Recommended size for Decals?

So when thinking about creating some decals, the thought came to me about sizing. Is there a recommended size? I Kind of feel 1024 x 1024 is a bit big for something like a manhole cover or a poster on the wall. As I’m always worried about file sizes. Assuming the same rule applies with the power of 2, If I go too small, say for example 128 x 128. Id loose image quality.

Any thoughts on this or is it something I shouldn’t worry about?

UE4 requires quite good computing specs, which means that if a PC/console/phone is powerful enough to run games made with it, it most likely will also have enough memory to handle 1024 x 1024 textures with ease even for decals. I would only go lower than 1024 for some tiny parts like bolts, nails etc, and never lower than 512. If its a poster that you will zoom in during matinee scene or similar, even 2048x2048 is not an overkill, if going for a PC/console game. Then again, I am not the best when it comes to optimization. Ideal of course would be to have good LOD`s which can be very small sizes.

Wow as high as that? That’s interesting. Yeah we are going for pc at the moment. Thanks for your help on that.

But of course it completely depends on the game. I was thinking about FPS/TPS type of game. If its a topdown strategy game you dont need to go that high… But making 1024 textures is easier than making good looking 128 textures anyway. You can make everything 1024 and downscale later if needed. The decal texture sizes wont probably become any sort of performance bottleneck for you anyway. If you are using Substance Painter for painting, the issue is even less trivial as you can downscale/upscale the sizes in it anytime without a sweat.