How do you guys get such low polycounts?

[-Chrono_MOT-]

Is there a specific way in milkshape you guys achieve such low polycounts? I checked the Darth Maul hilt and it had less vertices and polys than mine did (I had problems importing it to JO, I'm starting over). I even checked pieces of a player model, and THOSE had less polys. How are you guys getting the curves and niches and stuff in those sabers without exceeding 1000 vertices?

 

Oh, and if someone could tell me how to zoom in using Npherno's GL Viewer so I can see my model that would be nice.

[-Chrono_MOT-]

cmon gimme a hand here

[SilentMobius]

Umm, *downloads NGL*

Zoom is L+R mouse buttons

Use Model->Wireframe menuitem to see the raw polygons.

That will tell you what other people did.

Remember 90% of the detail on a low poly model is in the skin not in the mesh.

[quamosity]

its all about cutting corners. Open up the luke saber model, and you can see that, although the actual saber (IRL) is a cylinder, Raven only made it a Hexagonal cylinder. Cut corners like that. Make cylinders with only one stack. THAT is a big thing. There is no reason for more than one stack, IMO. Keeps the polycount down.

 

Thats what I did with these 2 models:

 

http://www.havenofrags.com/quamosity/jk2/saber_micah.jpg

http://www.havenofrags.com/quamosity/jk2/saber_aayla.jpg

 

tiny polycounts. Sure the detail isnt great (and the skins are not as great either) but the model doesn't have to be detailed. Its so tiny in game that you don't need those details, they can be put onto the skin.

[Emon]

What they said.

 

Also, in MilkShape, when you create a cylinder for your saber, you create a certain number of slices and stacks that you specify. Often the stacks are too many and you don't need them. Try deleting some of the stacks by selecting verticies, then move the two newly cut edges together, weld the verticies if needed, etc.

[-Chrono_MOT-]

ok. made a simple saber cylinder to see if I did everything else right and if it was the right proportion. it is. I'm gonna work on a lower detailed model of the saber I had designed earlier:

 

 

For some reason when I uvw map the saber it all shows up scrunched together, same when I export a map using npherno's program. Is it supposed to do this? The skin turns out fine but otherwise it's kind of irritating

[Emon]

1. First off, you can only have one lightsaber texture, if you don't already that is.

 

2. You need to properly map it with the Texture Coordinator in MilkShape. Just hit CTRL-T, select the group you're working on, select the angle from which you want to draw the texture, and hit remap. You should have a little wireframe of your mesh from that particular angle drawn over the image. From here, you can scale, move, scale and move segments by selecting verticies, etc.

 

3. If you want to texture, say, the emitter of the hilt (the top) differently than the handle (which you should) it'll be tons easier if you make a seperate group for just the top, cap thing. Just select the top surfaces, duplicate them, select the old surfaces, delete those, then move the new surfaces into place, texture them, etc.

 

Hope that helps!

[-Chrono_MOT-]

here's a slight example (horrible skin) of what I want the end result to be, this is the old, high-poly model:

 

 

so wait...when I am skinning this, can I have a separate image for each one group I want to skin? not understanding that. Also, in-game the blade comes out sideways in MP