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Polycount Tower Q&A

adam
polycounter lvl 19
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adam polycounter lvl 19
If you have any questions regarding the Polycount Tower project, Sketchfab, or anything else related feel free to ask them here. We'll edit the answer directly into your comment, written in blue.

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Replies

  • slipgatecentral
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    slipgatecentral polycounter lvl 13
    are there any restrictions on texture channels, triangle limits, texture sizes?
    I guess sketchfab has support for more than just diffuse and specular now, need more specifics, please

    Texture channels:
    https://help.sketchfab.com/hc/en-us/articles/202600873

    diffuse, specular/glossiness, normal/bump, lightmap, transparency (alpha blending/masking), emission.

    Triangle limits:
    In theory, none. For reliable performance? 500k, but hopefully much lower.

    Texture sizes:
    Anything over 8k is probably overkill. Having a large number of textures will also hurt performance.
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  • WorldMaker
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    WorldMaker greentooth
    + to slipgatecentral' question.
    plus about dimesions... 6 meters in height - may we double it, so it will be 12?
    For example,if i wand to make a rock.... or 6 meters is my maximum?


    A. The dimensions of the template, which you download from http://www.sketchfab.com/tower, are what you have to work with. Right now there are no exceptions.
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  • Ponk
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    Ponk polycounter lvl 8
    A basic OBJ template can be nice to start. All those scales on 3D softwares are complete mess and importing OBJ in 1:1 will resolve doubts.

    A. There is! It's the first step to creating your floor for Polycount Tower. The rest of the steps are here.
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  • linkov
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    linkov polycounter lvl 10
    I wonder.. is it ok to hang out a poster somewhere on the floor with link to my personal website/portfolio?

    A. Sure!
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  • Bek
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    Bek interpolator
    Any chance of WASD camera movement coming in in the future? This tower just begs for it. Maybe with Z/X for up/down or something too.

    Edit: Answered by glenatron:
    glenatron wrote: »
    If you click on the eye icon in the bottom-right corner, you can change to WASD controls.

    (perhaps a more obvious way to toggle this + a slider for camera speed would be something to consider in the future)
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  • dmi3iy
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    dmi3iy polycounter lvl 3
    Bek wrote: »
    Any chance of WASD camera movement coming in in the future? This tower just begs for it. Maybe with Z/X for up/down or something too.

    Do you mean First Person View mode? You can switch it in small 'eye' icon in rifht corner of Sketchlab viewport.
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  • anglorum
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    anglorum polycounter lvl 6
    I would totally second Bek on that one. Can be really finicky to navigate through the tinier details of the room with the current control scheme. If not that, then at least just a rotate from camera instead of from pivot.
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  • glenatron
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    glenatron polycounter lvl 11
    If you click on the eye icon in the bottom-right corner, you can change to WASD controls. Although it's still quite fast/jerky...
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  • Whalebones
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    Whalebones polycounter lvl 11
    With reference to glenatron's floor, are we actually restricted to the room boundaries set in the template (14x14x6). As his floor obviously has the awesome greentooth blowing open the wall, so are we say allowed to have pipes and stuff going around the floor for example?

    Answer: As stated on the project page - you have up to 3 meters to play with external from the template.
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  • Gmanx
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    Gmanx polycounter lvl 19
    glenatron wrote: »
    If you click on the eye icon in the bottom-right corner, you can change to WASD controls. Although it's still quite fast/jerky...

    Scrolling your mouse-wheel will change walk speed.
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  • Gmanx
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    Gmanx polycounter lvl 19
    Shinigami wrote: »
    Well i have awesome ideas but i suck at texturing so I ll just post it untextured if thats ok ( Dont need to include in tower)

    Post a wip of your ideas and team up with a texture artist. that way you both get awesome exposure.
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  • Gmanx
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    Gmanx polycounter lvl 19
    So, say you made two tower models. If you had a void in the ceiling of the lower one and a void in the floor of the upper - could you submit them so they connect properly (even if you can't pass through the void)?

