Dealing with "detail overload" when making textures?

Sastrei

Not sure if this is the best section for this q.

When you're creating textures (in this case for a game asset, hard surface spaceship), how do you deal with the apparently never ending amount of detail that needs to be painted onto these? Not talking about scratches or paint wear, rather the seemingly endless amount of labels, lights, hull panels, windows, frames, etc. Is it just a case of "buckle in, shut up, and focus on one section at a time" ? Or are there better ways to go about it?

Synaesthesia

I generally start with the low-frequency details, like large paneling sections. I then move into medium shapes and block all of it out, add in alphas where needed, or any pre-made normals I've created in my library of NDO normals. Then I move on to high-frequency stuff like welding and rivets. It's easier for me to tackle vehicles like this and it keeps me from burning out on detailing small areas without getting anywhere with the rest of the model.

beefaroni

I tend to always have others work and real world reference on screen to ensure that I'm not going overboard. If you really break it down, similar to what Synaesthesia said, the large shapes are really important and define the overall model. Those are definitely the most important to nail. Then work your way in.