5 replies to this topic

[Nazgûl]

When fixing topology for models meant for BFME... Do you guys know what goes in terms of polygons. Not count, but the type of polygon? In zBrush, when decimating the high res mesh, the program makes it all Triangles. But when doing "automatic" retopology, zBrush creates Quads. AFAIK the vanilla BFME models are all triangles... My question is, does it matter in any way? If so, what is best and why? Pros and cons? Also, can I mix trianges and quads if needed, like in the pic below (not my model):

Edited by Nazgûl, 17 May 2014 - 03:49 PM.

[Irenë Hawnetyne]

BFME uses mostly triangles, but some models have quads and I've seen the occasional octagon, but by far the least problematic to use is triangles, simply because it's harder for programs to screw up in format translation.

[Mathijs]

I don't think it's going to matter much.

[Nazgûl]

Ok, thanks guys. I've been topologizing manually for hours now, and I had to use a combination of both...

Edited by Nazgûl, 17 May 2014 - 10:50 PM.

[Pixel]

Typically, it's best to go with quads. They're better for deformation. Though, you can use a combination of both quads and triangles without issue. Especially for BFME, where the poly count is rather low - to say the least.

[Adamin]

Generally most engines triangulate every model/polygon before sending it to the graphics card, because tris are the fastest to calculate. So it not that important.
However I once had a bug because of a "stretched" Quad that wasn't triangulated in the right way. So it's a good idea to triangulate your model yourself when everythings done. That way you avoid unintended edges, and even save a tiny bit of rendering time because the engine doesn't have to do it.
 

Typically, it's best to go with quads. They're better for deformation. Though, you can use a combination of both quads and triangles without issue. Especially for BFME, where the poly count is rather low - to say the least.

sign.
Also, most automated smoothing and reduction algorithms are made for, or based on quads. So quads should be mainly used for the modelling process. The occasional tri in a corner shouldn't be a problem thoug.