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This post has been edited 3 times, last edit by "colombus" (Jun 16th 2010, 2:59am)
Quoted
Mip-meshes (LODs)
Game engine supports LODs (Levels Of Detail) for polygonal objects by using mip-meshes. They are simply several meshes with various detail levels. Engine shows the needed mesh according to distance from camera. You must create them manually, there is no automatic function for this. You can also set at what distance from camera each mesh should be displayed by using command MipMeshDistances in main section of .MCN file:
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MipMeshDistances 16 25 75 300 438
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ATTENTION. If you have N distances in MipMeshDistances, then you must have N+1 commands ShowObject in other sections, and last ShowObject must contain “none”. Failing this will lead to strange bugs in LODs.
All these meshes with various LOD must be in the same MAX project, it is needed for export, otherwise converter program will not work.
LODs are numbered starting with 0 (initial LOD). Next is 1 and so on.
You don’t need to make collision shapes for each LOD – collision shapes from most detailed (LOD 0) are always used. LODs are used only for visualization, while collision shapes are used for physical calculations.
LOD polygon requirements
Polygon count in each subsequent LOD should be 1.7-2 times lower than in previous one. It is better to reduce poly count even more.
Good tank model has 3000-4000 polys in LOD 0, two times less in each subsequent LOD, and less than 50 polys in last LOD.
It is very bad for performance to have many visible bones in the model. Ideally model should have one bone.
Usually moving of some parts of the model are not visible even in middle LODs (wheels, tracks). It is better to disable these bones and add their polys to hull. Example: in first LODs tracks and tank wheels are separate bones, but in far LODs their moving is invisible and they may be attached to Body.
We understand your intention to make a good quality model, but it is important to make quality and LOWPOLYGONAL model and LODs.
LOD material requirements
Reduce quantity of materials in far LODs, it’s usually good for performance, especially if there are many different units in the mission.
Reduce texture size in far LODs. Texture size in LOD N+1 should be 2 times smaller than in LOD N. Don’t use the same texture for materials in various LODs!
Use specular layer only in first three LODs, don’t use it in far ones (it’s not visible anyway). If it is possible to not use specular in some models or LODs (it’s not visible, etc.), don’t use it at all or use only in first 1-2 LODs.
This post has been edited 2 times, last edit by "colombus" (Jun 16th 2010, 10:53am)
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This post has been edited 2 times, last edit by "colombus" (Jun 18th 2010, 4:29pm)