small question

# 1 09-03-2003 , 09:53 AM

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Join Date: Aug 2002

Posts: 44

still new hehe and many questions hehe but today is simple ok here it is:

What is poly count and how do i figure it out hehe

~TJ~

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# 2 09-03-2003 , 10:44 AM

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Join Date: Dec 2002

Location: Denmark

Posts: 329

Poly count is used to difine how many polys in your model. Its useful to count because if you for example create a game character, you often have to keep your number of polys under a certain amount (guess it bacause of system requirements etc.).

Also, it tells how complex your model is. More complex models have longer rendering time.

You can turn on poly count by selecting Display > Heads Up Display > Poly Count.

Maybe someone can better explain the use of poly count... ?

Kühl

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# 3 09-03-2003 , 11:43 AM

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Join Date: Oct 2002

Location: The Land Down Under

Posts: 1,047

it actually the amount of poly-faces in the scene and on a selected object
the coloum on the left is the overall poly count and if you select and object it should appear in the middel column
hope it helps

Thanks for wasting your time reading this line.

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# 4 09-03-2003 , 09:52 PM

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Join Date: Dec 2002

Location: Seattle, WA

Posts: 1,154

Poly count is usually more important when you're dealing with game models. In many games, there is a limit (usually arbritrary) to the number of polygons any particular model can have. To be more precise, there is a limit to the number of *triangles* in a model. Showing poly count in your viewpanel is a good way to keep your model under the limit.

However, the poly count display in Maya can be misleading. A poly is a face defined by visible edges. This can be a problem getting accurate numbers, because a poly could be a 4-sided face which is actually 2 triangles. You can try this with a simple cube. Make a cube, turn on the poly count display, and you'll see 6 polys. Triangulate the cube (Polygon > Triangulate) and you'll see the number change to 12.

For general use, most people don't need to worry too much about poly count. However, if you're working with game-related art, you'll need accurate numbers. The built in poly count display is fine as long as you remember to triangulate your model (which you'll have to do anyway). But, if you want precise triangle counts, you can use the Triangle Count HUD display menu item from AW's Bonus Game package. Or, if you really want, I can send you the actual mel script that toggles the triangle count display.

Danny Ngan
Animator | Amaze Entertainment
my website | my blog | my job

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