Quote - Luxxeon, if you still think quads are more efficient for planar surfaces, then I'll make my point another way... using your own software.  In 3dsmax, when you create a cylinder primitive of any number of sides, but do not specify any subdivision for the caps, the software will give you a cylinder with ngons at both ends automatically.  Why do you suppose this is?  Well, it's simple.  The software has decided, because you have not specified any subdivision parameters for the planar ends of the cylinder, that the easiest and most efficient way to cap those holes is with an NGON.  3dsmax, internally, has made the most cost effective, geometricly logical choice for you.  It didn't decide to quad it up, it simply plugged it with one big poly.  I think that about sums it up.

 

We'd be living in a world full or sloppy models if we all followed the crede "because my software package did it, it must be the best way." Case in point, make a sphere.

Most packages you get the first example, if you have a fancy modeling package you might get the second [how cute], when we start seeing modeling software that gives you the third² [with a scalable number of sides and segments] we can talk about the way your software does things as being the "right" or "best" way to do it. Until then, just because filling an opening with a big ol' ngon was the easiest way to write a program, doesn't means its the best, or the most logical solution for someone modeling an object.

 

 

 

[2] No, its not just a subpatched cube. Sheesh! A subpatched/subdivided cube does not a proper round sphere make, sorry.

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