Texture mapping question for games

Krato

Short Version: If I have three types of Low-poly trees I want to make for a game, is there a way I can have all 3 low poly trees share the same texture map yet still be independently place-able in Unity? 


Long Version: I am struggling with how to make multiple different objects share the same texture map and still move around freely of one another. Typically it seems that if I want to share a texture map between multiple objects I need to join them together and consolidate their UVs. Now, if they are joined together and I bring them into game engine, placing them will result in one unbreakable asset.

If I want them to all be independent they need to be their own objects, but if they are their own objects they no longer share a common map. 

How can I fix this? Does anyone have any suggestions? I've been asking around on forums and either people don't know / don't care. Do I need to go in and make one texture map per each tree or other modular object? Is that efficient?

MikeF

What you need to do is set up a single material with the textures you intend to share across multiple meshes, then assign that material to all your different objects. This will allow you to place the models independently of each other but share the same textures.