For a further reference, most conferences and expos in the UK are practically free, with free talks. By UK standards, this is expensive, and GDC is downright extortionate.
Yes, it will affect the mesh because it's poor topology. There are coplanar holes in the mesh. Also, it's bad modeling practice and leads to errors and headaches.
How intuitive is this in practice? Are there any limitations are issues that arn't highlighted there? Does anyone use this feature of 3D coat on a regular basis?