Custom LODs ( Level of Detail ) Help!

Support Modeling
#1

I am a bit ashamed to have to ask this question but having trouble finding the answer. I have been doing 3D modeling for several years now on multiple platforms for my job, yet as a self taught I have gaps in my knowledge as I never had the opportunity to finish my formal education.

Q: How do you create multiple levels of detail manually?

I can create four different levels of detail with similiar looking models, but my textures do not apply correctly at lower LOD’s as the uv maps aren’t the same.

This is obviously an error on my part due to my lack of experience.

Are there tutorials for manual LOD creation in blender, have a link? Also as a backup while I am struggling with this, what python script is best recommended for multi LOD creation, any support 4 levels and do you have the link to this and a link to installing python scripts in 2.5?

Thank you for your patience, and any assistance.

Cheers,

Perefim

#2

I have seen that adding modifier decimator works very well, but still interested in manual LOD creation.

#3

Problem with Decimate is it destroys the uv map.

#4

you could use independant UV island which wont’ be destroyed !

or retopo a lower res model from your high res model!

happy 2.5

#5

For lod making that conserve weight for animation and keep the UV while making a very good job at decimation, use Blender 2.49b
The built-in “Poly Reducer” script is unvaluable and one of the most usefull script present, i used it successfully in some lod making several time.
http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Doc:Manual/Modeling/Scripts#Poly_Reducer

I hope to see it one day converted to 2.5x

#6

go and ask question on python there migth already be one script for poly reducer!

happy 2.5

#7

K I appreciate the advice for the poly reducer, thank you both. However still interested in how to reduce the polycount manually. I figure there is better techniques than just simply removing loop cuts and trying to keep uv map in same place and modifying and closing gaps.

#8

@RickyBlender
A port of the poly reducer has been requested already in several threads since the 1st 2.5x alpha.
I can only guess if none ported it it’s because it’s a very complex script (and considering the prodigy it can do, it is understandable that this is not the easiest script to port)

@Perefim
Another possibility to control exactly the topology and the face counts and distribution of your lod is to use retopology on it

But while retopo is not hard once you practiced it a bit, the difficulty is that retopology will not conserve the UV (or the weighting) as it’s basically you making a new model.
And considering if you want to keep your model fully optimised you’ll have all your lods using the same texture, you will then not use the baking function to quickly port the UV, but you’ll have to unwrap again your new model and try manually to make its own UV fitting the already existing texture.

This UV refitting can be time consuming (and not easy at all to avoid some face stretching in that case), that’s why you should look for the Poly Reducer solution, unless you do not have any kind of deadline of course.