- I’ve read in Unity Documentation that for better performance, we have to use the minimum different materials as we can, but then I go into a problem if I try to take care of this, when doing a house for example, you need a lot of seamsless textures, for different paper walls on different rooms, roofs, etc.
So how is supposed to be made? seamsless textures have to be in sepparated files, you can’t do a seamless texture atlas, and you need to create a new material for every texture file.
Maybe that meant to say, that you have to use the less SHADERS as you can to get a good optimization and it referred to materials? because I can’t imagine doing a house interior with only 5 or 7 materials, I usually need a lot more, for different type of woods, lights, furniture, etc.
- And my other question is about performance about using texture atlas, or lots of small textures. I always seen everyone said is better to make a big texture atlas, than using tons of small textures, but now seeing the Allegorithmic tutorials, they say that it’s better have lots of tiny textures than making a single huge texture atlas.
In terms of videogames with unity, whats better? huge texture atlas or tons of small textures?
For visual purpose. Yes. More shaders let objects have more variations to go with high details.
You can do this way for PC game since PC is powerful enough which can handle it with no problem.
Texture atlas is usually use for mobile game development since their specification are weaker.
It’s possible to use only several materials for whole environment. Just a little planning would do.
Design some modular pieces and cleverly share UV between them for material optimization.
For example: Maybe the border part of the potted plant is suitable for some wall edge too?
You can check out my environment assets on Unity Asset Store: u3d.as/jYB
All of them are done by using only several amount of materials.
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If you want a house to use a single material, you can put a bunch of textures on an atlas (eg siding, shingles, windows etc) and UV unwrap everything to that atlas. For large surfaces that require tiling texture you can add cuts to the geometry and fold the UVs back on themselves like an accordion. I call it wiffle waffling. You just have to get crafty with the UVs.
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Ok nice, thanks a lot to both 
wow thats a very nice idea djweinbaum, thanks a lot
Another technique I learned from a Japanese company is they use mirror X/Y UV tiling.
Means the tiling repeated as (Normal > Invert > Normal > Invert > Normal and so on…)
Without cutting segments on mesh. It’s done inside material setting.
I can done this on 3D software (3dsMax / Maya etc.) but not sure if Unity support it.