rooster3d 10 Posted November 13, 2013 It's a high chance I'll have a number of questions about characters. I've already discovered the answer to some questions in other threads, so I'll stick to what hasn't been addressed. I usually model vehicles and static objects, so some of these questions might seem foolish to the pros. I finally imported the ArmA3 underwear guy into my model to compare knee joints and such, when it dawned on me that my model might not work with the BIS skeletons due to height. I could shorten my current model enough to fit the rig, but that is only a temporary fix. I will eventually have characters with specific size requirements. They would probably need new skeletons with new proportions, but I am wondering if the animations could still be used? I suppose it's not recommended to simply scale up a skeleton, is it? This may seem ambitious, but I eventually want to give players even more character customization options, like gender, body structure, facial structure, height, broadness, and so on. There's no question here; it just seemed relevant - and open for discussion. I read somewhere that 10,000 triangles is about where a character model should be. Is that with or without all the gear? Is there a specific area the UVs have to be in for the model? In UT3 the textures HAD to be sectioned off with head in a specific location, body in another, boots or gear in another. Is there a skeleton or something available for the mouth animations? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PuFu 4591 Posted November 13, 2013 Yes, what you want to achieve is pretty ambitious indeed. Reasons: 1. Unfortunately, in its current form, BI skeleton needs to have a skin mesh as close as possible to fit the joints. If for instance you would want to make an ORC, new skeleton would be required (it is possible), but just as well, all brand new animations for it. Such a task would be daunting, because there are about 1000 (rought estimate) animation files for it. 2. afaik, it is around 12k triangles. You can always check with the samples. The upper limit is a bit more for arma, you can find the exact number and my explanation behind it around these very forums. 3. there is no UV restriction for a new model, unless you want to use some of bi textures yourself, in which case you would need to fit the UV islands as closely as possible to theirs(not recommended) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rooster3d 10 Posted November 13, 2013 As I suspected. Thanks, PuFu; I appreciate the speedy response! 2. It's a bit of a relief; 12k is a little better number. Not sure what you meant by "the upper limit is a bit more for arma," but I checked the samples. The ArmA soldier models seem to be around 8.5k - 9.5k, with gear. The reporter lady with just a mic and a suit is almost 10k tris, 1550 in the head. A3 underwear guy (without gear) is about the same, with 1/3 of that being in the head. I'm still modeling, but so far my model has ~2.5k triangles in the head, ~6k in the body, and ~800 in the helmet. Total is close to 9.5k already. As I write this I have another question: My trooper has a neck gaiter around his face, covering from the nose-down. I may want this to be an inventory removable option, so what's the best way to tackle this? Should I create the head with a mouth and nose and create the gaiter seperate, or should I create two heads (unmasked and masked)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PuFu 4591 Posted November 16, 2013 2. The upper limit is bit more for arma means just that. That the upper limit for any 3d mesh in arma for a model with a single smooth group and one texture with one single island is 32k. That said, it is good to understand that for all games, it is important to optimize the models as much as possible and see where texture detail can replace model detail ---------- Post added at 09:20 ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 ---------- For the neck gaiter, in a3 you can have it defined as a helmet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
