Is there any issue or draw back in using varied model formats in a 3D application? I have collected a sizable amount of 3D models (characters, buildings, environments, etc) but most are in one format or another. I have been trying to collect those that are in one format only and have been favoring FBX.
Is there a problem with this? What formats are considered the best for Unity?
Would there be a performance hit to a scene when in play if there are buildings in FBX, street tiles in OBJ and character and mobs in .X, .FBX, .3DS or .blend?
I haven’t used .X models in Unity yet but I have them. If they are not supported than that’s cool, I am just a little concerned with the fact that I have a good amount of models, everything from buildings, props, characters, etc. and since each artist has their own favorite development environment, I end up with many different formats.
Really just interested in whether Unity is fine and dandy having varied formats within a scene? IS…there a performance hit when Unity3D has to load in say 100 objects that are in different formats? Say 30 structures in FBX, 11 structures in 3DS, 36 road tiles in OBJ 13 characters in FBX and 10 props also in FBX.
Is there a performance “boost” if all models use a standard format (i.e. less lag potential)?
I have looked through everything in the docs and still this answer has not been solved to my satisfaction.
loading something in your editor won’t affect your performance because it is converted into FBX anyways (i think). Just make sure you are allowed to use the models you collected
if they import fine then there shouldnt be a problem.
Personally i would convert them all to the same format manually first and then put them into the project. You’ll need to modify them at some point so you’ll want to avoid any surprises when you have to convert a model from one app that works in Unity fine but imports with a bunch of issues into the modeling application you’re using. Then you’re forced to fix an asset you’re already relying on. Chances are that some of the models arent going to work for you, best to find that out sooner than later and weed out the trash early.
The FBX files seem to import fine and was planning to use either one file format if need be or convert the good models (that can be converted) into FBX. So far the main menu scene is working fine with ambient sound, ambient music with a free FBX model of an old church with some trees and grass.
Yes this is one major concern and I plan to go through the stuff one at a time when I have free time to do it. All 3D content is from Turbosquid, the free content and all artists will be credited as to who did what. All licenses were royalty free with just mentioning who the artist was. I have spent some time double checking and tracking down to make sure I have the artwork of whom says done it too.
Having wrote all that, is there a preferred model format for the Unity3D community?
