Questions all about Materials/Textures.
vertex
I'm creating a single player only game, that is high intensive along the lines of GTA/Arma, with a 30x30 km map, and about 220 km of it actually be populated (meaning it's the land mass of the island), with 3-5 areas of it with HIGH density objects/assets. I want it to work on 4 GB computer from like 2018/2019 on lowest settings.
I don't want to hear I can't do this, I've been making and planning this out for a good 5 months now, and have about 200 different models done already (Not textured)
I'm currently using blender, UE4, Substance painter/designer, World machine, Zbrush, X-normal, and instant meshes.
Please answer these questions as I've done thousands of hours of research, and with that seeing so many people explain it differently, I'm in the gray in some places.
1. WHich program is best to add decals in? UE4, SUbstance painter, Substance designer
2. How to optimize decals?
3. With games, whats substance painter/designer each used for? As I believe designer is for creating materials, and painter is for mapping out and applying the materials, along with adding small details by hand painting?
4. Are single textures, for EVERY object including it's alpha, bump/normal, ect better than having materials with that object/assets baked normal map ( meaning the High poly version baked on to the low-poly) If this isn't true why do most tutorials show you using textures, with that textures normal/bump/alpha/ect maps on it also?
5. With the specs mentioned how many Materials is optimal?
6. How do textures/materials have variation? meaning they look different every-where
7. How do I make materials not look the same on the same objects in UE4, meaning I duplicate a asset, and not having it look like the same version of texture as the first.
8. How can I make it to where I can make the same models look different with vartition of colors, specular, ect.
9. Whats the best way to have material layering, and is that the most optimized/best thing for me?
10. Is having perhaps thousands of different assets (Meaning completly different objects) normal maps all aplied to them optimizable with LOD of course, where they eventually disapear.
11. Is having normal maps applied to most everything better than using a little bit higher poly count, as I'm pretty stingy with my poly count.
12. How could I make a grass material, have a leafy look to it, without material blending/layering using 2 materials, but just adding a texture/image to it
13 .How do UVs, and materials work? As I've seen a lot of tuts that show substance painter applying materials to enviromental props, and when exporting it exports individual maps? Which after a while with thousands/hundreds of thousands of these, it would lag?
14. With the previous quistion should I be using a different method/program, such as (I think I've seen before people using substance designer to assign the materials to a object, and then exporting to UE4) substance designer to assign the materials and exporting, and then placing the asset into UE4, and placing the materials after?
15. Whats the best way to have variations on things? And how to do it?
16. With materials does a UV map texture size matter, or does it just layout where the materials go, and the materials texture size are what are shown? (This is more for substance designer, as I believe you can place what materials go where, and then you export the materials/object, and then when in UE4 Place it in and apply the material)
16. With materials does a UV map texture size matter, or does it just layout where the materials go, and the materials texture size are what are shown? (This is more for substance designer, as I believe you can place what materials go where, and then you export the materials/object, and then when in UE4 Place it in and apply the material)
Replies
I don't want to see these questions.
First of all, wrong subforum.
Have you done any research? Have you actually tried anything from these for yourself?
Don't take this the wrong way but you're going to have to learn how to problem solve on your own.
That's not to say it's wrong to ask questions, but when you post a laundry list of them on the internet, you're not gaining any experience as people are essentially doing homework for you.
In fact, the best thing you can do right now is forget about the questions. Just make something. Anything. Post the results on Polycount or any art website, AND THEN, start the question procedure of "how can I fix this"?
"13 .How do UVs, and materials work?"
UE4 already has a big document about this.
https://docs.unrealengine.com/latest/INT/Engine/Rendering/Materials/
You really have to read this stuff first and start making something out of it.
I know it sounds desirable to get everything perfect from the start but without actual art experience, it's only going to hold you back.
Questions are great, just scale back and ask about a simple game to start with, then make that game, demonstrate you put our time and information to good use, then ask again and repeat until you're top of the industry.
I don't want to hear I can't do this. I've been making and planning this out for a good 5 months now, and have about 200 different parts designed already (not in cad)
1. How does an electric car work?
...
Come to us with practical questions based off work you have. Noone is going answer a million hypotheticals.
LOTS of people will reply to you if you have an environment and your terrain blending is working okay? but you want to make it do X? WE CAN HELP WITH THAT.
Yes I know... It's hard though, I have made stuff, but not enough