[trex238]

I've noticed a lot of people keep asking about poly counts on models. The SAGE engine is quite powerful & can handle higher numbers of polys than is currently in Generals.

For people who keep asking about poly counts, remember that Generals is over a year old. As it gets older, its a good idea to start making higher & higher budgets on poly counts because people will have to upgrade their PC's if they want to continue playing the latest games.

For people posting models, INCLUDE the poly count when posting a pic! This saves time b/c someone WILL ask for it. As I said as Generals ages, people will be updating their systems, not all but most.

Also keep in mind what are you modelling. If you're modelling a basic tank, keep the budget of ~500 polys. It will be produced in large quanities. If you're doing a super tank you can up the ante a bit b/c a player will not be able to produce large quanities easily due to price.

Set a budget - setting a budget on the number of polys works well for keeping a unit from using excess amount of useless polys

Optimize - Optimizing frees up useless polys that can then be taken out completely to increase performance or moved else where to improve overall look. I remember seeing a shuttle with 13 polys on the wing when 3 would do the job perfectly. If your model doesn't need polys there or a smaller number will do the job w/o noticable difference, get rid of it.

Increase budget gradually - the SAGE engine can handle a lot of polys, look at Renegade & LotR:BFME or better yet other modder's work. The limit as far as poly counts are concerned is really just processing power. So as Generals gets older go ahead & increase poly counts, just keep it reasonable.

I assume that on a modding team there are several different PC configurations & even more on beta testers.

Here's a thought:

Ask whos got the lowest system performance & who's got the highest. With this information post a bare bones system requirements list & a recommended list.

I know that some do this but it should become standard practice, especially if your have higher poly units than in vanilla Generals or ZH. If your mod uses the same poly budget on units & structures as EA then just say requirements are the same as regular Generals.

For units high poly units price accordingly - got a 500 poly unit - make it a front line unit, 700~800 - make it a second tier unit, 1k unit - make it a hero. This doesn't mean any with higher polys is automatically higher priced. Look at the Paladin $1100, 253 polys & the Scorpion $600, 323 polys. If you make a tank that has 800 polys then obviously it shouldn't be your Main Battle Tank. Use your judgement & tell your modeller weither or not it's a grunt unit or elite so they set budgets accordingly.

So wrapping up:

For modellers

1) Post your poly count from the start
2) Keep in mind what you're modelling
3) Set a budget
4) Optimize
5) Increase budget gradually

For modding teams

1) Post a system requirements list
2) Price accordingly