Hi everyone,
I am definitely not a seasoned 3D modeler, so I hope I can make this question clear enough to get the answer I’m after…
Up to this point, in my simple games - I have had simple “characters” and got by with just using plain colored materials (with no textures), or at most - used/made a say 256x256 Photoshop file and made a seamless texture to just place tiled all around my objects. And while that works for some things, I have been experimenting lately in my 3D app (Cinema 4D, which works really nicely to help easily create those UV maps I’ve always seen and heard about since it has the BodyPaint modules built-in + it exports straight to PS when needed)…
Anyway, I feel like I hit a new tiny level in my learning over the past few days and have pretty much gotten the hang of:
*Making a “rather” complex model, using various techniques to reduce the polygons on it (especially since I’m targeting the iPhone…which is also why I’m posting this question in this forum category, even though it’s mainly about textures → the actual question I’m hoping for, is one that is from the iPhone deployment view.
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Having C4D “unwrap” my objects and make those complicated “diagram”-looking stencils [the UV map].
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Basically figured out how to paint within them to gain the desired effect; which makes it so that in the very-end, I have a SINGLE texture (photoshop file) per object that works when I drag it onto the cooresponding object it was made for…so all in all, I am far enough along to be able to make UV textures/materials (is there a difference?) and greatly improve the entire look of my characters, objects, with the UV (“non-tiling”) method, which as anyone here that know how to use them (which is probably 99.9% of the users here
)
SO → Back to my question:
I know that in games, and most especially, iPhone/mobile type games – every single technique that you can do to reduce the load, draw calls [which I still don’t really understand, other than, I think, the less of them, the better]…
Anyway, in Unity - say you have an odd-shaped object that a tiled texture just doesn’t work on (eg. Say I want to make dent marks in specific spots, add some graffiti, etc.) → anyway, in a case like this, which I’d imagine comes up ALL the time for “real” game devs…
My question then, is this:
If I use square textures (power of 2), which I am; and I have C4D unwrap my objects and I use the method of using UV textures → INSTEAD of just dropping on a tiled texture in Unity that, for examples sake, let’s say is the same size (256x256)…
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I thing I’ve noticed is, for objects that I apply the UV map textures to, Unity “somehow” automatically knows that it should use that mode and use the UV coordinates my 3D app created for it and doesn’t try to just “tile” it, etc.
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Okay, my MAIN question finally:
In my head, it “seems” to me that when an object has/uses a UV texture and has to then specifically map all of those specific points referring to the UV mesh, etc. → would take more processing time/resources/etc. To live-render that object with it’s UV mapped texture showing.
NOTE: I am using a SINGLE, square file for my UV map files (so I’m not having it generate separate files for the different “channels” (eg. Color, bump, etc.)
…Thus, it just seems simpler for the realtime rendering for the game, for the game engine, in this case Unity obviously → For it to render on-the-fly textures on top of objects by just tiling a texture…that, that should just be MUCH easier to tile a texture VS map all of those specific positions onto each specific part of the object, etc.
…Isn’t it?
Or, am I WAY OFF here?
(Eitherway - If anyone could give me any hints about this stuff, I’d be very grateful)
So, again - back to especially when developing games for the iOS platform, and any/all low-resource/low-processing-power…does using a UV texture on an object(s) [and/or many in a scene…although I’d be more interested in just figuring out on a 1-to-1 basis [because I guess I do also realize and understand, that at least with Unity it can reuse textures (which you probably don’t reuse uv textures more than once unless it’s for just multiple copies of the same EXACT models; and with tiled textures you probably could/would use more…BUT…For the sake of this question, let’s not consider that fact for this question’s sake…unless it matters significantly in some other way…
Sorry if was confusing, (I usually am) unfortunately
Hopefully though, my overall question can be found in there → Which again, I’ll try to make it as clear as possible:
Q: I’m trying to figure out if using UV textures created/mapped for specific objects in a game, and in this case especially, since I’m targeting the iOS platforms [or any not-so-powerful computing platform; but for now the sake of this example, It will be the iOS devices] → Does it take up more, system resources/CPU-resources/RAM/texture memory any other type of “resource” that would slow down my game when played, if I use [square sized pictures in both cases] → When/If I use a fully UV mapped texture on object VS if I were to use a tiled-texture [of the same size] on that same object → DOES the UV texture-map take up MORE resources/CPU/GPU/etc. when the game is played in realtime; than it would it if I mapped a plain color texture/material (eg. Flat red); or a (same file dimension size again of course for comparison) texture of a stone wall that is tile-able, and will be tiled onto that same object…
… …
…Now when comparing all that, does a UV texture map take up more of the gaming-system’s resources in any way? OR → Is (perhaps something even in the Unity engine that helps like “pre-compress, etc.” UV maps, etc.?
Lastly, I’m sorry for being so repetitive, I’m typing this on an iPhone and it’s not exactly very easy to see more than a few lines
…but again, if anyone could help explain ANY parts of this stuff; mainly the “UV” related issues [especially IF there are any specific “rules” or different techniques that I could look into to accomplish the same type of, ‘detailed-texturing-at-specific-spots-on-an-object’ …that’d be great as well]
And yes, I have already endlessly searched the forum and Unity Answers for similar questions, but unfortunately didn’t have much luck on this especially-specific topic.
Any help, tips, or answers to any/all of my confusing-mess of a question above, would truly be super appreciated. This is one of the last few major parts of texturing my models, but in an efficient and in this case – ESPECIALLY iPhone friendly upon gameplay-back and of course, the end user’s final realtime game playback.
Many huge thanks in advance,
Chad