Hi Cyrus,

Model poly count is a subject that generates quite a bit of debate here from time to time. Some are designing games for the latest and greatest hardware, have limited characters loaded at any time, and go for detail. Others (me included) are more stingy with their polys, opting for speed over detail, and looking to please a wider, less processor rich audience. It all depends on the environment you will be playing in, the largest number of polys that will be on display at one time, and how close the player will be to the entity you are developing.

As an example, I made a T-Rex years ago in a 3D modelling package, and decided to try it on in 3dgs just to see it spin. It was over 32,000 polys, and caused my frames per second to fall through the floor on loading or animation. Because it was built for detail and not gaming, some of the polys were so small that they disappeared when the player moved a few quants away. Not a very impressive lizard if he's all shot full o' holes.

I have just finished re-doing the model from scratch in MED, and it is now 2800 polys. It barely impacts my FPS when loaded alone in the same simple box level I used before, but I am hoping to optimize it further. My target was 2000 polys, so I'm not far off.

I will probably be able to squeeze another 100 or so polys out of of her, but will end up compromising by making use of LOD to keep the FPS running smooth anyway. If you can isolate your hi-poly models so that there are less other entities to view when they are encountered, you could get away with a fair number (6000?). Use LOD where you can AND where you have to.

Cheers!
Mark