models look high-poly, without displacing. It is very powerful.