Reply To: Baking normals in Cycles
Hey, so I tried the file and I think I found the problem. The low poly object should be exactly the same size as the main geometry (ignoring details) of the high poly, and the cage should be exactly the same as the low poly except displaced. The cage in your file was shifted around a bit and didn’t have subsurf:
Fixed, notice how the spacing of the cage around the low poly object is all equal.
The flatness comes from everything being 90 degree angles. In the second picture above, notice how I adjusted the inset on the right so that it’s extruded in at an angle. That’ll give you the slope you need to make it not look flat. Do that with all your details. (check this video at about 1:30: https://www.cgcookie.com/lesson/high-poly-detailing ). Hope that helps!