Texture block compression is a critical component of real-time rendering. Reducing the size of textures saves download time, disk space, memory, and GPU bandwidth. With a few exceptions (pixel art, some UI elements), it’s a reasonable expectation that all textures should be compressed to maximize these benefits. It’s important, therefore, to understand how texture block compression works at a high level. What formats work best for base colors versus normal maps versus some arbitrary packed material data?

Texture block compression is a critical component of real-time rendering. Reducing the size of textures saves download time, disk space, memory, and GPU bandwidth. With a few exceptions (pixel art, some UI elements), it’s a reasonable expectation that all textures should be compressed to maximize these benefits. It’s important, therefore, to understand how texture block compression works at a high level. What formats work best for base colors versus normal maps versus some arbitrary packed material data?