Custom models: Customization or appearance?

[Legacy_Rubies]

               I've spent about two months (or... probably more, I forget) working on a set of dynamic models, just to see how far I can push the PC models, and on-and-off fiddling with a few other things to get the models to work properly. However, I'm at the stage where, after creating all of the extra armour sets, I haven't quite brought myself to slice them up for the purposes of armour parts.

Then I realised that if I slice them on the joints (NWN-style), they'll have 3 parts per arm but look quite a bit worse, as the joints will be very visible, whereas if I do the slice on the wrist, they'll have 2 parts -- but the parts, and their animations look a lot nicer.

Anyway, cutting all of it into a simple question, is there a lean towards customization (which would mean my model had 24 customizable parts), or appearance (in which case it would have 16)?

I'll have to post up some screenshots to describe what I mean once I have access to a computer with my files on. '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Zwerkules]

               I'd say customization is not as important as appearance. If they look better with 16 parts than with 24, I'd use the ones with 16 parts, especially if the animations look better too.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Calvinthesneak]

               The other alternative is to use the entire replacing system as a robe?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy__six]

               

Calvinthesneak wrote...

The other alternative is to use the entire replacing system as a robe?

Which, incidentally, would probably work really well. The only downside (ignoring the plt vs bitmap texture quality question) is that if you're using something like ragnaroks' animations that adds extra phenotypes you need to make a clone of the robes for every one. Though the appearance route would demand that if you wanted the animations, too.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par _six, 15 novembre 2010 - 06:04 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Rubies]

               The intention was to keep as much customization as possible while improving the graphics, but I didn't know how much graphic quality to sacrifice for customization. I split robes and cloaks into "skirts" and "hats", due to time restrictions on animating them all to a non-clipping standard, but I suppose I could weld them all together and post a single-mesh copy. '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Calvinthesneak]

               At the end of the day they are your creations that you do as you see fit with.  You've more modelling talent than I can ever hope to have, so really it's your choice.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Jez_fr]

               I find it hard to say anything without seeing a sample of both ways. Maybe a screenie test of each would help?

Given the amount of work that each way represent, I would think twice before choosing '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rubies]

               Unless I can find and request permission from the original creator of the hand models, I'll be making some new ones, but until then:

http://img26.imagesh...9/nwnnodes1.png
http://img834.images...2/nwnnodes2.png
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Rubies, 20 novembre 2010 - 03:40 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Jez_fr]

               I think the hands are these or a variation.

About your 16 parts, doesn't that imply you have to rework all animations?
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Rubies]

               Not at all - either way would take the same amount of time to animate, due to the fact they're both already finished in that respect. '>