So I guess the question that I have the most is when is the right time to decimate a model if you intent to put it in to UDK. I mean decimated models look great for the polycount. However for characters this is not an option because the bending of joints on rigged characters looks terrible. Also getting a good unwrap on a decimated objects is difficult. So I ask when is the appropriate situation, and correct implementation of decimated characters in UDK.
you can press KEEP UVs inside the panel,Decimation master cannot be used on a charactor( boned and need animation),because the topology is horrible(but you can still unwrap the mesh first an press keep uv while “Decimation” it).
Decimation master is use for making non-boned object(i think…).
the other good way to use Decimation master is ,when you deal with Zremesher, you should use Decimation master to lower the poly count first,then use Zremesher ,to get a fast performance.
I would personally never use it for UDK, even for static objects. It can spit out some lower triangle counts, but not in a way that is optimized for a game object. It’s use in a game pipeline would be better geared towards keeping your finished sculpt light in filesize before you go to export it for map baking.
Actually it doesn’t save that much time zremesher can handle 2 million with no issue or slow down.
Do ok I did a few experiments with decimated models in Udk and I think I got some answers. AS far as the look is concerned unfortunately decimated models do often have artifacts and random imperfections in the models. So these imperfections are often not something you would see in let’s say clean metal surfaces or skin. Also it’s best not to use it on particularly large objects because you will notice imperfections in the UV map. It’s best to use it with objects human sized or smaller. Great uses for it would be such things as
Rocks, trees, and war beaten armor. All of these things actually look better with random imperfections. Do you guys agree?
Perfections can be good, but they should come from the sculpt and normal map, and not bad topology.