A question about polygon count in modern games.
After being out of the industry for a bit of time, im trying to get back in. Im currently working on some portfolio peaces so I can get a new job as a game modeler. My specilty is strictly vehicle models. I have been working in flight sims for the last 10 years and my portfolio is full of nothing but aircraft. Considering how many flight sims are around, if I want a job, I need to switch gears!
This is one of my first new portfolio peaces that does NOT have wings. Working in flight sims is unique as only 1 vehicle is on the screen most of the time, so you can afford to throw polygons and pixels at the problem. Im modern game engines, thats not the case. What I would like to know is what is the typical polygon count for vehicles in modern games like MW3 and COD3?
Here is the peace im working on. This is the high detail model of an APC that is my own concept. Its got modular armor plates that are replaceable. What I want to do is build the low polygon model and shoot the normals. Whats a good target polycount for this peace?
This is one of my first new portfolio peaces that does NOT have wings. Working in flight sims is unique as only 1 vehicle is on the screen most of the time, so you can afford to throw polygons and pixels at the problem. Im modern game engines, thats not the case. What I would like to know is what is the typical polygon count for vehicles in modern games like MW3 and COD3?
Here is the peace im working on. This is the high detail model of an APC that is my own concept. Its got modular armor plates that are replaceable. What I want to do is build the low polygon model and shoot the normals. Whats a good target polycount for this peace?
Replies
Sorry for the non-answer, but those two things are going to dictate how many polys you get.
For a console spec MW3 car you could be looking at the low thousands. Obviously the less wheels and interior detail, the better. For a BF3 high detail vehicle, and since yours has 8 wheels (+ interior in this example), it could be several thousand. A curvy jeep wheel arch would obviously chew through the polys faster than the front half of your bodywork, for instance.
For wheels, 32 sided cylinder for the tyre, 3 or 4 loops to define the shape (and so they'll hold up well, they seem pretty big). And a bit for the hubs and what not, you can get a damn good wheel for 300 polys. Instance away
Your vehicle's bodywork is much simpler. Since most of it is flat surfaces, you should be set. A lot of the detail can just be floaters, and a nice bevel will work wonders. If you're feeling really lucky, you can separate the outside panels from the base, for a bit of parralax, since it's all flat the poly count shouldn't suffer too much.
The cylinder on the top could be 16 sided, and a bevel around the edges. The exhaust pipe should be fairly cheap (8-12 sided) as long as it's not too shiny. The cannon doesn't look like it has any curve along it's length, so go 16-20 sided and make it look nice.