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Description
On the left is the wall using the standard bump map I made. The one on the right uses a Self Shadowing Bump map (which I modified to be more "blocked" for the sake of variety which is why I made it)

While I like the Self-Shadowing Bump map, I feel that SSbumps in general can be quite distracting generally if you have a glancing light source. It feels like I'm forcing "OMG HIGH QUALITY" in your face with SSBump, which is bad for contrast reasons, since this map is supposed to be a nice looking background and not a focal point.

Standard Bump Map:
+Looks good lit from any direction
-Less impressive "poly depth" illusion
-Slightly more CPU intensive

Self Shadowing Bump Map:
+Gives the illusion of modeled depth better
+Slightly faster to render
-Lighting from certain directions makes the texture look odd and "forced quality"

Now I like both of them, but here's what I'm going to do:

Outside will use the standard bump map to avoid distracting and ugly shadows on the walls

Inside will use Self Shadowing to enhance the "cave-like" feeling.

Description
On the left is the wall using the standard bump map I made. The one on the right uses a Self Shadowing Bump map (which I modified to be more "blocked" for the sake of variety which is why I made it)

While I like the Self-Shadowing Bump map, I feel that SSbumps in general can be quite distracting generally if you have a glancing light source. It feels like I'm forcing "OMG HIGH QUALITY" in your face with SSBump, which is bad for contrast reasons, since this map is supposed to be a nice looking background and not a focal point.

Standard Bump Map:
+Looks good lit from any direction
-Less impressive "poly depth" illusion
-Slightly more CPU intensive

Self Shadowing Bump Map:
+Gives the illusion of modeled depth better
+Slightly faster to render
-Lighting from certain directions makes the texture look odd and "forced quality"

Now I like both of them, but here's what I'm going to do:

Outside will use the standard bump map to avoid distracting and ugly shadows on the walls

Inside will use Self Shadowing to enhance the "cave-like" feeling.