   Mixing 3d and 2d?
  If I make a 3d model of a knight and save it with a .x file and if I want the swing effect to produce light and air effect then should I make that "swing light" with 2d or 3d?  Other example is magic spell effects.  Should they be 2d or 3d if the characters are 3d. Also is it proper to mix 2d with 3d by drawing a huge map in 2d and having all items( buildings) on it in 3d?   
Quote:Original post by GiantPaulIf I make a 3d model of a knight and save it with a .x file and if I want the swing effect to produce light and air effect then should I make that "swing light" with 2d or 3d?Often it is done using a particle system or billboarded effects, but it could be done in 3D if you want the "volumetric" look.Quote:Other example is magic spell effects.  Should they be 2d or 3d if the characters are 3d.Most of the time these are implemented using point sprites in a particle system.Quote:Also is it proper to mix 2d with 3d by drawing a huge map in 2d and having all items( buildings) on it in 3d?It's proper to do whatever works best for your game :)  This is commonly done in RTS and RPG games, but will work for really anything.  As far as "proper", Paper Mario is a 3D world with 2D objects, and it works well also.  There is no proper way to do things [lol]