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Just one little question,
in Maxwell Render, the 16 bit is taken into account for the normal map?
I mean, is the depth information processed?

Do you mean in the normals channel?

Internally normals for that map are 32 bits, and they are transformed to 8, 16 or 32 at the end of the process to give the final image.

I'm wondering the same too (not about the normals channel output, but normal maps used in a material) - if there are any advantages in using a 16bit maps for normals, compared to only 8bits. Will it help to give a finer angle control maybe? Mapping 0-256 over 180 degrees, or 0-65000 over 180 degrees?

Thank Luis,
as Mihai said, I was talking about the material normal channel.

I asked this question because in Substance Designer for example,
the normal map channel can be in 16 bit, its useful for blending operations among other things.
So I wondered if it was useful to export them with this depth for Maxwell material.
(if visually there is a difference as described by Mihai)

Normal, bump and so on are Internally 32 bits, so 32bits > 16 bits > 8 bits when you use that maps. From a practical point of view, you can see difference using 8 and 16 bits, but not much different going to 32.

Ok, cool, that good to know!
Thank you Luis.