Beginner/Intermediate Question about the correct way to model a large, complex, interior
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Hello!
This is my first post here, and I am not sure if this is the right forum, or even the right website for this, but it was referenced over on the substance painter forums, which is a program I use a lot.
Firstly, I would consider my skill at modelling and texturing to be beginner, maybe pushing towards intermediate. My main job is computer game programming and game design. However, I have always loved 3D art, and I really want to learn to get better.
My tools are 3DS Max 2015 and my new favourite modelling tool is Substance Painter (I much prefer it to photoshop!).
I am currently working on a game for the Unity game engine which involves a fairly large space ship, which needs to be visible from both the outside and the inside.
I have decided that the best way to do this is to model the exterior hull and interior as separate objects, and then just align the hatches, windows, etc, together wherever they appear, taking care to avoid any seams or gaps.
The problem is with the interiors.
There seems to be two ways of doing this. The easiest way is to model each compartment (control room, hanger deck, etc) as a separate object. I can then unwrap it and get it into substance painter. The problem here is that the texture density with a large room is likely to be too low for a first-person game. I am using 2k textures at the moment, I could try increasing to 4k textures, but at that resolution, you start running into serious performance issues.
The second option is to split the room up into smaller chunks, so a long corridor might have a corridor-left, corridor-middle, and corridor-right object, all separate objects in max, and all aligned properly. I can then export them at the same time, and I should be able to texture them at the same time in substance painter.
The problem though is aligning the UV maps across the different objects. For example, if I want to have a painted line down the entire length of the corridor, how do I make sure there are no visible seams or distortions, when I have three objects, each with a different UV unwrap modifier?
I am just a little confused as to how to approach this, and I would like to get some advice from a professional modeller. What would be the standard way of building a large interior like this for a game, in the industry?
This is my first post here, and I am not sure if this is the right forum, or even the right website for this, but it was referenced over on the substance painter forums, which is a program I use a lot.
Firstly, I would consider my skill at modelling and texturing to be beginner, maybe pushing towards intermediate. My main job is computer game programming and game design. However, I have always loved 3D art, and I really want to learn to get better.
My tools are 3DS Max 2015 and my new favourite modelling tool is Substance Painter (I much prefer it to photoshop!).
I am currently working on a game for the Unity game engine which involves a fairly large space ship, which needs to be visible from both the outside and the inside.
I have decided that the best way to do this is to model the exterior hull and interior as separate objects, and then just align the hatches, windows, etc, together wherever they appear, taking care to avoid any seams or gaps.
The problem is with the interiors.
There seems to be two ways of doing this. The easiest way is to model each compartment (control room, hanger deck, etc) as a separate object. I can then unwrap it and get it into substance painter. The problem here is that the texture density with a large room is likely to be too low for a first-person game. I am using 2k textures at the moment, I could try increasing to 4k textures, but at that resolution, you start running into serious performance issues.
The second option is to split the room up into smaller chunks, so a long corridor might have a corridor-left, corridor-middle, and corridor-right object, all separate objects in max, and all aligned properly. I can then export them at the same time, and I should be able to texture them at the same time in substance painter.
The problem though is aligning the UV maps across the different objects. For example, if I want to have a painted line down the entire length of the corridor, how do I make sure there are no visible seams or distortions, when I have three objects, each with a different UV unwrap modifier?
I am just a little confused as to how to approach this, and I would like to get some advice from a professional modeller. What would be the standard way of building a large interior like this for a game, in the industry?
Replies
http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Modular_environments
Usually people ask technical questions in the Technical Talk section, rather than 3D Showcase. I'll move this there for you.
I'll take a look at that tutorial you posted. It seems that modular is the way to go for interiors then?
You can also combine these modular walls and floor with larger custom set pieces.