I want to ask this before I work on character models so I know the most effective way of doing this.
If multiple objects use the same texture, does it load into memory once, or once per each object?
If a single object has multiple parts (because it's modular, and various portions are shown or hidden depending on the state of the object) am I better off putting the parts that are related into one file or as separate textures one per part? (for example, a characters skin would all be related and I could put the head, torso and limbs onto one file even though I may hide the torso to show armour, but the armour would still have to be separate textures depending on what the character is wearing.)