Modeling
From NWN1 Custom Content Guide
Contents |
[edit] Basic Concepts
First, some terminology:
A vertex is a point in your 3D space.
An edge is a line that joins 2 verticies together.
A face is the smallest three dimensional object you can make, joining 3 verticies and 3 edges to make a triangle. Commonly referred to as a poly or triangle. Sometimes you may have 2 faces joining together to form a quad, but that type of measurement is rarely used.
Normals indicate the direction a face will display. Since displaying a lot of faces on the screen slows the computer down, almost all games and 3D modeling programs employ a technique called backface culling which causes the 3D engine to skip rendering of the unseen side of a face. For instance, if you have a box, as long as the box stays intact, the interior of the box will never show up to the viewer, and thus skipped.
Smoothing indicates how the system handles lighting as it goes from one face to another. A 'hard' edge will make it look sharp, like on a gem. A smooth edge makes the surface smooth like on skin.
UVs are coordinates associated with a face that indicate what areas of a 2D texture map will display on the face. Think of it as cutting out triangular pieces of wallpaper and sticking it onto your model. You have to be careful when doing UV layouts, as too small a triangle results in stretching.
[edit] Low Poly Modeling
[edit] Poly Limits
Watch those polycounts (this is low-poly modeling, remember?). The CEP recommends the polygon limits be assessed by the type of creature:
- Herd/Swarm Creatures: 700 polygons; A herd/swarm creature is any creature that will typically be deployed in numbers greater than 12. Examples - Kobolds, Giant Rats, Goblins
- Group Creatures - 1200 polygons; A group creature that will appear in numbers greater than 4 but less than 12. Examples: Orcs, Ogres, Dire Bears
- Single Creatures - 1500 polygons; A single creature is any creature that will typically be deployed in numbers less than 4. Examples: Elementals, Iron Golems
- Uniques/Rares - 3000 polygons; A unique creature is any creature that will typically be deployed alone with zero to very few attendant creatures. Examples (figurative): a daemon prince, a greater celestial, an ancient dragon
Obviously these are recommended guidelines and not some hard limit that must be matched or else. A good practice would be to model as best you can without regarding the poly limit (but don't go overboard). Then when you are done, see what you can optimize before moving onto the texturing stage.
[edit] UV Mapping
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