What a necro
. Well you have no worries now since Freespace 2 handles this even better than 3DS Max. This is a pic I have located on my laptop. I'm away from the computer with the source files.
The issue with mirroring and normal maps WAS unavoidable. Really the only way to avoid it is through clever mapping and technique. But in Freespace 2 those effects are highly minimized, thank goodness.
Now I am no fan of locking topics, but considering the end results worked perfectly thanks to the amazing FSOpen engine, AND a great release fighter, I think we can consider this topic ended
. Unless of course... there are questions to be asked? Feel free, but I suspect the topic has reached an end.