Platform topology?

Bokaja

Hey again.

I have a question regarding topology for different platforms.

Are there any strict guidelines for creating content for Xbox 360 and PS3
compared to PC platform?

Like if you have a complete ingame character mesh ready for PC is it then necessary
to make drastic changes in the mesh at key points like joints etc. when preparing
it for Xbox 360 or PS3?


Thanks for your time.

AnimeAngel

I would say it is not platform that determines things like but rather the engine which the game is built on.

FicWill

Not strictly necessarily. You're more easily vert-bound on ps3, for example. That shouldn't affect topology per-se, but starts to be an issue with overall counts.

Richard Kain

It would probably only come into play in terms of performance comparison. I'm fairly certain that both platforms should be able to handle advanced mesh deformation and animation. It would just be a matter of how well. I imagine that in-depth comparisons would probably have one platform handling certain types of deformations and skeletal riggings more efficiently than the other.

But ultimately, I think Anime Angel's answer is most accurate. The engine will likely have far more influence over this than the specific architectue. Even if one platform has an advantage in a certain type of technical computation, that advantage is pointless if the engine being used doesn't take advantage of it. And most cross-platform engines are less likely to fully utilize the hardare than platform-specific engines. So more likely than not, you won't have to worry about changing up your models rigging or mesh for cross-platform development.

Mark Dygert

The game type/genre plays heavily as to the topo of the models too.

Bokaja

Kewl guys thanks for the inputs.

It was very helpful

And btw about topology - is the future ingame models heading towards subdivision
techniques? Like, you build one unique mesh (somewhat like the current highpoly base mesh
I guess) which is then subdivided up and down depending on the distance ingame? No lowpoly and LOD mesh...

That will be interesting

renderhjs

subdiv is only a shortcut in the modeling process to quicker fill up areas that need to be smoothed or rounded. Its often faster to do it this way because you can also tweak roundness with less control points as compared to if you would poly-model only and try to create rounded shapes with lots of intersections placed by hand. It is by no means at all the only or best solution to get what you want or need to archive.
What you really export is all triangulated anyway and has not much to do anymore with subdevision since often things get backed and or projected through the textures.