October 17, 2004
at 7:32 pm /
#1580
[BLOCKQUOTE class=’ip-ubbcode-quote’][font size=’-1′]quote:[/font][HR]Originally posted by scottb613:
EEEEEEEEEK…
7600 POLY’s
<!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="
" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –>
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I have heard LOD’s are a real bear in 3DC ? Is it worth attempting ???
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[HR][/BLOCKQUOTE]
Just to confirm what Roman says, it is worth trying – read a few of the posts on this forum and the tutorial, there are a few catches, but it’s not too bad.
about 4000 of those polys are in the wheels!
One alternative is to use the low poly square faced wheels for the small ones and solid wheels for the drivers, that may save a 1000.
you will really need to keep it tight if you are going to be under 10,000. When building thin pipes, use 5 sided objects and reduce the creasing to just above 50. In fact for most pipes/cylinders try to use as few sides as you can – a 16 sided default cylinder is 60 polys, reducing to 12 sides, saves 16 polys and doesn’t look much different on smaller objects.
… my last, and much simpler model than yours, was just over 10,000 !
October 17, 2004
at 7:32 pm /
#14207
Hi All !
Well – I think I am finally getting used to those screen navigators in 3DC -red – blue – green… It took a bit – but – once you get the hang of it they work pretty darn good…
I have about 4 days work invested in my first model and I am kind of amazed how far I have made it… <!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –>
Latest Image:
[img:2j5p1ly3]http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID5/8321.html#10[/img:2j5p1ly3]
<!– m –><a class="postlink" href="http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID5/8321.html#10">http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForu … 21.html#10</a><!– m –>
I guess I’m at the point where I could use a little help with some more information…
1) How do I get an accurate ‘POLY’ count of my model… I want to be sure I am staying reasonable… I have found the script that dumps the info – but – how do I get an accurate ‘POLY’ count from it ??? Is it a combination of ‘Point and Face’ ??? I am trying to get the number that will appear in ‘Shape File Viewer’ for reference…
Details of Scene
================
Object Count: 103
Face Count: 3661
Point Count: 4791
Size: X=10.8 Y=14.72917 Z=41.20679
Bounding Box: Min X=18.59584 Min Y=0 Min Z=1.92136 Max X=29.39584 Max Y=14.72917 Max Z=43.12815
2) Is there a trick to doing cow catchers ? Is there a way to evenly distribute numerous objects ? It seems like I have to endlessly fiddle with each and every rung in the cow catcher – thing on very front of loco ??? This piece seems like a great candidate for a plug-in… <!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –>
3)I need to wrap the two ‘piston’ cylinders on each side of the engine… The ends of the two cylinders need to stick out – yet the two cylinders have a slightly larger shape surrounding them and spanning them together… Any suggestions on how to approach this task ?
Thanks again – I really like this 3DC…
Regards,
Scott
October 18, 2004
at 1:25 am /
#14208
Hi Scott,
nice loco! The polycount is the sum of the triangulated faces of your model. Graphic cards display triangles, their output is sometimes measured in triangles per second. Every face of a model can be divided into triangles, that is the way 3D programs work. Use pauls SFM or the shape viewer to watch your poly count.
Their are some (tedious) tricks to reduce the poly count.
You can delete unseen faces, i.e. every downside-face of the rungs in the cow catcher. ( two polys each ), or work with textures. Maybe you can do one oval piston and piston valve housing, and paint the outline of the front and backend for piston and valve, lots of possibilities.
The cow catcher: You can ‘fiddle endless’ once and save the whole thing for future use. Doing so will quickly generate a useful library for future work. If you want to have really precise parts you can do them with scripting. This will define exactly every position of the faces you use and give best results for those parts you have blueprints and which contain numerous faces.
Roman
October 18, 2004
at 1:28 am /
#14209
Looks like it’s going well so far <!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –>
1) Right click on an object in the main group and ‘Select Hierarchy’, then run the ‘Count Triangles’ plugin from my plugin pack
3) I had a similar model recently, though the shape was a bit more complex – I just built an extruded object and scaled it.
Another option may be to copy and paste the two cylinders, into a new group, merge the two objects. Then weld some tangential points to make a single object. Then just scale it up in the X and Y axes and down in the Z axis – you will need to remove a lot of hidden faces though.
Dragging the new group back onto the cylinder group and making its position 0,0,0 should also position it centrally on the cylinders.
October 18, 2004
at 4:52 am /
#14210
Thank guys !
I’d be lost without the forum and tutorials !!!
Regards,
Scott
October 18, 2004
at 5:13 am /
#14211
Another option with the cow catcher…
Only build half of it.
Merge all component objects into a single object and use the mirror operation to make the other half.
October 18, 2004
at 9:49 am /
#14212
EEEEEEEEEK…
7600 POLY’s
<!– s:) –><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!– s:) –>
I still have couplers to build – the piston connections – whistle – and other stuff like a little piping and some minor details…
Also the trailing truck has had some highly detailed external components I haven’t modeled yet…
Arrgghh…
I guess this is where the challenging part comes in… I think I better start working in some POLY conservation tactics… Start deleting non visable surfaces… LOL…
I would like the finished model around 8500…
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I have heard LOD’s are a real bear in 3DC ? Is it worth attempting ???
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Thanks for the tip Paul… Building half will be a big time saver – and it will assure symetry in the completed part…
Regards,
Scott
October 18, 2004
at 1:29 pm /
#14213
LODs are not only worth attempting, they are a must for detailed models; and your engine defintly is a detailed model. But don’t worry too much about that, first complete your model which will be the first LOD.
To get the feeling what can/must be done with LODs load the default scotsman in shape viewer and observe the different levels. A picture will tell more than thousand words.
