that's true about optimization on the vertex level not mattering much anymore, but only on PC videocards. consoles still need the extra optimization (at least according to the article), and i'm assuming portable games will as well. still, it's good to know there's more we can get away with on the highest end hardware
yes it's called degenerated geometry you basically create a face that has twice the same vertex, ie a edge of zero length, that will result into a "non visible" triangle. because it doesnt generate any pixels, it's a pretty good trick to keep a strip running on some other place. However not all platforms might support it…
The way I understand it, a single surface is one where the vertices all share the same data. As soon as the data changes (different smoothing group, different material, UV has an edge) then the surface breaks into two (or more). Check out Figure 2 in the 2nd article. CrazyButcher mentioned batches... I've been hearing some…
as OpenGL is a state machine, ie you set the environment then render, almost everything is a state change. basically its everything that forces you to make a new drawcall, among the state changes there are ones that are mor expensive than others. e.g. the "shaders" like bump mapping, reflections... are a pretty heavy…
no, the batching is only done when your material changes that is : shader or texture. then you need a new drawcall, the more drawcalls the worst. batching is good as it collects everything that has teh same "appearance" and therfore can be rendered in a single call. I refer to OpenGL here, but I assume DX wont be…