Blast from the past, 2002

Eric Chadwick · May 22 2026

Found this again today, featuring some of the old crowd, and a bit of what Polycount used to look like, back in 2002 when we were all trying to figure out how to make normal maps

https://ericchadwick.com/examples/files/polycount_2002_messageboard.html

LaurentiuN · May 22 2026

Damn, years passed soo fast...

nimlot26 · May 22 2026

Can we go back to that? I miss those days.

MikeF · May 22 2026

Good memories, Id love to see the results of that technique

Lamont · May 22 2026

Holy smokes... in 2002 I had just entered the mil-sim industry...

Eric Chadwick · May 22 2026

Digging around here's a 2004 WAYWO
https://web.archive.org/web/20070329212104/http://boards.polycount.net/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=82&an=0&page=0

Max plugins 2004
https://web.archive.org/web/20050511085733/http://boards.polycount.net/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=4518&an=0&page=0

Head SDKs 2004
https://web.archive.org/web/20060706113527/http://boards.polycount.net/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=13950&an=0&page=0

TypicalMale · May 22 2026

I LOVE the design for the message board on the top left. Would be awesome if the site adopted some of that design style again.

Eric Chadwick · May 22 2026

Which part? Share a screenshot?

TypicalMale · May 22 2026

Eric Chadwick said:

Which part? Share a screenshot?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021068/uploads/editor/v2/o0ycljf0h8qr.png

The header in the first archive you sent.

Eric Chadwick · May 22 2026

Every April first, we try reskinning the site just for kicks, you might like these
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Polycount:About#Forum_Snapshots

pxgeek · May 22 2026

Eric Chadwick · May 22 2026

A couple of the few domwar wips to have been slurped!

killingpeople https://web.archive.org/web/20070214010301/http://boards.polycount.net/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=179366&an=0&page=0

JFletcher https://web.archive.org/web/20070420120123/http://boards.polycount.net/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=188931&an=0&page=0

Quasar · 5:23AM

Thanks for taking me back Eric. I was just finishing up high school and working on getting into the game industry around that time

It was really exciting to watch the community figure out workflows for normal mapping, as resources were pretty limited back then. I think it was basically Crytek's MAX plug-in, Nvidia's app, and CrazyBump.

There was also a Polycount meetup in Vancouver in '06 I believe where I got to meet Flaagan, AdamBrome, and Keg. Good times!

Eric Chadwick · 9:06AM

Nice! Yeah, those were formative years for me as well.

I jumped onto Polycount sometime around 2001/2002. We were all dealing with normal mapping, trying to handle skin with blue-colored specular maps, and learning about subdivision surface modeling. Heady days!

Blast from the past, 2002

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