Character Modelling but Too Many Triangles

[rIKmAN]

I read the tutorial on easily creating a character for HL2, which involved using the Primitive->Model->Character Man.
Now with me being crap at artwork it seemed like a great way to get some placeholder character into HL2 for me to play with.

However when I try and export, even after making zero changes, I get an error that the model has too many triangles, both with XSI HL2 and Mod Tool 4.2...

Am I doing something wrong or isn`t this a viable way to get a character in game?

If not, what is...?

 

[thereisaspoon]

it means it has too many polygons. u cant export above 7500 triangles in mod tool and above 4000 or 4500 in exp for hl2. Triangles are the most basic shapes in modeling. a 4 sided plane has 2 triangles.

 

[mindless_moder]

put a multires or otimise modifier on it and play with the settings until u get it low enough .....can u pass the tut ?

 

[rIKmAN]

Yeah I know what it means lol - I`m not that stupid

What I mean is what is the point of having the ability to create characters easily if you can`t use them in game cos of the poly limit?

Are they meant to be used for HL2 or are they there for another non-HL2 reason?

The tutorial I am referring to is: http://collective.valve-erc.com/index.php?doc=1080221800-33653000

But I have since found this one, which seems more in-depth and more hard work - especially for someone as artistically retarded as me
http://www.xsiwill.com/ModToolsTutorial/ModCharacter.htm

 

[thereisaspoon]

the xsi humans aren't made for games, they are there just as a base, maybe to test a rig out or something like that. They are pretty bad in personality and uniqueness, and look, but model-wise the flow and topology is decent. The character-man is HUGE in polycount, its ment for high-res renders, not games. the body-man is a low poly model so u might wanna try that one. Note that this isnt really modeling.
The point of the limit is to get u learning xsi, and later buying a liscensed version with no limits. 7500 polys for anything is pretty high.

 

[rIKmAN]

Ah I see, the tutorial gave me the impression it was a quick way to get characters into HL2, which is what appealed to me.

It should be taken down, or at least ammended to make it clearer.

Cheers for the info!