World Space Normal Map
Normals baked in world coordinates
Also known as: World space normals · Painter world space normal · World normal map · WS normal
Definition
A world space normal map stores the direction each surface faces in world coordinates, instead of relative to the surface like a tangent-space normal map. It is baked as a mesh map in Substance Painter and is used for masks rather than final textures: it tells generators which surfaces face up, down or to the side. That is what makes effects like dust settling on top surfaces, moss on one side or snow possible.
In production
Bake it with the other mesh maps, and use it through generators, smart masks or the Mask Editor to create masks based on direction. A mask built from it depends on the model's orientation when baked, so rotate and bake the model the way it will be used in the world. It is not exported as a normal map for engines, which use tangent space.
Tools that use World Space Normal Map
See also
Mesh Maps
Maps baked from the model that drive generators
Tangent Space
Local coordinate system for normal maps
Normal Map
Per-pixel surface detail
Smart Mask
Mask presets driven by baked mesh maps
Generator (Substance Painter)
Procedural mask effect driven by mesh maps
Baking
High-poly detail → low-poly texture