low poly curiosity
polycounter lvl 9
i have made a high poly jetta and am now wanting to make a low poly but i fear i have some questions for you pros....
1) would i instance everything i can to save polycount? (door handles, wheels, etc) or does instancing only come into effect when its completely separate models like a crap load of trees and the engine can just run it better
2) my low poly is not finished yet but its not too far off and im currently at a tri count of 4559 (without duplicating/instancing any of the repetitive stuff)... i have no idea what would be a good range to try and achieve, this is simply a portfolio piece if that helps narrow down the "well it depends what do you want to do with it" question
3) what would you recommend for texture map sizes and how many (what parts would you include in each)? i have always gone big like 1024, but ever since i joined polycount i have noticed people sometimes use a few texture maps for the same model and they all differ in size
wip shots:
and the polycount once all the duplicates are added in, didn't bother merging the verts down the middle or re-adjusting the wipers as this is just a quicky to get an idea of total polycount damage
as i said its not quite finished yet, but i wanted to ask these questions now so i don't get held up later : )
1) would i instance everything i can to save polycount? (door handles, wheels, etc) or does instancing only come into effect when its completely separate models like a crap load of trees and the engine can just run it better
2) my low poly is not finished yet but its not too far off and im currently at a tri count of 4559 (without duplicating/instancing any of the repetitive stuff)... i have no idea what would be a good range to try and achieve, this is simply a portfolio piece if that helps narrow down the "well it depends what do you want to do with it" question
3) what would you recommend for texture map sizes and how many (what parts would you include in each)? i have always gone big like 1024, but ever since i joined polycount i have noticed people sometimes use a few texture maps for the same model and they all differ in size
wip shots:
and the polycount once all the duplicates are added in, didn't bother merging the verts down the middle or re-adjusting the wipers as this is just a quicky to get an idea of total polycount damage
as i said its not quite finished yet, but i wanted to ask these questions now so i don't get held up later : )
Replies
Instancing within a model will only help with the items perfromance in your 3d package. That said, making duplicates of repetitious items can help when it comes to uv'ing as it can save you time/texture space. Once in game it will be recognized as 1 mesh unless imported in pieces.
Tri count for your portfolio is your choice at this stage in the game. A background object that isn't interactible and will be seen up close may have little as 1k triangles or as much as 10-12k. Racing games generally are much higher, 20-100k for the cars depending on the racing title. Pick a style of game and design for it. IE "I am making this car for a 3rd person GTA style scenario." That will help you focus on your tri count. But this is for your portfolio, so just make it look pretty :]
You should look at Triangle Count and at Vertice Count. Those are what is important to game engines. Your car is at 12k triangles at the moment.
Again it depends on the style of game you design for. If this is just 1 car and the tires need to be on the same texture sheet, just make 1 texture sheet. If this is modular and will share parts with other cars, then breaking up the textures may be necessary. For a portfolio though, I would recommend 1 well done texture sheet.
2) You have to determine it by your details. If it's up-close and personal, with loads of intricate details, then model those on a reasonable level, in a portfolio piece. Basically, anything that stands out and could change the silhouthe of the model.
Example @ 0:45
[ame]
Also, good idea to put up in a small corner for a few seconds the name of the model and what it's supposed to be. Current-Gen, Next-Gen, Low-Poly or High Poly model.
3) For a game quality asset, especially for your car, 1 map per map type, between 1K-2K in size.
how does a 15K polycount sound for a GTA IV style car? (minus the interior)
Realistically, without knowing the actual counts for the cars, I would bet they would be 7-10k. But 15k is not out of the question. Go for it!
So yeah, as Chaos said, go for it. The worst that could happen, if it looks too high poly, is you having to remove a couple of loops here and there, so I don't see why not.
If your prospective employer wants 15k and sees your 10k, they'll understand that with 5k more, it'll look X% better. Alternatively, if you model it at 15k and they want 10k, they'll understand that with 5k less it'll look X% crappier. Either way, quality and budget is a sliding scale, and they'll probably be able to figure out what you're capable based on your budget and how it looks. If they want 15k and you model 500k, they'll simply have no idea what to expect, and you've wasted their time.