Automated Polycount reduction on an animated humanoid mesh - any solutions out there?
I was wondering, is there a solution which will decimate the polycount optimally on a rigged and animated mesh whereby the quality of the animation clips wont suffer too much?
I am creating a mobile game in which every level will include about 5 humanoid characters.
Each will be about 5k polygons/10k tris,
and will have around 20 joints (hand and finger joints almost double the joint count but are needed in some levels and not in others, so I may end up removing finger joints depending on level),
no shadows in the scene,
Mobile-friendly shaders and only one of the characters has a texture and normal map. Rest are on just mobile-friendly materials.
No major props. Maybe just a simple, plain background.
Lots of animations.
I am looking to target as many mobile devices as I can. So in total, each scene could end up having 50k tris in total with 50 bones, no shadows. I wanna reduce the polycount further on these animated meshes if possible.
I am creating a mobile game in which every level will include about 5 humanoid characters.
Each will be about 5k polygons/10k tris,
and will have around 20 joints (hand and finger joints almost double the joint count but are needed in some levels and not in others, so I may end up removing finger joints depending on level),
no shadows in the scene,
Mobile-friendly shaders and only one of the characters has a texture and normal map. Rest are on just mobile-friendly materials.
No major props. Maybe just a simple, plain background.
Lots of animations.
I am looking to target as many mobile devices as I can. So in total, each scene could end up having 50k tris in total with 50 bones, no shadows. I wanna reduce the polycount further on these animated meshes if possible.
Replies
Automated decimation tools are notoriously bad for animated meshes, because they typically have no understanding of nice even topology which is essential for good deformations. They convert edge loops down into a triangle soup.
Here's an example
Another downside for decimation... it destroys the vertex weights, which bind the model to the skeleton.
https://www.mixamo.com/decimator
Looks like it's early on, but might do what you want, if you buy a Mixamo license.
I also found one - Cruncher on unity asset store. Has good reviews, mentions it can deal with animated models but not one review mentions animations and its costly so better to make my own low-polys unless someone else chimes in with a good suggestion or whather cruncher is any good when dealing with animated models.
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/4294
And wanted to see if other used such tools with any success.
Didnt wanna spend so much without knowing whether others had been successful in reducing their polycount. Guess its best to just make your own low-polys for now unless someone who has a good experience with a tool suggests something.