Normal and Displacement Mapping for Games
Normal and displacement mapping are the techniques that let game artists achieve stunning surface detail without the polygon cost of actual geometry. A flat wall becomes a richly carved stone surface. A simple mesh becomes a creature with fine scales and skin pores. These texturing techniques are fundamental to modern game art pipelines — and getting them right requires both technical precision and artistic skill. Kreonit provides professional normal map, displacement map, and height map production for game assets at any scale.
Mapping Services We Provide
High-to-Low Poly Baking
Baking high-detail ZBrush or subdivision sculpts onto optimized game-ready low-poly meshes — capturing surface normals, ambient occlusion, curvature, and position data that drives the full PBR texture set for each asset.
Tileable Texture Normal Maps
Seamlessly tileable normal maps for environment materials — stone, brick, wood, metal, fabric, soil — hand-authored and procedurally generated to achieve natural surface variation without visible repetition at any tile scale.
Displacement and Tessellation Setup
High-resolution displacement maps and engine-specific tessellation setup for hero assets where true geometric displacement is required — terrain, hero props, and hero characters where silhouette accuracy justifies the tessellation cost.
Mapping Technique Comparison
| Technique | Geometric Accuracy | Performance Cost | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Map | Medium (no silhouette) | Very Low | All game assets |
| Height Map (parallax) | Medium-High | Low | Flat surfaces, floors |
| Displacement (tessellated) | Very High (true geo) | High | Hero terrain, close-up |
| Micro-detail Normal | High (fine detail) | Very Low | Layered surface detail |
Frequently Asked Questions
What tools do you use for normal map baking?
We use Marmoset Toolbag and Substance Painter as our primary baking tools — industry-standard software that delivers the most accurate normal, AO, curvature, position, and thickness bakes with robust cage control and seam handling.
How do you handle baking errors like seams and smoothing artifacts?
We establish explicit UV islands at hard edges, use synchronized smoothing groups and UV island boundaries, and conduct systematic artifact review — catching and correcting seams, skewing, and cage errors before asset delivery.
Can you re-bake normal maps for assets that already have issues?
Yes. Re-baking problematic assets — whether due to topology issues, incorrect cage setup, or low-quality source sculpts — is a common optimization service. We assess the source files and determine the cleanest path to artifact-free results.
Do you produce DirectX and OpenGL format normal maps?
Yes. We deliver in both DirectX (Y-flipped, used in Unreal, Unity DX mode) and OpenGL (used in Unity default, Godot) formats — with clear documentation of which format each asset uses to prevent the green-channel confusion that causes lighting errors.
Get every surface looking exactly right. Contact Kreonit to discuss normal and displacement mapping services for your game. Related services: Textures and Materials Creation, Asset Baking Services, Hard Surface Modeling, and Shader Programming.
