Normal Maps

I am working on an FPS game with modern guns and I don’t know how to get a good realistic texture onto them. I have heard of using normal maps, but making a low and high poly model would involve alot of extra work. Is there an easier way to apply normal maps in Blender Game Engine. This is the template I went off of to make the model.



Could you show us what you have modelled at the moment? That would help with pointing out what can be improved. Be advised that realistic graphics will take alot of work, so don’t try to do them without making the commitment :). If normal maps will help, then you should use them to add extra detail. I find that modelling well can make all the difference though, not just normal maps. Not only that but normal maps only work in GLSL, which limits the range of players :(.

There are some plugins for Photoshop that generate normal maps from image - and while not exactly acurate, are looking good and does their job at fooling the eye - but the model whould not pop up magically, you still need to think where to put more polygons and where you can go on with fewer

ok I added the picture of the model.