Different Environmental Buildings

dubcanada

Hello All,

I have a series of buildings (3d models) that I need to apply a texture too, each one of them with slight variations then the other one, damage in certain areas, rust, etc. Now here is where the questions pile up.

I'm not sure if I should unwrap each and every single building and texture each building seperately or should I create a tilable texture that could be used on a couple of them. Or if a tilable texture would even work?


Also,
Normally for unwrapping the buildings I just go Mapping-> Normal Mapping-> Box Mapping which gives me lots of empty area in my 512x512 UV map. Would there be a more efficient method to unwrap a low poly building with very little detail?

Regards,

Eric Chadwick

Depends on what game engine this is for and what kind of mapping it supports. Can you use decals? Can you use vertex blending?

How close does the player get to the bldgs? Flight sim, racing game, first-person shooter?

For a mobile/iPhone/iPad game? For the web? For a console/PC?

Some tips here.
http://wiki.polycount.net/CategoryEnvironment#EW

PredatorGSR

When box mapping, are you just box mapping and calling it done? If so, box mapping is the best way to start, but it is only the first step. You also need to relax uvs, join and separate shells where it makes sense, and re-arrange the shells so they they are in the most efficient layout. Sometimes if the arrangement is really tricky or you have some faces that aren't as important you'll scale the shells differently. Also, if you have a layout that is more conducive to a rectangle, you can lay it out as a 2-1 or 4-1 texture that will fit your layout better.

If not, ignore the obvious advice, wasn't sure exactly what you were asking.

Eric is right, a lot depends on the intended platform. For the current gen platform, usually a combination of various methods are used. You can have modular pieces that are reused, like detailed window frames, tileable textures on large/flat surfaces, and overlays or separate uv channels for grime and damage which helps to hide the tiling nature.

Posting a screenshot might be helpful.

dubcanada

Engine: UDK.
PC Game.
The user would see the buildings fairly up close, so detail would need to be fairly well done.