   bump mapping question
  This one is a real simple one.  How reasonable is it to use alot of bump mapping, how much impact does it have on the time it takes to render a scene, exc.  Is it a large or small drawback?  Im just curious if over-using it is ok on lower end cards (by overuse i mean pretty up the scene by adding it to the models) 
  I''ve never noticed any real afect on render speed due to bump mapping in any program. It might have some impact but I wouldn''t worry about it. You can always run tests but I doubt it realy affects things much at all. Use it freely as it is a good thing to have. It makes a level of detail avalible that would choke any system out there, possible. It shouldn''t be any worse in most cases than a texture. It could maybe slow things down on a reflective surface or refracting surface. Even so, if you have to wait a bit longer for a better image isn''t it worth it?  ;  Ah, i should have mentioned this is in a game though, its real time, im not actualy writing a renderer.  So if it works the way you say, im going to try it. ;quote:Original post by PaulCesar  Ah, i should have mentioned this is in a game though, its real time, im not actualy writing a renderer.  So if it works the way you say, im going to try it.   Ahhh real time. Don''t know too much about that one. Maybe the API forum guys would. The only game I know of that used bump mapping that you could control was Giants. Didn''t notice much of a diff but Its a newer Vid card. I would think older cards could have a problem but I am no expert. I did make a nice difference in the look of the game but only in resolutions above 800x600. So it might not be worth it if your target system cant put out a good frame rate at 1024x768. Still I would ask the more tech geared guys in the other forums for preformance issues. I think this one is kinda low trafic and more about artwork involved. ;  Yes, there will be a performace hit for bump mapping. A tremendous one if the renderer is not good/art is not optimized.Basicly there are "passes", each effect is a pass: bump, reflection, color, normal maps (different from bump maps), shadows.. ect..   Lamont G.CG ArtistChula Vista CAhttp://www.digitalweapon.net 