how many poly's?

[mnjlovell]

I know this is dependant on the type of machine the model is targeted for, but is there a thumbrule? I know you want to keep them to a minimum, while still having sufficient detail, but the zModeler guide seems concerned about bringing a 1000 poly model (car body only) down to 900, while I see websites that have models built for RT that have near 10,000.

So what's up with poly count?

here is a little work done on my first project, at 664 polys. It still needs a bit of 'tuning' and does not include the hood. but I think you can at least tell what kind of car it is without any textures... It's not even close to done, but I dont think it needs 10X the polys to make it a pretty nice model that I would be happy to drive...

http://www.4seventeen.com/images/joined.jpg

[Dan]

I think RTS013's cars look pretty damn good, take a look here and yu can see how many poly's he uses http://rts013.no-wheels.net/rtmods/downloads/volvo242.html

[RTS013]

It's up to you how many polygons you are using. As long as it is not redicolusy high it won't be a problem. It also takes a lot of time to work with all the details in a high poly car, so if you want to drive it as soon as possible don't go for 10000! :D

I think that if you want a good result you should use about 1500 polygons for the body model, but it's very depending on the shape of the car. If it's a box-shaped car you need less polygons, and if it has round shapes you need more polygons to make the curves smoother. For my 242 I used a bit over 3000 and that is absolutely enough, allthough in my upcoming Focus WRC I use over 6000...