[PolarBear53]

Are they the same thing? Someone needs to set me straight.

[philip]

nope, they're not.

a normal map doesn't actually change the geometry, it just tells the renderer where the normal for each pixel of the map should be pointing.

a displacement map on the other hand displaces the geometry; it's a greyscale image that with push faces in and out of the object.

[PolarBear53]

Is there a way to do this in lightwave, just like the normal map tutorial?

[rich_is_bored]

From what I'm seeing in the screenshot there it looks a bit confusing.

Apparently the end result is a 200+ poly model with a displacement map applied, yet it looks as good as the original 1+ million poly model. This isn't possible.

The low poly mesh should have a vertice count proportional to the resolution of the displacement map. If you were to apply a detailed displacement map like that
to a 200 poly object, there wouldn't be enough vertices to displace.

Maybe it's some weird quirk with Z-brush that allows you to do that and get acceptable results.

Do keep in mind that in that screenshot the individual modeled all that detail first - the 1+ million poly model - and then created a displacement map for the low poly mesh.

In lightwave I believe the only way to achieve that kind of detail on a low poly mesh is to use a normal map. Of course, you might want to wait to see if someone else has a better answer.

Check out ORB when your ready to render a normal map. It's a sweet little tool and it's free.

[PolarBear53]

I think the key word is "virtual" in the displacement map. I think its a next gen game texture, that makes it displace the object, as a shader, but keeping geometry to a minimum. I'll find more on it tomarrow, gotta go to bed