Scaling static mesh along one axis vs adding more static meshes

Development Asset Creation
1

Hi everyone,

Let’s say I have a wall static mesh that is 10’ long, and I have an in-game wall that is 100’ long.

Is it better to have one static mesh scaled 10 times along one axis, or to have 10 instances of that static mesh back to back?
are there any real differences between the two approaches?

I’m trying to create a photorealistic scene if it matters for that question.

Thanks,

2

Anyone has some insight?

3

From my experience, the 10 instanced objects will work better simply because they will each have a higher quality texture, as their UV map is that of a 10 foot object, not one 100 feet long. The larger the object, the less UV space is allowed for each face, so that means less pixels per face, and thus less detail.

However, I have also experienced lighting issues with instanced meshes. If there is a face along the part the wall connects to the next segment, weird shadows can appear along those lines.