I'm accustomed to designing for mobile hardware, where I just feel like expectations are lower than on PC.
However, I'm going to be using the Unreal 4 Engine for a PC game it looks like, so I might as well try to make it look good.
The problem is, like I said, I'm accustomed to designing for mobile. I will have more power available now. But I need to learn to utilize that extra power well - I mean, you can't just put 1 million polygons in a rock.
So besides my general "Got any advice?" question, I'll also ask a more specific question. It's almost a proven fact that models alone won't make a game graphical. You need lighting, etc. But my question is, not counting normal-mapping and completely forgetting about it for a second...
Would I be okay making human characters 20k polygons for a modern PC game, and focusing on lighting and stuff to make it graphical, or do I need something more robust like 40k per human character?
I'm aware the actual mesh and its quality matters as well...
Any advice is appreciated.