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LevelofDetailUtility 1255
to editable poly format, it will then show the
number of polygons in the object instead of the
number of triangular faces. You can customize the
keyboard shortcut via Customize > Customize
User Interface >
Group: Main U I (page 3–922) >
Polygon Counter.
Procedure
To use the Polygon Counter :
1.
On the Utilities panel > Utilities rollout, click
the More button and then choose Polygon
Counter.
2. Choosewhethertocounttrianglesorpolygons.
3. Set the spinner on All Objects to create the
polygon budget for the entire scene.
4. Select any individual object and set the polygon
budget for the individual object.
5. When you exceed your limit the g raph line will
display its end in red.
Inter face
Selected Objects/All Objects—Displays two
numbers and color bar indicators showing the
number of faces in the scene for selected objects
and the number of faces in the scene for all objects.
The Polygon Counter will include any closed spline
shapes in the face count, as well as all mes h objects.
Budget—Displays the number of faces allowed for
your budget.
Current —Displays the number of faces currently in
selected objects or the scene.
Co unt Triangles/Count Polygons—Lets you choose
whether the Polygon Counter utility should count
all triangles or only polygons. For example, if you
have a box that’s been converted to Editable Poly
format, Polygon Counter will show that the box
contains 12 triangles but only six polygons.
Clo se—Closes the polygon counter.
LevelofDetailUtility
Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button > Utilities
dialog > Level of Detail
The Level Of Detail utility lets you construct an
object that alters its geometric complexity or level
of detail based on its size in the rendered image.
Youcreateseveralversionsofthesameobjecteach
w ith different levels of detail, g roup t hem as one,
and then run the Level Of Detail utility, which
automat ically creates a special LOD controller as
a Visibility track. The LOD controller then hides
and unhides the objects in the group, depending
on their size in the rendered scene.
Themainpurposeofthisutilityistosavetimein
rendering complex objects and i n manipulating
objects in the viewports. Since a portion of
rendering speed is directly related to the number
offacesthatmustberenderedinascene,usingthe
Level Of Detail utility lets you reduce the number
of rendered faces as an object reduces its apparent
size. In addition, you can use t his utility to display
a simple stand-in for a more complex object in
the viewports. Since the stack is not calculated for
objects hidden in the v iewports, you can speed
up viewport manipulation by using this utility
to substitute complex stack objects with simple
stand-ins.