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Subpatchs with Large Objects

by Caleb · in Artist Corner · 04/04/2008 (6:50 am) · 1 replies

When making a new player model, I started off with the head. After finishing the head, I put it into subpatch mode, exported it, and loaded it into torque without a problem. But now that my entire model is complete, subpatchs make the model screw up in torque. It loads up fine without subpatch turned on (just not as smooth), but polygons stretch and my system slows to a crawl with it on.

Is there anyway to work around this? 3D Characters look so much better subpatched.
Thanks.
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Torque Owner Proto
#1
06/05/2008 (7:05 pm)
How many polygons does your model have? I'm not sure about the errors you've described but I'd suggest checking your polygon count. Depending on the complexity you have planned for your project I'd suggest 2000 polygons (triangles) as a ball-park target for a character that the camera will see often, and 500-1000 polygons for anything else. As a general rule, less is more.

Subpatches can increase the number of polygons in your exported model and even though they look great can slow render performance, which can be a problem for real-time rendering. Finding a sensible balance between detail and performance is the trick.

Check in Modeler's wireframe view and use the Statistics window to check your model doesn't have too many polygons. In Layout's object properties window try setting and exporting your subpatched model with a very low display subpatch level (try 1). The DTS exporter uses display subpatch level, and Lightwave renderer uses the render subpatch level.

Exporting with a display subpatch of 1 will triangulate your quad polygons and smooth very little - this is what I'd recommend. Higher display subpatch levels will often add far too many polygons than is desirable for real-time rendering and can cause performance issues.