Yep, that's true, too many maps spoil a scene and make it look like a Quake
level...  I actually use quite a lot of image maps though, with quite a lot
of success... The real secret to using maps is to make them VERY
high-resolution, even if the image you're rendering is small.  The main
reasons for this are reflection and refraction... which can really amplify a
surface's size... For example, a crystal ball on a wooden desk is REALLY
going to amplify the surface.  When you sit a glass object next to
something, if the glass is good the chances are that you won't get much
blurring in the refraction...  So, if you've got an image map that you know
is going to be refracted or reflected, the best thing to do is make it very
high-res.  The last image I did, which was for an animation had only 4 maps
in it, but the maps were a total of 60 Mb.  The reason that they were this
big (OK, not BIG, but big enough to take a chunk out of my physical
memory...) was because the images had to have alpha channels (full level
channels too), and also because they had to be high-resolution.  Of course
the maps were actually of Australian Currancy (shhhh... don't tell anyone
;-)  he he he

The final rendering size was 720x576 (PAL) and also stills were done at
1024x768.  They came out very nicely and also photo-realistic, something
which I've never been able to acheive before...

The surfaces I find the hardest to model are metals...  All I can say is
that I can't wait until I upgrade... Anistropic shaders here I come!  he he
he

But back to the subject, if you're going to use image maps, make sure
they're high-res, because if they aren't they won't look real...

--
Lance.


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