For the last 2 weeks, I continued my work on CAVE. My task was to a normal map for the original texture of the cave which could then be baked onto the cave.
I created a 3D model of the texture, sculpted it to give it more details, then baked the normal information onto a texture. The end result is close to what I wanted. The previously flat walls of the cave now look as if they have some depth (it’s a bit subtle at the moment and I will make it more noticeable later). The normal map also manages to tile with the original texture without showing any visible seams – something I didn’t have any luck with when I tried to make something similar a few months back.
Unfortunately, when I baked the new texture onto the cave, the normal map was altered and looked as if it had been flattened. I am going to spend the next few days trying to figure out what exactly went wrong and how I can fix it. Then I will be ready for when the cave needs to be redesigned and I will only have to change the model itself.