    Answer: Try it!
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  • NatashaSawyer
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    NatashaSawyer
    Can we submit more then 1 floor? Im in small team where creating room each to make one piece is that allowed? :P
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  • Odow
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    Odow polycounter lvl 8
    So we're free to do anything or does this have to follow the office theme?
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  • Vailias
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    Vailias polycounter lvl 18
    Odlow: Yes you can do whatever, so long as it fits the volume limits.

    SliceOfChalk: As stated in the rules, you can have stuff protrude outside the main structure by up to 3 meters in any direction.

    NatashaSawyer Yes. The rules state you can make more as many entries as you want, so long as each one fits the template.


    For those of you who haven't seen something like this before, 10+ years back there was this thing called the "goon tower" started on the Something Awful forums. It's this same idea we're doing, but in 2d. I found an archive of it here. It wasn't the only one, the collaborative template-based community art project became "a thing" for a while. There were pixel towers, and pixel cities, I think Polycount had one of each at one point, though they eventually fizzled out a bit as things do.

    So now we're back at it in 3d, which better suits the main focus of this site anyway.
    :)

    Thanks to Adam, Sketchfab and whoever else made this happen. Should be a neat piece.
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  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    Odow wrote: »
    So we're free to do anything or does this have to follow the office theme?

    Answer: Check out the poster - we want you to do whatever you want.
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  • S_ource
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    S_ource polycounter lvl 9
    Is it ok to change or remake your floor after the final submission? For example a few months after final submission you feel like redoing the whole thing.

    Per the rules:
    Add your floor to the project when it is 100% complete. You can test your floor on Sketchfab as many times as you’d like, but do not officially submit it to the Tower until it is 100% complete.

    Feel free to submit another floor later.

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  • PEET?
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    PEET? polycounter lvl 5
    I just want to say THIS IS AWESOME! What a fantastic way to showcase the collective creativity of a community. Epic props for the crew who set this up. GGWP!
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  • lukazguzman
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    lukazguzman polycounter lvl 5
    This is a great great idea! Anyone up for teaming up?? I can model and texture, but I can't come up with an idea!! :p And it would be a great experience for me to work with someone else from Polycount!
    Please drop by my portfolio if you are interested in working with me! :)
    http://www.furiouspoly.com

    Also, where else can I post that I am looking for a team? On the main 3D showcase forum?I'll go post at the general discussion now...
    Thanks!
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  • SaboR1996
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    SaboR1996 polycounter lvl 8
    Do we have to use our own concept for this or can we use anything? If we have permission of course.

    Answer: This is all covered on the contest page here. You can do whatever you'd like, within reason. Please make sure to read the page in its entirety.
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  • danielrobnik
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    danielrobnik polycounter lvl 9
    The template diagram on the polycount.com/tower page indicates that the height from the very top to the very bottom of the model (including ceiling and floor) is 6m. The template model, however, measures 6.2m for that section.

    Is this an error in the model? All other model measurements match the diagram.

    Answer: Good find! Go off the template size. We'll update the page accordingly.
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  • garcellano
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    garcellano greentooth
    Can the ceiling get cut off a bit? Like the width is 14 meters, but the length is less than 14 meters?

    Just making sure.
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  • adam
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    adam polycounter lvl 19
    garc - I am sure its fine, you can always edit it after.
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  • YellowYeti
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    YellowYeti vertex
    Hi! I just joined not long ago and was waiting for my comment to be approved or whatever had to happen with that, and seeing everyone's work on here makes me want to hop in with the community as well! But i've seen a few thing about the polycount tower but i was wondering what is it? (sorry if there is somewhere that says what it is and i just missed it)
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  • M.Freeman
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    M.Freeman
    Is there anyway for us to have animations on our floor? Would add something extra :)
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  • ScottHoneycutt
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    ScottHoneycutt polycounter lvl 14
    Having submitted once already days ago, I just submitted my floor again. I have a few questions. I'm confused as to whether or not the template is only a volume indicator or whether or not you need the template in your scene as actual geometry? Do you need a ceiling? How can I know if there is a specific issue with my uploading to the tower?
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  • Xolo
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    Xolo polycounter lvl 10
    Am I welcome to join in as just a hobbyist without industry aspirations?
    My skill level is only that of the average modder, as modding is pretty much all I do.
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