Editing 3Dc (section)

== Target application ==
The target application, normal mapping, is an extension of [[bump mapping]] that simulates lighting on [[geometric]] surfaces by reading surface normals from a rectilinear grid analogous to a [[texture mapping|texture map]] - giving simple models the impression of increased complexity.  This additional channel however increases the load on the graphics system's memory bandwidth.  Pre-existing lossy compression algorithms implemented on consumer 3D hardware lacked the precision necessary for reproducing normal maps without excessive visible artefacts, justifying the development of 3Dc.