Unity Game Optimization - Third Edition

Applying image effects in VR

The effects applied by normal maps tend to break down easily in VR, where the texture appears painted on to the surface instead of giving the illusion of depth. Normal maps normally break down very quickly with viewing angles that are very oblique (shallow) with the surface, which is not particularly common in a typical game; however, in VR, since most HMDs allow users to move their heads around in a 3D space via positional tracking (which, granted, not all of them do), they will quickly find positions that break the effect for any objects close to the camera. Normal maps have been known to improve the quality of high polygon count objects in VR, but it rarely provides a benefit for those with a low polygon count, ...