In this recipe, we are going to explore one very useful way of adding detail without adding geometry. It might feel similar to using a normal map, but this technique actually pushes the pixels outwards or inwards, creating a real 3D effect that we just can't get with the previous type of textures. What's so special about this, then? Well, as we said, the geometry looks like it's there, but it actually isn't! It's a fake effect that looks real, and instead of making our CPUs work harder by using high poly meshes, we task the GPU with faking the image. This is something they are more efficient at since they were created for this purpose. Let's see what this is all about!
