Topology in games for a correct specular

Mister3d · 14-03-2011, 02:44 PM

Hello guys. I'm learning low-poly modeling and encountered an issue I'm not familiar with: it's the spec behavior. It's not smooth enough.
Two variants:
-either my topology is bad, that's why it's not smooth
-it's correct but the behavior of the shader, and you can't overcome it with low-poly modeling.

hostilis · 14-03-2011, 07:40 PM

Hi Mister3d,

What version of 3ds Max are you using?

If you're using 3ds max 2008 you can configure the viewport settings by right clicking the "Perspective" word in the viewport then choose Configure > go to Lighting and Shadows > choose Best(SM3.0 Option).

If 3ds max 2010 higher > just Shift + F3 will do.

By doing this the specular will be much more smoother.

The black shade seen in the left and top side of your model is shading error. This can be eliminated by fixing the topology and setting up the smoothing groups.

My tip is: You may want to use floating geometry(The panels in front) so the topology of the base of your model will not be that complex and tris will be less.

novaprospekt · 14-03-2011, 08:32 PM

the problem is your collapsing a chamfered edge in everal places anlog that 90 degree angle.
no matter what shader model your using, at what quality your going to get a smoothing error.
Don't just kill off a chamfered edge unless you have a relatively flat area to do it it.

Mister3d · 31-03-2011, 05:30 AM

Thank you for replies. I got that I can detach those polygons to make them smoother, but what's wrong with my topology? I'm not familiar much with requirements of topology for low-poly.

Talon · 31-03-2011, 06:12 AM

There's no real fix for that, other than trying to be as clean as possible with your topology and maybe add a little extra where it's needed. Clever use of smoothing groups.

You've got lots of chamfers that collapse into a triangle that's also a pole. That will give you some shading errors as the specular value at that one point affects the specular for all of the other triangles it's part of.

Also, try and triangulate your mesh manually in problem areas - the specular highlight gets blended between the value at each vertex (rather than for each pixel as it would with a normal mapped model).

Manually triangulating the mesh will allow you to control that to an extent as you set how it blends the specular value across the triangles.

14-03-2011, 02:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mister3d New Member 2 - 0	Topology in games for a correct specular Hello guys. I'm learning low-poly modeling and encountered an issue I'm not familiar with: it's the spec behavior. It's not smooth enough. Two variants: -either my topology is bad, that's why it's not smooth -it's correct but the behavior of the shader, and you can't overcome it with low-poly modeling.

14-03-2011, 08:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
novaprospekt Senior Member 195 - 23	the problem is your collapsing a chamfered edge in everal places anlog that 90 degree angle. no matter what shader model your using, at what quality your going to get a smoothing error. Don't just kill off a chamfered edge unless you have a relatively flat area to do it it. __________________ online Portfolio

31-03-2011, 06:12 AM	#5 (permalink)
Talon Industry Artist 3,798 - 1,396	There's no real fix for that, other than trying to be as clean as possible with your topology and maybe add a little extra where it's needed. Clever use of smoothing groups. You've got lots of chamfers that collapse into a triangle that's also a pole. That will give you some shading errors as the specular value at that one point affects the specular for all of the other triangles it's part of. Also, try and triangulate your mesh manually in problem areas - the specular highlight gets blended between the value at each vertex (rather than for each pixel as it would with a normal mapped model). Manually triangulating the mesh will allow you to control that to an extent as you set how it blends the specular value across the triangles. __________________ > My Portfolio > Supporter of good crits.

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14-03-2011, 07:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
hostilis Frequenter 81 - 22	Hi Mister3d, What version of 3ds Max are you using? If you're using 3ds max 2008 you can configure the viewport settings by right clicking the "Perspective" word in the viewport then choose Configure > go to Lighting and Shadows > choose Best(SM3.0 Option). If 3ds max 2010 higher > just Shift + F3 will do. By doing this the specular will be much more smoother. The black shade seen in the left and top side of your model is shading error. This can be eliminated by fixing the topology and setting up the smoothing groups. My tip is: You may want to use floating geometry(The panels in front) so the topology of the base of your model will not be that complex and tris will be less.

31-03-2011, 05:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
Mister3d New Member 2 - 0	Thank you for replies. I got that I can detach those polygons to make them smoother, but what's wrong with my topology? I'm not familiar much with requirements of topology for low-poly.