07-17-2007, 05:23 PM
Kevan Wrote:How do you optimizing Polygons? How are you reducing the polygon count? What are you reducing the polygon count with?
Mostly by redesigning the mesh better rather than using a polygon reducing program. Though I did use the Cinema 4D internal polygon reducer for the matress and pillow in the casket because I was lazy and it was not a very important/terribly visible mesh.
But for the rest of it, I manually joined points, removed segments, recreated the meshes from scratch and so on.
Low polygon modeling is an art and there are good bucks on the subject, many under modeling for Games, which generally have the same real-time considerations as FrameForge 3D Studio.
Kevan Wrote:How are you converting a *.uzp file into a file type which you can work on?
You can't. It's a proprietary in-house system that takes our .3dxf files (which are embedded in the uzp) and makes them editable. But you shouldn't need to edit our objects; they're already quite optimized.
Kevan Wrote:Do you have a custom editor which will import *.uzp files into say Autodesk 3DS Max or Maya and this enables you to mess around with these files and correct anomalies such as polycount and points?
Yes. But again, we can't distribute it.
Kevan Wrote:I gotta admit I'm rather confused about all this stuff..
Then we've done our job. :)
Kevan Wrote:I'm trying to convert various models on various file formats, some *.max, some .3ds, some FBX and some *.obj format.
I use 3DS Max v9, I've attempted exporting to *.fbx format but the polygon count is too high. Same if I export to .3ds and use your FBX to FrameForge Converter.exe - the whole process goes to crap!
If the polygon count is too high then you need different models. It's pretty much that simple. While there are some expensive polygon reduction programs, none of the ones I've seen do even a quarter as good a job as a model that was well designed to be low polygon in the first place.
Kevan Wrote:I'm really lost on this stuff.. I mean I know crap all about 3D and have spent the last month scratching my head that I'm going bald! I even got hold of MooTools PolyCruncher plug-in for 3DS Max. I managed to export in *.vml format okay but *.3ds forget it, it maxes out and crashes.
It's not simple stuff and there's no way to shortcut the learning curve. Unfortunately, all I can recommend is to either buy a good book, take a class, or hire someone with some good expertise to create whatever LOW POLY models you need.
Good luck (esp. with the hair regrowth)!