koobas.hobune.stream
How many polygons can 2MB of video memory hold?
The reason I ask this question is because I'm going to be making video games soon here, and I've been having a difficult time optimizing 3D animations I make to even hold over 5fps. If I know how many faces a 2MB video card can handle, I then calculate any amount of memory. Simply put, whatever amount can hold at least 30fps in real time.
I don't think the exact answer to this is going to matter. It depends a little on how much other data -- extra UVs, bone weights, binormals... . But mostly, textures are the main problem with running out of memory.
2$$anonymous$$B?? If you meant 2GB, then 5 FPS indicates you are doing something extraordinary or doing something wrong.
There are way too many factors that contribute to "30 fps" as you requested. But wait, let's work on your polygon budget. What is your polygon budget within a scene (assuming that you have a fairly decent PC with 1 or 2Gb video ram, NOT 2Mb)?
Normally, (depending on the work), my polygon budget varies between 10,000 - 500,000. Usually, if I work towards the 10,000 mark, I can achieve 30fps on my i7 - 4 cores and 10GB RAM, with 1 GB Nvidia GT, with Physics iteration at 48 and Fixed time step at 0.01. No shaders, no fancy effects, no extra UVs, no bone weighting, and max 1024 x 1024 textures. Additionally I would turn off my antivirus and other programs running in background for better fps.
Say your polygon budget within a scene is 10,000. Then you need to answer, how much will be for the actors, background, vehicles, etc. Most people think that they can import their CAD models or hi resolution sculpting from Blender, Maya, Sculptris, etc (end of thinking capacity), which gives high polygon count models. If you import these hi res meshes into Unity, expect < 10 fps. Create a low poly and apply a normal map to it. A normal map can give a low poly model a hi res look. See this. Or this one.
Next, I'll consider @OwenReynolds remarks about Texturing. Yes, hi-resolution textures can consume a lot of memory. Think about where will you place the camera, and ask yourself, will this thing, that thing will be seen by my main camera? At what distance? If no details are to be seen within close distance to camera, use low resolution textures, 64 x 64 or 128 x 128 if acceptable.
There are many things to consider in developing 3D applications, but I've given you a brief overview of what may contribute to 30fps and how to overcome them.
