3drocket
04-21-2009, 09:09 AM
I am interested in getting some feedback/suggestions on my Mudbox work flow.
For the project I am working on the final output is for a real time simulation being created in the OGRE engine.
The camera in OGRE needs to get extremely close to the models surface so we desire maximum detail in the model.
Through trial and error we have found that around 300 thousand poly’s is about as much as we can use in OGRE with the shaders we are using and still get the frame rate high enough.
Here’s the process I have followed so far…
1. Created a single base mesh in max that was all quads and made to match the final models form as closley as possible at this stage in the process. The base mesh has 24 thousand quads. The model has a complex organic form it needs to follow.
2. UV mapped the mesh giving it five maps to cover its surface with lots of texture detail.
4. Exported the mesh as an OBJ file and imported into Mudbox.
5. Sub-divided, sculpted and painted the mesh in Mudbox. The highest level is 5 and it has 12.6 million quads.
6. I exported a level 3 mesh as an OBJ and took it back into max. This model had 1.5 million quads
7. I baked out the Normal maps using the original base mesh and the level 5 sculpting.
8. In max I applied a ProOptimizer modifier and left it overnight (takes hours on a large mesh) to calculate the optimization.
9. Using the ProOptermizer I reduced the poly count down to the desired 300 thousand polys. The form of the model looked great and is no longer quads.
10. Assigned a material with five sub object materials and loaded all the maps that were painted in Mudbox.
11. Exported the model to OGRE. The export is an overnight job as it is very slow even on a good workstation (Dual quad core Xeon + 16gb ram).
The model comes into OGRE with some very noticeable problems (See attached image).
I think the dark spots may be caused by using an incorrect search distance when exporting the normal maps.
I tried taking the optimized mesh back into my Mudbox scene and even though it will load with the non quad warning it will hang when using it as the low res mesh when I try to bake out the normals.
I am wondering if I will get a better result if I create a new 300 thousand poly mesh based on my high poly Mudbox mesh using a tool like Topogun rather than using the ProOptermizer modifier in max.
For the project I am working on the final output is for a real time simulation being created in the OGRE engine.
The camera in OGRE needs to get extremely close to the models surface so we desire maximum detail in the model.
Through trial and error we have found that around 300 thousand poly’s is about as much as we can use in OGRE with the shaders we are using and still get the frame rate high enough.
Here’s the process I have followed so far…
1. Created a single base mesh in max that was all quads and made to match the final models form as closley as possible at this stage in the process. The base mesh has 24 thousand quads. The model has a complex organic form it needs to follow.
2. UV mapped the mesh giving it five maps to cover its surface with lots of texture detail.
4. Exported the mesh as an OBJ file and imported into Mudbox.
5. Sub-divided, sculpted and painted the mesh in Mudbox. The highest level is 5 and it has 12.6 million quads.
6. I exported a level 3 mesh as an OBJ and took it back into max. This model had 1.5 million quads
7. I baked out the Normal maps using the original base mesh and the level 5 sculpting.
8. In max I applied a ProOptimizer modifier and left it overnight (takes hours on a large mesh) to calculate the optimization.
9. Using the ProOptermizer I reduced the poly count down to the desired 300 thousand polys. The form of the model looked great and is no longer quads.
10. Assigned a material with five sub object materials and loaded all the maps that were painted in Mudbox.
11. Exported the model to OGRE. The export is an overnight job as it is very slow even on a good workstation (Dual quad core Xeon + 16gb ram).
The model comes into OGRE with some very noticeable problems (See attached image).
I think the dark spots may be caused by using an incorrect search distance when exporting the normal maps.
I tried taking the optimized mesh back into my Mudbox scene and even though it will load with the non quad warning it will hang when using it as the low res mesh when I try to bake out the normals.
I am wondering if I will get a better result if I create a new 300 thousand poly mesh based on my high poly Mudbox mesh using a tool like Topogun rather than using the ProOptermizer modifier in max.