Hi guys! I recently started getting into game dev and I wanted to ask you if you know how many polygons is an acceptable amount for a game asset (both main objects like guns in an FPS and decorative props like crates or scene assets)
I don't have much experience in this area i've only heard something that sounds conclusive to me.
The closer an object is viewed, i.e. a weapon, the more detailed it should be. After all, you have it on 1/3 of your screen and are looking directly at it.
Objects that you only look at from a distance don't need a high poly density.
So I would say that you can't say that in general terms. Each weapon is also differently complex in the mesh.
Always try to use as few polygons as possible as long as the quality does not drop
There are several factors that determine poly count(triangles). Like game engine(UE is usually about double unity. Godot was about half of unity, but it's newer version doesn't have enough data pushing it to it's limits.), targeted hardware(console, low end PC, high end PC, VR/AR, or mobile) game specifics, etc. On a low end PC you want total max polygon rendered in a frame to be below 2 million(unity) polygon. That includes simple/complex props, characters, environment, and environmental effects all using 2k or lower textures and LOD.
To add a little to what the others have said, sadly there is never a straight answer with these question, as always the answer is, it depends. Depends on the systems, depends on the limitation of where it is going. I guess the rule of thumbs is, the more resources you can save without loosing quality, the better. Adrian has written a longer answer before on the forum, he'll probably link you up to that one.
All of the above answers are true.
Basically, use as few poly's as you can get away with, without adversely affecting the silhouette of the object. That is true for all objects, near or far.
However, a game studio will have agreed poly count in pre-production, thus higher poly count will be awarded to hero assets.
The polycount of an individual object cannot be ascertained without consideration for the entire scene within the game.
General consensus when modeling game assets outside of an agreed game requirement (learning or to sell as game asset packs) is as mentioned, as few poly's as you can get away with.