hi. just about to finish kurt's ninja tutorial and realized that my pc can't really handle the practically full model in sub-d form (it slows down immensely). so i decided to take the opportunity to go for a low poly model instead, for game engine purposes.

some quick questions (more to be added as i go along):

a. how many polys per character are ideal for game models? right now, my model is at 5168 faces, but not triangles. are tri's the game model standard?

b. for those who have seen the engine-powered cutscenes of metal gear solid 2 and 3, is it possible to emulate the weather effects and other special effects (i.e. fire, smoke) from within maya in low-poly mode? i'm looking to end up with a finished product that hopefully looks somewhat like those in-engine cutscenes.

thanks a bunch! happy holidays everyone!