Character Poly Number

[paulscode]

I am sure there are a range of opinions on this issue, but I was wondering what some of you think is a reasonable number of polys that a character should have in a MMORPG?  There isn't really a right or wrong answer here, I just want to get a feel for what some more experienced game developers think.

[EgonOlsen]

You can get some impressions from WoW models here: http://speedydragon.gamestar.de/npc?id=10181#t=5
(Rendering is of course done using jPCT...). The site is in german, but it shoudn't be too hard to find your way through it. By clicking on the white triangle on the bottom of the applet, you can open a configuration dialog where you can enable a wireframe view and "count" the triangles. Most WoW models don't use much polygons but are still looking quite cool.

[fireside]

As few as possible.  You can normally get a fairly rounded looking cylinder for a body part with 6 or 8 sides using smoothing.  Most of your polys will end up in the head, increase complexity where you need it only like the nose, ears and eyes and mouth.  The easiest way to do that is by using extrusions.  It's tough to get a blinking, talking character with under 1000 vertices, at least it is for me.  MMORPG's are a huge amount of work and very few individuals ever finish one. 

[paulscode]

Looks like an average of 1100 - 1300 polys for WOW characters (more with armor and stuff).  Kind of gives me a feel for what to shoot for.  I am having trouble getting my characters under 2000 (without looking like a five-year-old drew them).  I suppose I will keep practicing to get better at poly reduction.

MMORPG's are a huge amount of work and very few individuals ever finish one. 

Well, I suppose if it takes me long enough, 2000 poly characters will be trivial on future machines