Hi guys,
I just wanted to see other artist/developers opinions on this matter.
Most of this is because I'm entirely frustrated with a client that I am working with.
I was hired by a company to fix and optimize some models. The original model was full of co-planer faces, and z-fighting issues galore. It was because the previous modeler had used only planes to design and color the building models instead of creating actual geometry, UVs, and texturing.
So after I finish fixing all of the problems, here's where the problem lies.
I tested every object in the engine they had said they were using. (It's Unity by the way, I know this is UDK but this discussion is more about modeling than engine.) All of the models functioned fine. But they come back to us and say that the models are still blinking because there are multiple pieces of geometry "simply hidden" within other geometry. And this is true. I had used multiple objects to create the whole building itself, but made **** sure there were no co-planer faces, and that the other geometry was far enough away from other faces where Z-buffers won't confuse them. The closest I had gotten to co-planer geometry were at the intersections of the objects.
So the next few emails coming in are criticizing me for not understanding how 3D geometry works, and that all models need to be 1 single mesh with no intersecting geometry
The last email contents summarized are: "This problem isn't new and is well known within the CG Art community. Newer engines probably handle this better, but we need it this way. It's also better practice for real-time rendering engines"
I know what Z-fighting is, why, and how it is handled. While I can't completely disagree with what was said, I disagree that it is necessary in this day and age for real-time rendering engines. Z-Buffers have become sophisticated enough to be able to identify which pixel occupies which space unless it is a few pixels from each other, and mine were not.
So what I'm trying to ask is: As a CG Artist, am I really just out of touch and making my own rules about modeling standards? Or am I correct for understanding that modern game engines aren't that strict and finicky about shared space in geometry? Co-Planer geometry and intersecting geometry are NOT the same thing, and I made **** sure I had no co-planer faces.
Some feedback guys? Don't be afraid to tell me I'm an idiot.
I just wanted to see other artist/developers opinions on this matter.
Most of this is because I'm entirely frustrated with a client that I am working with.
I was hired by a company to fix and optimize some models. The original model was full of co-planer faces, and z-fighting issues galore. It was because the previous modeler had used only planes to design and color the building models instead of creating actual geometry, UVs, and texturing.
So after I finish fixing all of the problems, here's where the problem lies.
I tested every object in the engine they had said they were using. (It's Unity by the way, I know this is UDK but this discussion is more about modeling than engine.) All of the models functioned fine. But they come back to us and say that the models are still blinking because there are multiple pieces of geometry "simply hidden" within other geometry. And this is true. I had used multiple objects to create the whole building itself, but made **** sure there were no co-planer faces, and that the other geometry was far enough away from other faces where Z-buffers won't confuse them. The closest I had gotten to co-planer geometry were at the intersections of the objects.
So the next few emails coming in are criticizing me for not understanding how 3D geometry works, and that all models need to be 1 single mesh with no intersecting geometry
The last email contents summarized are: "This problem isn't new and is well known within the CG Art community. Newer engines probably handle this better, but we need it this way. It's also better practice for real-time rendering engines"
I know what Z-fighting is, why, and how it is handled. While I can't completely disagree with what was said, I disagree that it is necessary in this day and age for real-time rendering engines. Z-Buffers have become sophisticated enough to be able to identify which pixel occupies which space unless it is a few pixels from each other, and mine were not.
So what I'm trying to ask is: As a CG Artist, am I really just out of touch and making my own rules about modeling standards? Or am I correct for understanding that modern game engines aren't that strict and finicky about shared space in geometry? Co-Planer geometry and intersecting geometry are NOT the same thing, and I made **** sure I had no co-planer faces.
Some feedback guys? Don't be afraid to tell me I'm an idiot.
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