This demo nicely illustrates the huge visual enhancement that normalmapping brings to Away3D. You can click on the bust to swap between the new Dot3BimapMaterial and the old WhiteShadingBitmapMaterial for a direct comparison. New materials that take advantage of normal maps will be included in the next release of Away3D.

The normal map in this example was created from a high-poly mesh using a technique decribed here. The resulting model has significantly fewer triangles, but retains a high degree of detail in the displayed object. This is hugely beneficial to scenes where high render speeds require low poly-models.

Rob

Just a copy of my post on the away3d list for this new technique. I’m sure you won’t believe me when i say that the turtle reference is simply a coincidence, but there you go…

First ever implementation of dot3 normal mapping in Flash

There is a lot of possibility with importing normal maps into away3d. However, normal maps themselves can be complex to get right, so this demo combines the advantages of a normal map render pipe with the simplicity of a bumpmapped texture, allowing the model to have extra detail without all that fiddly high-poly/low-poly nonsense. Much easier to get right, plus you have the advantage of using a normal map if you would prefer. People with faster machines can set the default quality to high for a fantastic smoothed shading experience… - looks great but it’s also heavy on the old processor.

I cannot tell you how soon i want to try this with a proper normal map…

Rob

New blog, first post. Always an occasion..

Cheers!