Task 6 - 3D Constraints

Constraints are like set backs or limitations for real time games that the developers need to keep in mind or else their 3D creation might be too good or ahead of the Hardware needed to run it. The 3 examples I will be discussing are Hardware based these are Polygon Count, Render Time and File Size.

Polygon Count

The number of polygons in a model often runs parallel with the level of detail or realism of the model. So the more polygons used to construct a model the 'better it will look' as there is a higher level of detail attributed to the model. For example, the left image is very rectangular in comparison to the high polygonal which is spherical and looks more realistic on the right, However this comes with a cost. This is a constraint as the more polygons there are that appear in render view the longer it will take to render and this means that there needs to be a balance for graphics to playability because other wise they could make the most realistic 3D model but it will take ages to render and so the game will not run smoothly and this effects the gamers experience. 

For the PS3 it alone could manage 275,000,000 but with everything else it drops to just 9,100,000 which dramatically effects the experience if there needs to be more rendered.

 

Render Time

This is very self explanatory as it is the time taken for each frame to render. What is seen as a minimum FPS is 30 frames per second so 30 frames need to be rendered in the space of one second. This can be a huge constraint for 3D animations epically when you look at Toy Story 3 where for some frames it took around 16 hours to render! where as games such as Flappy bird which have very simple graphics and can therefore run easily and quickly on most devices as it has a low polygon count. This can also be a constraint not just from the drop in the noticeable performance of the game and thus giving the player an un-enjoyable experience but also the fact that if it takes a long time to render each frame onto a first copy then it will continue to increase the price of electricity used to run the computers or resources needed.



                             







                                               
File Size
3D modelling often takes up lots of storage and so one reason file size is a constraint is that the models need to be saved somewhere and if the 3D art is not kept efficient then it may have to be spread across multiple discs or downloads. An example of this could be GTA 5 on the XBOX 360 and this was to split the file size up and the file was too big for digital download alone.
Secondly,  it also depends on the amount of RAM available. within everything, at the point when playing the game it needs to read the disc and store it for very fast accessibility. this includes everything from textures to game play instructions. this is why the polygon count and textures need to be efficient to allow space for RAM to store other wise the experience will be very disappointing. this is noticeable in games such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and the game would lag so to speak when moving.