How Bad Is It To Fractalize Something In Lightwave?

[Maximius]

I've been toying around with LW trying to make these tree bough shapes and I've come across the "Fractalize" function. Basically, it can take a sphere and turn it into an irregularly surfaced shape. If you keep hitting the button, the more irregular it gets.

 

So this seems a promising first step but here is my question. Fractalizing makes a shitload of polygons each time. I'm unclear about how bad polygons are. If they are not casting shadows, they don't kill the computers processing power, right? So I could use Fractalize to make the bodies of hedges and tree boughs, to then texture with foliage, and they would not be unuseable due to high poly counts as long as shadowcasting was turned off?

[Komag]

certainly the shadows are much worse, but polys still count for something. I don't know how much though. That probably didn't help

[Crispy]

For something common like foliage, you need to stay as low-poly as you can, because there'll be a lot of them on screen at once. Non-shadowcasting tree boughs would look bad anyway.

 

You could try using Fractalize to start with and then reducing the polycount from there, but in my (admittedly limited) experience it's easier to just build low-poly to start with.

[oDDity]

That's what normal maps are for. Make it as high poly as you like and then normal map it onto a low poly version.

[Maximius]

That's what normal maps are for. Make it as high poly as you like and then normal map it onto a low poly version.

 

Ahh!, do you mean make a high poly model, map it, then put the map onto a low poly version of the model? Sort of like a face lift from a high poly to a low poly object?

[Maximius]

certainly the shadows are much worse, but polys still count for something. I don't know how much though. That probably didn't help

 

 

For something common like foliage, you need to stay as low-poly as you can, because there'll be a lot of them on screen at once. Non-shadowcasting tree boughs would look bad anyway.

 

You could try using Fractalize to start with and then reducing the polycount from there, but in my (admittedly limited) experience it's easier to just build low-poly to start with.

 

 

Ok, but what if its hi poly with shadowcasting turned off, and then something else is used to cast the shadow, some low poly mesh laid over the model. Isn't this possible? I had thought it was but I could be confusing it.

[OrbWeaver]

Shadows aren't the only cause of performance problems -- rendering of regular polygons doesn't come for free either. For this reason you should be aiming to minimise the complexity of your geometry wherever possible, such as by making judicious use of normal maps to give the impression of detail.

[Maximius]

Shadows aren't the only cause of performance problems -- rendering of regular polygons doesn't come for free either. For this reason you should be aiming to minimise the complexity of your geometry wherever possible, such as by making judicious use of normal maps to give the impression of detail.

 

 

That clarifies it, I had some conflicting messages running around my head.