Using Normal Maps



Normal maps are applied to the surface of a model using a UV texture map.

What is a UV texture map? 

The simple explanation is that a UV texture map is how the surface of a 3D model would look if it was spread out on a flat surface.  The textures are mapped to the model using the UV texture map.

To the right, is one way that a simple cube can be UV mapped.


UV co-ordinates are the surface co-ordinates of each polygon.

The Normal map x-axis uses the UV texture map u-axis.
The Normal map y-axis uses the UV texture map v-axis.
The Normal map z-axis uses the normal of the polygon.








Blender 3D
Game Engine		 Rapid prototyping for 3D games. Test realtime 3D gameplay without having to compile the game code. 3D game models automatically added.  GLSL shaders. Normal Mapping and Parallax Mapping. All OpenGL Lighting modes. This includes transparencies, animated and reflection mapped textures. Multiple textures and materials. UV mapping. Per-pixel lighting and dynamic lighting.  Uses Bullet Physics. Soft body dynamics. Rigid body dynamics. Collision detection and dynamics simulation. Collision bounds of all types. Car physics engine with full support for vehicle dynamics. (Spring reactions, stiffness, damping, tire friction etc.).