how to deal with 2-sided faces

[Nikodemus]

I'm wondering what would be wiser to use:

12 faces is less than 16, but the 16 faces mesh looks a lot more real. It is impossible to look from certain angles that some faces are invisible.

[Karyuu]

Double-sided faces were a big no-no several months ago. Unless that changed with CS, you'd have to use two separate polygons for a flat mesh that's meant to be two-sided.

[Nikodemus]

Yeah, duplicate, flip normals.
My question was not this, though

[Karyuu]

Then it doesn't really matter, I think :] Is the difference with 16 faces something that you will recognize in the final mesh? And moreover, is it a significant difference? If not, then go for the lower number. With that shot alone it's hard for me to answer, since I don't know what the model is supposed to be.

[Induane]

Also if you do the 12 method its not a closed mesh which can also be sub optimal, especially for the dynavis culler.  There are times where a few extra polies can actually mean better performance because other things get cut from rendering due to proper culling.

[Lanarel]

Is the 16 face version as shown? Because then it is even less closed than the 12 face one.

[Nikodemus]

Also if you do the 12 method its not a closed mesh which can also be sub optimal, especially for the dynavis culler.  There are times where a few extra polies can actually mean better performance because other things get cut from rendering due to proper culling.

What a poetry* ;D reminds me it would be good to find this all out someday ;) Maybe sooner than i expect, hm.

Karyuu, Its a mater of performance, then. I'm going to use similiar elements like 200 times for the whole, so it is a matter of 80 extra faces or not for a big 9000 faces structure.

Lanarel, use your imagination :)

*I DON'T GET A THING :D