Hey guys and gals.
So… I have been wondering about if what I’m currently testing out is good or bad. Basically, I sculpt or model high poly models inside blender, and then I just use the decimate modifier to decrease the poly count. The results are very horribly made topologies. Yet, I can apply a normal map, which gives me fast and great graphical results.
Example :
So the actual question is : Does topology really matter for static/Unorganic models ?
Thanks.
I’m not an artist, but I imagine topology is super-important for the actual modeling process, and I guess for consistent mesh deformation via bones and such. You’d be completely screwed with a topology like that if you needed to make changes to your mesh or add loops, etc… but if you are making static meshes and apply the filter as the last step then I don’t see why it would be a problem. As long as it looks good and you had the original lying around.
This is a yes and no answer to your yes and no question.
Better topology is good for two things: more optimal topology is usually less polygons and renders more efficiently, and bakes better for normal maps. Also even if static, if the mesh needs to deform in some kind of predictable way, its better to have good topology to get those accurate deformations.
That said, depending on the type of decimation and the desired end result, decimation is fine - sometimes preferable for speed and the end use. Keep in mind the end use tho, less poly’s tends to be good, but so is finishing something - so keep in mind, it does take longer to make topology look nice, but sometimes thats what you need 
Cool, Well , about modifying my model, I always let the high poly version lying around, so if I need to change something , I can just change it there, and then re-decimate and re-bake in order to get the same effect.
Thanks for your opinion guys !
