Model optimizing Thread

I decided to optimize my models, because they're a bit too high poly for their purpose.

If there is a 8 sided leg, should it be 5 instead?

What about teeth? One model I have has 648 polygons in its teeth! But they're important part in it and without teeth the model would look less threatening.

On today's standards in a game that has multiple(some 5-15) monsters coming for you at one time, how big polycounts they should have? 500? 1000? 2000? My models have polycounts from 1500 to almost 4000.

What about weapons? The weapons that are seen in the ground and in the hands of some monsters. I use the hud weapon models with them too... How do I make a very low poly version of some hud gun? Make some blocks around the hud gun and texture them? Or can it be done from the hud gun?

Judging from your models, you have a natural knack for detail. Unfortunatley like you have stated, high detail means high poly, and it comes to bite you in the ass in the end. You look like you may be able to benefit from bump-mapping. Perhaps Zbrush would be of interest to you? you can download a free trial here. Pixologic.com
basically, you take a low polymesh, load it into zbrush, and essentially(though it's a bit more technicaal) draw on your model. Also, a zbrush forum link. 206.145.80.239

Models can always be optimized, and obviously 649 polies for teeth is ridiculous. Good luck.

coming to teeth i reduced each teeth to a 4-sided pyramid. i know this is rather low-poly but how often you see somebodys mouth from the inside without ending up there

otherwise 3k-4k poly models should be fine and current engines should handle this well... especially if the engine has good LODding support.

I'd really look into LOD... if you're talking about DP, I really want LOD in it, but that'll probably have to wait until the CSQC, it's really great for a BBQ with the KGB to get MADD

Edited by: Sajt

DP? CSQC? BBQ? KGB? MADD? HUH?

a donno what that was supposed to mean... but... ok ^_^

Jimi wrote: DP? CSQC? BBQ? KGB? MADD? HUH?

I think by DP he means DarkPlaces engine - Icculus.org

Jimi wrote: DP? CSQC? BBQ? KGB? MADD? HUH?

DP = Darkplaces
CSQC = Client-side QuakeC
BBQ = Barbecque
KGB = KGBRomi, formerly merc101, does the .rtlight files for the Quake levels
MADD = MADD!

See what kind of confusion too much abbreviation causes... So, MADD is not an abbereviation?

From 3223 polygons to 1559 good, or should I decrease more? Right now in that model there is not much visual difference and in action you definitely can't see the difference unless your eyes and brain work abnormal to human eye and brain standards.

If I remember correctly, in the 4th lod the 3223 model polygons were dropped somewhere below 1000.

there are anyways two ways to deal with LODing: manual vs automatic. manual lodding is clear, you make the lower poly model, automatic is calculated on the fly by the engine. i guess HL2 makes automatic as it looks crappy ^_^

There's also "manual automatic" loding... This kind of loding is what I'm using because it's the only loding in Doomsday. Some commandline program makes 3 lods from the model and then it's done. It also looks sometimes kinda crappy, but the loding can be adjusted someway with the uvw map. It doesn't brake the mesh borders... or something like that.