Due to the nature of what we are trying to achieve, we must think about a singular asset, as a collection of sub-assets that can be utilized for different use cases. The term Level Of Detail (LOD) is commonly used to refer to this collection of assets, from which we can source to cater to various platforms. A LOD system is typically being utilized for the use of assets in Realtime applications and does not refer to the core asset from which they are derived. When producing LOD’s the polygonal count (number of vertices and Triangles) is largely dependent on the size of these assets within a given experience.

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Overview

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Breakdown

  • Cinematic Asset : used in Raytracing engines to create promotional materials and serves as the base to produce LOD’
    • The Polycount for this doesn’t matter too much here.
    • Avoid using millions of polygons to avoid large file sizes
      • clean topology allows subdivision through modifiers and better deformation and won’t affect file size.
    • Avoid using hundreds of materials, with 4-8k texture sizes as this also causes large file sizes and slows render times
      • Try and reuse materials, so all metals use the same metal material etc. this makes baking Id maps easier later on as well.
  • LOD0 : This Asset would be used for WebGL Viewers, Desktop and Console applications and promotional in engine cutscenes.
    • 32k-100k tris for a fully assembled asset (e.g. A Party Bear with every possible trait equipped)
  • LOD1 : This asset would be used for Desktop and Console experiences where the character is a short distance away from or has to work with small crowds
    • 12k - 32k tris for a fully assembled asset
  • LOD2 : This asset would be used for Mobile end experiences such as Roblox , or when the character is a far distance away or part of a larger crowd.
    • 2k-6k tris for a fully assembled asset

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Example Humanoid

Body
Cinematic Asset: 500k+ tris + any size textures or procedural materials used.
LOD0: 15-40k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 2048k + Shader Mask Textures
LOD1: 6k - 12k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 1024 + Shader Mask Textures
LOD2: 1k - 3k tris + single PBR Texture Set at 1024+ Shader Mask Textures

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Shirt

LOD0: 4k-10k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 2048k + Shader Mask Textures
LOD1: 2k - 6k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 1024 + Shader Mask Textures
LOD2: 400 - 800 tris + single PBR Texture Set at 1024+ Shader Mask Textures

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Pants

LOD0: 4k-10k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 2048k + Shader Mask Textures
LOD1: 2k - 6k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 1024 + Shader Mask Textures
LOD2: 400 - 800 tris + single PBR Texture Set at 1024+ Shader Mask Textures

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Shoes

LOD0: 3-6k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 2048k + Shader Mask Textures
LOD1: 1k - 3k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 1024 + Shader Mask Textures
LOD2: 250 - 600 tris + single PBR Texture Set at 1024+ Shader Mask Textures

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Hat

LOD0: 1k-5k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 2048k + Shader Mask Textures
LOD1: 1k - 2k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 1024 + Shader Mask Textures
LOD2: 250 - 600 tris + single PBR Texture Set at 1024+ Shader Mask Textures

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Ear - Accessory

LOD0: 1-3k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 2048k + Shader Mask Textures
LOD1: 500 - 1.5k tris + multiple PBR Texture Sets at 1024 + Shader Mask Textures
LOD2: 100 - 300 tris + single PBR Texture Set at 1024+ Shader Mask Textures
Avatars should be limited to 6-8 parts in total as to stay within the overall polycount limits.
Polycounts are not an exact science but you can extrapolate rough estimates of poly counts from the main avatar. Because an asset can technically be 6k for a given category, you should always aim for less. The goal is to achieve the desired shape and look with as few resources as possible.
#TYPETARGET POLYCOUNTNUMBER OF PARTSRIGGING BONESCOMMENTS
1Full Body - Character6k-10k triangles6-8 parts max128 bones or 256 joints
2Full Body - Grooming2k-6k triangles6-8 parts max0 bones
3Larger Accessories1k-6k trianglesAsset dependent0 bonesThis varies a lot, so we would allocate a budget for each specific asset.
4Smaller Accessories0-1k triangles1-4 parts max0 bones
5Garments4k-12k triangles2-6 parts max2-10 bonesThe lower, the better—it will depend on each piece.
6Guns & Unique Props1k-2k trianglesAsset dependent0-6 bones
7Scenery & Viewer1k-40k trianglesAsset dependent0-20 bones
Scene DependentSingle master material using atlases
TOTAL15k-32k triangles15-26 parts max136 bones