Good Modelling questions

[ceora]

Hi guy's, when the last UDK update comes out, in the release note there are some news about the normal maps and the relatives model:

Normal Map Workflow Improvement

• We have improved the workflow of baking and rendering normal maps

• Notice it’s a far lower polycount than we could use before since there is no supporting chamfers or subdivisions
• This workflow currently relies on using XNormal to bake normal maps but produces much higher quality shading than before
• The Normal map workflow you’ve used in the past will still work, but if you want higher quality shading, this is currently the best workflow to use
• It also allows you to use much less supporting geometry since you don’t have to fight incorrect shading

the problem is that i always modeled in the second way.. so i don't understand what are supporting chamfers or subdivisions.

So some one can explain me how a good game model should be?

i follow some tutorial, for example this one http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/...torial-3ds-Max, and this one http://www.chrisalbeluhn.com/UT3_Modeling_For_UT3.html, and i can't understand the use of so extra loop cut on the mesh, and also the way the mesh is modeled: each part is modeled a part left each mesh 'island' disconnected from the other mesh. Working in this way tris count drastically increase.

so i really can't understand the use of this loop cut and chamfers, can some can explain it?

[TheAgent]

Supporting vertex's or edges are there to prevent areas to have extremely soft normal's so you would add more polys to make the normal's look better. In this case with the new workflow the normal map will handle how the normal's look instead. Therefore increasing the quality of the shading.

[ceora]

can you give me example of soft normal's?

[TheAgent]

The image that you posted gives you that example right there, where it says OLD. That's a model with softened normals and no supporting edges or geometry. The image to the right is that same softened mesh with the new workflow.