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Post by TyrAVB on Jan 31, 2021 8:40:31 GMT -5
Hey guys...one serious question: what would be your suggestions on how to create medium and low poly LODs the fastest, easiest way? I hate doing those because if I use decimate many times it is destroying not only details but shape as well, so I end up removing and merging edges and vertices manually which is boring and time consuming as hell...there must be a better way that gives solid results... :/
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Post by mauvemorn on Jan 31, 2021 8:46:23 GMT -5
There is but you need to have perfect topology that is easy to edit. If you do, you can simply select multiple edge loops and delete them
You can get better results from decimate modifier if you will use lod0 model for all lods as a start and remove doubles before using decimate
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Post by TyrAVB on Feb 1, 2021 6:10:05 GMT -5
Yes, I am careful about my topography, I am trying to do everything in quads and to have a good flow...
With decimate I have a problem that it applies only on whole object and not vertex group, because usually I have some parts of the mesh that are already so simple that cannot be simplified without destroying shape, but decimate applies indiscriminately, Should I maybe start to construct my things from multiple objects, every part different object, and than smash them together only at the end?
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Post by mauvemorn on Feb 1, 2021 7:56:32 GMT -5
Hold on, are you making objects? From scratch? Then you should have no problem deleting these loops. It may seem like a hustle but is super fast if the topology is good.
Im not on my pc rn to check if this option is present in the compatible versions, but in the newest ones you can decimate by vertex groups
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Post by TyrAVB on Feb 1, 2021 8:41:21 GMT -5
Yeap lol...I don't know, deleting edges and merging vertices kind of takes me a lot of time, maybe I just need more practice to make it faster lol...
I am using 2.79, I know lol, but S4S asked for it and now I am kind of used to it's layout...maybe I should switch to latest after all...
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Post by mauvemorn on Feb 1, 2021 12:57:53 GMT -5
Yeap lol...I don't know, deleting edges and merging vertices kind of takes me a lot of time, maybe I just need more practice to make it faster lol... I am using 2.79, I know lol, but S4S asked for it and now I am kind of used to it's layout...maybe I should switch to latest after all... You will still need a compatible version as a bridge for s4s does not support 2.8+
Yes, in 2.79 it is possible to decimate by vertex group
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Post by simmerish20 on Feb 1, 2021 13:01:24 GMT -5
If you start low-poly and only add necessary topology, you shouldn't need to use decimate at all. If you have an area with just a few extra polys you're struggling to remove, that's usually not an issue if the overall mesh is low-poly and the mesh flow is fairly decent.
You can do "dissolve edges" and "dissolve vertices" in some areas to remove just the edges/vertices and not the polys. Doesn't work everywhere, but it's very useful if you're for instance removing polys with edge loops or fixing up areas after Decimate. It skips a step or two, and usually doesn't break the UVmap unless it's at an edge.
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Post by TyrAVB on Feb 2, 2021 10:42:05 GMT -5
Yeap lol...I don't know, deleting edges and merging vertices kind of takes me a lot of time, maybe I just need more practice to make it faster lol... I am using 2.79, I know lol, but S4S asked for it and now I am kind of used to it's layout...maybe I should switch to latest after all... You will still need a compatible version as a bridge for s4s does not support 2.8+
Yes, in 2.79 it is possible to decimate by vertex group
[img alt="" style="max-width:100%;" src="https://i.imgur.com/AmycP0y.jpg"
OMG, thanks, I have no clue how I didn't see it before, and I was looking - multiple times LOL...yeap, already making life easier  |
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Post by TyrAVB on Feb 2, 2021 10:51:06 GMT -5
If you start low-poly and only add necessary topology, you shouldn't need to use decimate at all. If you have an area with just a few extra polys you're struggling to remove, that's usually not an issue if the overall mesh is low-poly and the mesh flow is fairly decent.
You can do "dissolve edges" and "dissolve vertices" in some areas to remove just the edges/vertices and not the polys. Doesn't work everywhere, but it's very useful if you're for instance removing polys with edge loops or fixing up areas after Decimate. It skips a step or two, and usually doesn't break the UVmap unless it's at an edge.
What you said second, it's how I usually do it...about what you said first, I was thinking about it, but then I don't know how to solve UV unwrap. I mean, if I start low poly and use it as LOD 2 or 1, then when I start to add details/new topology, my UV of LOD0 will be very different, because I added vertices all over the place, so unless I am missing something, I would need to do different DIFF, Norm and SPEC maps for each LOD...? |
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Post by mauvemorn on Feb 2, 2021 16:51:36 GMT -5
No, you can do it sort of like this ( say, you're making a chair): - make an overall shape of the chair, unwrap it. This will be your lod2-3; - duplicate the mesh, ( you can use Surface deform modifier to make lod2-3 follow whatever you're going to do to the next ones) add more details, this will be lod1; - duplicate again, add the final details. This will be your lod0. Things like vertex paint, weights, uvs can be transferred, so you might not even need to unwrap it at first. However, it all of course depend on what you're making. Might not always work.
The maps should be the same for all lods
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Post by freeasabird on Feb 2, 2021 19:26:25 GMT -5
Don't know if this helps at all but when I have a mesh that has a part that decimating would leave in tatters I usually select the mesh part press p to separate the mesh, then I reduce the main mesh and then add the delicate bit back to main mesh. Make sure the uv maps are all uv_0 before you seperate & add back.
I too hate making 2/3 & shadow lods. I have never had the discipline to make basic bare bone meshes first and then add details later. My meshes evolve all the time so its easier (sort of) to reduce them afterwards.
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Post by TyrAVB on Feb 4, 2021 9:41:23 GMT -5
Thank you guys, that's a lot of good suggestions  |
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