If I used a mirror transform to make my model is it best to apply the transformation before I start uv mapping? Any comments on the subject would be appreciated. Also I was wondering about using subsurf in a game, (I wouldn’t be using blender’s engine but ogre; I realize this may not be the place to ask.) is it possible? (I only ask because I read a post somewhere that suggested it wasn’t.) Is it feasible?
If you don’t want to unwrap and texture both halfs, then no. Generally unwrap and apply the mirror later. Sometimes there are parts where mirroring is a problem like text, these areas you treat a bit differently.
Usually higher subsurf levels end up in normal maps and the lower levels become the polys in game.
It depends of you want the left side to look different from the right, even if there are just minor variation, you need to apply the mirror so that the UV is a full profile.
Thanks for clarifying. I’m just wondering about the second part though, I thought a normal map was some kind of image that simulated bumps and what-not. How could you apply a subsurf to a normal map? Also, do you create the normal map in blender? How does that process work?
see the wiki under Render Baking or Render Bake