QUESTION about Skeletal mesh

I am working on a set characters for my little project. Each of my characters is made from separate parts like torso, head, arms and so on.

In 3ds Max I apply skin modifier to all parts, then tune the values until it looks OK.
I find this workflow to be easier because if I need to change the topology of a torso, I don’t need to redo all other parts of the character. Afterwards, I export the character to UE as one mesh. This is not aimed at switchable body parts. It is just about a workflow in 3ds Max and exporting to UE.

Question(s) I have:

  • Does this ‘multiple parts exported as one’ creates more drawcalls in UE?
    Or, is there any other drawback to this approach I am not aware of?

  • Some of the meshes are using multiple (2-3) UV channels . Can this have negative impact on perfomance?

  • Also, in some cases i need flat color over larger area of the character. Because texture i am using is quite busy, in some cases there are large polys using UV mapping shrank to about 4x4 pixels (in 2k texture). Could this extreme scaling create problems? It seems fine to me, but my expertise in this matter is very limited and your help much appreciated.

As far as I know, they use separated part with the original mannequin. So I’d say it would be fine using multiple parts.

For the rest, take a look at documentation : Performance Guidelines for Artists and Designers | Unreal Engine Documentation