I have been trying to think how to create low-poly game assets without loosing the intricate details I model into the high-poly version.
For this lantern I baked the wire pieces onto a flat plane. For the cylindrical pieces I used eight sided cylinders. I baked a rough colour map and normal map just to see if it was worth continuing. I intend to provide decent textures if I were to continue with it. See the blender screen grabs below.
As always, it depends on how far away the camera will be. It is is a little rustic lantern standing on a little table that is on a little house next to the path the player will take: great ! Might be even too much detailed, since normal maps will add draw calls and that’s always a little bit saved.
Now if the player will stand right next to it, I think it would need some more detail on the base: it looks too “polygonal” for now (damnit I can’t find the right word now)
It is just common sense after to eyeball the details needed.
Thanks for your input. You are right in that it depends on where it is placed in the environment i.e. foreground, mid ground or background. I am going for mid to background with this one.
I am trying to be very conscious of the vertex budget any game environment would have and how small items should not cost much. I’d be interested in what people think would be a reasonable vert count for this kind of asset where it is not in the foreground?
I’d be interested in what people think would be a reasonable vert count for this kind of asset where it is not in the foreground?
It depends on a number of factors to determine the proper triangle count for this model. Some of them are:
-game style(i.e: lowpoly, realistic, semi-realistic)
-game size(number of levels and the size of the levels)
-game type(FPS, 3rd person RPG, sidescroller, etc…)
In your case, since this asset will be used in midground to background view, your polycount right now is acceptable. But again, you must consider a number of factors when deciding an appropriate polycount for your game models, as mentioned above.
Giving a little more info of the game type, game size and style will help you and anyone give a more accurate answer to your question.
