How to determine the size of the map (Normal, AO) to be baked?

sonus4ever

Hi
I was wondering how can i determine the max size of the map (Normal, AO) i can bake for game purpose models in 3ds max on my system and also in photoshop for texturing purpose. What should be the best size one can know.   

ActionDawg

65536x65536 on all assets, no more no less.

But seriously, it depends. Are you making something as big as a building, or as small as a fly? How close to the camera does it get and how important to the project is it? What are the requirements for the project? There is no way to answer this question without considering many factors.

throttlekitty

I found this article recently, probably the best on the topic i've seen so far.

https://80.lv/articles/textel-density-tutorial/

sonus4ever

Thanks for the link throttlekitty
It's  very useful info
Look my problem is that I recently modeled and textured an ammo box. I was making it for a showreel purpose. The thing is that the final result was quite of low quality. Someone suggested that the maps I baked and the overall texture should be of 4k or 6k. So I like to know that how can I check beforehand that upto how much resolution map I can bake on my system. As if I go for a 6k size and it gets stuck in the process or After baking process when I take maps for text. purpose in PS it creates any issue. 

Hope this explains my situation.

throttlekitty

Detailed questions are always better. Learning texel density will be important in production.

However for a showreel, you definitely want to show it at it's best, so yeah, go for 4k. If your system struggles right now with something higher, consider breaking your model down to use multiple textures, this way you can work on smaller sized textures one at a time. Personally i think that would be overkill for an ammo box, but I haven't seen your model, so I'm picturing the average WWII metal box in my head.