~125k
~60k
~30k
~15k
Game character poly budget - Helena: This is all estimations and not necessarily set in stone for how it is done everywhere. These estimations are for characters without props (and in some cases hair).
Current AAA games: 50k-150k tris
● This is dependent on what type of game it is. Open world games have a vastly different polycount on screen at a time dependent on the player location, amount of NPC etc. Whereas in a linear-game you have a much more controlled environment all the time.
● It also depends on whether it is a hero character or not, since a main character (or hero character) will often have a higher poly-budget than NPCs.
○ For first-person games, the playable character, or main character, will in most cases have a much lower polycount since they are not in the camera view. However, NPCs will have a higher budget compared to third-person games, due to them taking up more camera space. How high the poly budget should be, can often be estimated from how much camera space said character will take i.e. An NPC that you can closely interact with in an FPS game most likely has a higher polycount than an NPC in a third person game.
● All characters have different requirements dependent on their costume. A character whose garment consists of multiple layers and detailing will require a higher budget. A character wearing nothing but shorts, may in some cases even be kept below the estimated polycount above.
● In some cases LOD+ is utilized for specific closeup shots. Meaning that in specific cases one character may have a higher polycount for a specific game scene or segment where they are closer to the camera than usual. Can also be for cinematic purposes.