Modular Game Environment Advice/Resource Dump
polycounter lvl 5
Hey everyone!
I'm new to Polycount, and I hope this is the place for this kind of post.
I'm an aspiring 3D game artist and my current project is a Sci-Fi, modular environment pack (interior pieces mostly). I've found quite a few resources to help me understand how the workflow for modular assets should go, but I could never find a truly experienced opinion on the matter. I have taught myself everything I know about 3D art and game asset creation up to this point, and am no stranger to long blog posts and hundreds of pages worth of forums.
So, I've decided to try my luck here. With so many talented individuals on this site, I'm sure there are many who are further along in their careers, and I'd appreciate any advice you could throw my way (What to think about when starting to develop a modular asset pack, how textures fit into the workflow, how the units in the 3D software relate to game engine units, what are the best units to use, etc).
But I don't want this post to be just for me. I'd love it if we could just keep this thread going with tid-bits of information we find or advice we think of so that everyone who has a question about modular design can find an answer.
Cheers, and happy posting!
I'm new to Polycount, and I hope this is the place for this kind of post.
I'm an aspiring 3D game artist and my current project is a Sci-Fi, modular environment pack (interior pieces mostly). I've found quite a few resources to help me understand how the workflow for modular assets should go, but I could never find a truly experienced opinion on the matter. I have taught myself everything I know about 3D art and game asset creation up to this point, and am no stranger to long blog posts and hundreds of pages worth of forums.
So, I've decided to try my luck here. With so many talented individuals on this site, I'm sure there are many who are further along in their careers, and I'd appreciate any advice you could throw my way (What to think about when starting to develop a modular asset pack, how textures fit into the workflow, how the units in the 3D software relate to game engine units, what are the best units to use, etc).
But I don't want this post to be just for me. I'd love it if we could just keep this thread going with tid-bits of information we find or advice we think of so that everyone who has a question about modular design can find an answer.
Cheers, and happy posting!
Replies
By doing this you might inspire others and start a conversation.
So far, I've gathered that the units in which you create a modular asset pack are extremely important. However, I'm still not clear on what units are best to use. I'm currently making my pieces one meter by one meter. I am also aware that it is very important that you test your pieces in-engine as you work on them.
In addition, all pieces must have a convenient pivot point for actual level construction. They must also fit together flush and without overlapping.
I don't really have a workflow down right now. Currently, I'm just trying to get the basic shapes and fit of some of the pack down before I move on. If anyone could post a general pipeline breakdown for this kind of project, that would be absolutely awesome!
This is what I currently have done. I know it's not much, but I'm hoping for some criticism before I move on (though I'm not sure there's enough to criticize).
The green piece is a corner for the hallway.
The red is a hallway piece.
The blue and pink pieces are two halves of a doorway, and are meant to be back-to-back rather than how I currently have them for the picture. I deleted the polygons surrounding the pink doorway because they created visual artifacts when combined with the blue piece. I didn't think this could be good for textures in the future. However, this also means I am using both sides of the blue piece's wall polygons. If I remember correctly, only one side can be used when unwraping/texturing. Am I correct in thinking this could be an issue in the future? I would really appreciate any advice on this issue.