In theory, shouldn't a normalmap solve the crappy smoothshading you get with any of these version? I mean, some of them which are sharing same smoothing areas look crap due to the lack of polygons and extreme angles right? When these are compared to a highres perfectly smoothed version shouldn't the normal map neutralize…
No, this is not the case. People have claimed this in the past, but they fail to realize two importand factors: 1. You're adding extra triangles, and while very count may be the main thing to consider when dealing with performance, triangles are *not* free. 2. Small thin polygons can tend to be a bottleneck, because you're…