Personally , I prefer to use the normal 1024x1024 skin sizes on the airplanes and only use larger skins for maps. That way I have
less weight on my game and have it running faster. My pc is very slow and antique
Briefly, as this is not meant to be a tutorial, in my experience skin size, LODs and game performance are closely related. As long as the model is properly made and the LOD distances are realistic then high quality, 2048X2048 or even 4096x4096 skins do not slow the game down. Mesh sizes have less impact on the game than .tga size therefore it is even possible for a lazy 3d modder to duplicate the LOD0 mesh to LOD1 and even LOD2 as long as the associated .mat file points to properly sized skin1p and skin1q .tga files respectively.... But this is not ideal ..... In other words these look really good in close up and any loss in skin definition is not really noticeable beyond 100m
eg
[LOD]
25
75
500
2000
The same is also true for the .D1, .D2 meshes etc
Oversize cockpit .tga files, too many .tga files with a single object mapped to them (rather than combine them into a single .tga) effect FRAPs and game performance far more.
At LOD3 the 3d mesh may as well be a single square as it only occupies a single screen pixel .........
. A poorly made model will show in the game and fool those who don't know better,
( I cringe when I read some of the fawning comments that these mods illicit) however, a good model with a high def skin will not cause issues. It is the "quick and dirty" one LOD wonders that cause the problems.
Meshes that are larger than 3000 polys will be accepted by the game engine, however they cause drop outs and freezes when effects like explosions or cannon fire occur. It is not good practice to use them and they should always be avoided. If a mesh cannot be simplified then cut it into two... as long as the overall 30,000 poly model limit is not exceeded.
In other words ... put the blame on the wannabe 3d guys for poor LOD and .tga management .... not the skin artists.
.. ok .. rant mode off...
G;
Author
Topic: Edlor's Works (Read 23520 times)
