Is it still important to try to hide UV seams anymore?
polycounter lvl 17
So - I'm picking up 3d work after not doing it for like four or five years and I'm curious to know if the conventional wisdom for UV arrangement is still the same as it was when I first learned to do it. My habit is to try to minimize the number of seams, and to try to place them in natural breaks in materials and in places where the player isn't liable to see them. But I'm finding also that trying to keep the number of UV seams to a minimum is resulting in UV islands that are long in one dimension, when I might be able to make use of more of the UV space by placing a seam where there isn't a natural break.
And since I'll be using the substance suite to do my texturing, I'm wondering if having more islands is really all that terrible, since I can just paint directly onto the model and over the seams.
And since I'll be using the substance suite to do my texturing, I'm wondering if having more islands is really all that terrible, since I can just paint directly onto the model and over the seams.
Replies
But that's of course from a performance side of view.
So if breaking up an island into a couple of smaller island helps you to make better use of the available texture space, I'd say go for it.
Joshua: I think you've got that the wrong way round - you don't need hard edges at UV splits. You need UV splits at hard edges.
Polygons and verts are not cheap on consoles at all though, especially on XboxOne. Though it's entirely dependent on your game, framerate goal, etc. Things get tight VERY fast when you have to hit 60fps.
But it's one of those relative things. Generally, I'll happily break up a UV island or two if it lets me pack the UVs better - but only if it doesn't make texturing too much harder. Not every island, of course, only here and there... the big, awkward shapes that don't lend well to packing.