Atomic Systems

Hi, am currently working on "my" (well, not really!) class 21 and am thinking about poly' counts... it's based in large part on Chris Baily's class 22, but I suspect that I might be able to get the poly' count down without too many disasters.

I was wondering (although I realise it's a very open question and depends on a lot of factors) what sort of poly' counts are common (or reasonable!) for diesel loco's of this type. The class 22s were about 7700-7900 poly's (that's in MSTS, not in TSM). What values are common for comparable things, like, say, other type 2 models?

Cheers!

Anyone?

I have just had a look at a few in SFM and the range so far is 2500 to 6000. I have also come across an American U30c which runs at 6500 with full handrails etc. The poly level is down to the modeller and how much detail is modelled as opposed to skinned.

Mervyn

I aim for around 3000 per coach in an EMU if that helps at all, and I've never gone over 4000

Blackpool Balloons less than 2000 - I reckoned you could get loads in a gaggle at the depot! Not done anything else!

I'm not particlarly good at this: my class 90 was about 4000, and the 4DD double decker EMU's are turning out at nearly 5000 per coach

Jonathan

Thanks a lot for the very helpful replies - I'm definitely on the high side then! Let's see what I can do... I suspect it's a question of finding invisible poly's etc - anyone get any more ideas for getting it down? Do you usually find you start high and get rid of them, or is it a question of starting low?

Cheers all

When building, I try to get rid of all unecessary(i.e. invisible) polys as soon as possible, usually as I place each part/shape. This saves on texturing them too.

Jonathan

Well, the bad news is that I've only been able to get the poly count by about 600 - to 7180! (2915 before conversion). The trouble is, I'm not starting from scratch but adapting others' models. Am playing with the idea of ditching the axles as you shouldn't presumably see them anyway on a diesel loco - might save a few more (was hoping to get below 7k at least)...

Thanks for your help, all.

Mick, if i remember right the wheels on the Class 22 i made were the ones supplied with TSM, they had too many sections(8 i think,i used these as i it was my 1st model and i didnt really know what i was doing!) therefore too many polys, you might be better off making new wheels with one section, i suspect this will decrease your poly count considerably.

Hey, that's a point - I didn't really think about wheels; can't actually remember if I've used yours or Tim's (am using his bogies). I suspect I did keep yours, because when I first started I thought the nice authentic NBL spoked stylee wheels were your model rather than your texture - will have a look.

Cheers Chris

If you are pressed to save polys use "square wheels". When done properly these are more "rounded" than polygonal wheels.

I usually use rimmed wheels with 16 sides, making a total of 64 polys for the rim and tread, then 4 more for the front and rear faces for a total of 68 per wheel. Axles I tend to use either a 6 sided or more usually 5 sided shape for a total of 10 to 12 polys.

Thus, a complete wheelset is about (68*2)+12=148 polygons and looks fairly decent. With "solid" wheels the total comes out to about 268 polys, so the savings are considerable.

trackdancer wrote:If you are pressed to save polys use "square wheels". When done properly these are more "rounded" than polygonal wheels.

I usually use rimmed wheels with 16 sides, making a total of 64 polys for the rim and tread, then 4 more for the front and rear faces for a total of 68 per wheel. Axles I tend to use either a 6 sided or more usually 5 sided shape for a total of 10 to 12 polys.

Thus, a complete wheelset is about (68*2)+12=148 polygons and looks fairly decent. With "solid" wheels the total comes out to about 268 polys, so the savings are considerable.

Agreed, compare the wheels on the HST to the wheels on the 365, (while I m not sure of the poly counts), but the 365 has circular wheels, and the HST square wheels, the HST wheels look much much better, and certainly would be less polys than the normal wheels that were that 'curved', also helped by the fact I was able to 'smooth' the rims.

Yes, I agree with trackdancer & buffy about wheels. You might be able to make much more use of transparent parts - my last T9 model used 1 rectangle for the splasher / cab instead of 30+ polys by modelling.

The golden rule is to delete what can't be seen & simplify what can't be seen well.

I recently downloaded a caboose which had an unbelievable polycount - it had 12 or more sided handrails, all axles, flanged wheels & an interior. It didn't stay loaded long.

If you look at your model from trackside ask yourself what isn't too important - you going to see less if your train is normally passing at speed. It's more important to have small details ( case for LOD? ) on a shunting loco which will be seen stationary than an express. Similarly a diesel doesn't need the same detail at both ends if it's only driven in one direction.

regards
Richard

My Class 313 is aprox 2500 per coach, And its very detailed. (Mostly textures)

My Class 90 is 3500 and thats extremly detailed