Efficient self-shadowed radiosity normal mapping
Chris Green · 2007
In Valve's Source graphics engine, bump mapping is combined with precomputed radiosity lighting to provide realistic surface illumination. When bump map data is derived from geometric descriptions of surface detail (such as height maps), only the lighting effects caused by the surface orientation are preserved. The significant lighting cues due to lighting occlusion by surface details are lost. While it is common to use another texture channel to hold an "ambient occlusion" field, this only provides a darkening effect which is independent of the direction from which the surface is being lit and requires an auxiliary channel of data.