Post by Relayer on Feb 27, 2007 20:21:51 GMT -5
From what I can gather the "proper" method of mapping is NOT to have a section of the texture used in multiple places on the model. Example; don't use a single texture for both the left and right sides of a ship, even if the 2 sides are the same. You should map the left side from the left and the right side from the right, each with it's own texture. I know that this is important if you are going to "bake" luminence (light) maps to speed up rendering times, for example. So you don't have to render the lights over and over (which in some cases can take hrs. off of the render times). Does anyone know if it makes any diffrence with game models though, in game? Is this something that I/we need to concern ourselves with?
I don't believe that it really saves us any vram by using the same texture in multiple places on the model because the pgm/game needs to load the texture multiple times anyway (I'm not sure that's how it works, but I think it is. lol) I know that it saves on file size, but I think that's the only thing.
I'm asking because I was planning on actually having light sources on the model for running lights, warp glows, etc. and then baking them into the luminence textures. After I go through all of the effort of mapping the model to be able to do this would there be any benefit to leaving the mapping this way or would it be better off combining the UVM of areas that can reuse sections of the textures (inside of nacelles, for instance) to save file size.
I hope I'm making sense here. I know what I'm trying to say.
I don't believe that it really saves us any vram by using the same texture in multiple places on the model because the pgm/game needs to load the texture multiple times anyway (I'm not sure that's how it works, but I think it is. lol) I know that it saves on file size, but I think that's the only thing.
I'm asking because I was planning on actually having light sources on the model for running lights, warp glows, etc. and then baking them into the luminence textures. After I go through all of the effort of mapping the model to be able to do this would there be any benefit to leaving the mapping this way or would it be better off combining the UVM of areas that can reuse sections of the textures (inside of nacelles, for instance) to save file size.
I hope I'm making sense here. I know what I'm trying to say.