Saktoth wrote:This is the biggest nightmare to texture or uvmap i have ever seen. Period. Mirror and reuse your uvspace A LOT if you're planning on seriously uvmapping this. I'd suggest cutting down the polygons a lot and using the high res model for a normal map etc.
While it is a complicated model, skimping on the uvmap with a ton of mirroring would be akin to putting a Honda Civic body on luxury sports car. For one, how would you do the AO bake?
I'm not saying that mirroring the UV is a bad idea, but freaking out and going overboard with the uvmap folding is an easy way to squander the potential of a great unit.
My advice: don't worry about the polies and the texture size. Do what's comfortable, then do a decimate/texture bake and rescale the texture if it turns out too complicated.