Optimization best practices for CMI

[Kayrrie]

Hello fellow creators!

I'll start by saying that I absolutely love 3D modeling and CMI (so much so that I'm currently back in school for it).  So, I don't just want to make pretty things, I want visitors of my worlds to have great experiences when they enter them, especially first impressions.  With that said, I have done my own research during my build and spoken to some amazing creators on the platform, but I would love to hear from all the CMI creators/3D modelers on here, especially if you build your own assets, what are your best suggestions/tips, and best practices for optimizing your builds/assets for VR/Horizon Worlds? Such as, what is your go to amount of polygons(faces) or vertices? I know HZW allows a big amount of verts, but from your experiences creating in VR, what is your recommended amount of verts or polys/faces per asset and world? What are the best ways to ensure less draw calls and high FPS? Maybe, what are some things us modelers should def avoid? 

Any and all advise to help us optimize the best way possible, would be amazing! (I have to tag @SpaceGlitterUnicorn on this cause IYKYK lol)

-Kayrrie

[Ashes2Ashes2]

Number of verts per asset for me depends on the type of asset, the art style and texturing method.  I tend to use more verts on things people will get up and close with, if I'm going for the low poly look that's anywhere from 200 - 1000 verts on the higher end for more detailed object. If I'm using a texture that's less verts since I can use the texture to communicate details.  If I'm using vertex colors then I might add more geo to get that detail.  Like this asset I made and textured using vertex colors will be a grabbable with 800 verts to get the color detail I was looking for. 

[Kayrrie]

I appreciate this so much, thank you! That asset looks great!  One of my future adventures, a fully vertex colored world 🙂 

[Ashes2Ashes2]

You're welcome! That's what I'm currently working on, lol.  So far, I feel like I learned a lot and found a process that works for me.  I think vertex color will stay my primary method, but I might go back and look at things that might benefit from having an actual texture. Hopefully it'll be ready to publish in March 🤞🏾.  

One more recommendation for people starting blender is to check out the YouTube channel by Grant Abbitt. He has a ton of beginner tutorial playlists that focus on teaching the tools in a way that I think translates well for those of us that started with primatives and he keeps it low poly. He challenges you to try to build the item first, then he shows you how he approaches building it.