Baking Normal and AO Maps for Games with 3ds Max

Balance high-poly detail with texture resolution and screen-space for crisp silhouettes at distance, using sharp and softened baked versions while avoiding excessive micro textures that bake into texture sheets.

Apply the projection modifier to fix distortion when baking normal and AO maps, by adding supporting geometry under problem areas to create a cage with minimal, localized impact.

Compare manual vs automatic triangulation, apply the shortest edge rule for quads and triangles, and avoid skew to maintain volume and even shading in game engines.

Master projection modifier techniques in 3ds Max by comparing cage-based projection with the offset texture option to accurately project normals and ensure high-quality results.

Learn how to handle mirroring and overlapping geo when baking normal and AO maps in 3ds Max by keeping halves welded, avoiding seams, and offsetting duplicates in UV space.

Explore world space, object space, and tangent space normal maps, how baking and pipeline differences affect shading, and how splits and padding prevent seams for clean game renders.

Bake a normal map from a high-poly model to a low-poly cage in 3ds Max, using padding, UV shells, splits, and projection mapping for reliable render to texture results.