Installation Zone BR688(Sci-fi environment WIP..)

CNecron518a

Hey everyone. I started a new Sci-Fi environment awhile back and I am posting just to get a general response from people as to my current progress. I built this to be modular so pieces can connect to each other or be re-used elsewhere to save memory. Also, because this is still WIP, I intend on fleshing out the walls, hallways and floor panels more- Fans behind grates, pipes, other hi mesh details to xmap to low poly..

I have seen some other cool environments here and I figure it is best to practice this higher poly stuff then bake to lp, I have done it before but I haven't done as many pieces of that nature as I can do. And my portfolio needs more work like this to show off my skills for current generation games.

I am also working on a Chaos Predator tank from the Warhammer 40,000 universe(I also play the TT game as well, so I had a hand painted Chaos Predator from my own Black Legion army to use as reference..), a high poly asset tank that I am in the process of modeling as well..I will post as soon as I get more progress.

Anyways, this is still WIP, so please keep that in mind. I have some great ideas about lighting from the above alcove with lighting from some Doom 3- type Mars sky shining ominously from above to below..with menacing fans behind grates and other sci-fi stuff..some generators alongside the walls, pipes, etc.. crates the like..

I got some of the textures done or near done at least just for me to get a quick sense of look/feel/color. I am going to be doing a color paintover after I finish modeling the other high poly details on the wall, etc to flesh it out more for current generation games.

This is the progress I have so far though.

CNecron518a

Also- one other question is to the Environment artists currently out there in the industry, does geometry that is separate(say for instance things that are not combined or attached /merged vertex wise..) does topology need to be optimized for 3/4 sides? This I haven't been able to really get a clear answer from anyone. For instance, where the bottom floor connects to the walls and the generator type pieces I have texture..I connected the vertices but I am wondering if this is necessary if these modular pieces wont be combined or vertex merged.

Can you please help me with this if you have knowledge? Thanks.

Jeremy Lindstrom

the verts dont need to be merged, it does not need to be one contiguous object.

Firebert

This is showing some potential to be pretty cool man.

I do however feel you may be missing the point of making modular assets. While it is important for things to be able to snap together when placing them in the editor, you need to create pieces that are interchangeable and can be combined with other pieces to create new ones.

For example, the wall sections should be two or three different versions of walls (a barebones wall, a medium frequency wall, and a high frequency wall). The console units need to be one completed piece that can snap to the grid and align with the wall, not snap into a hole in wall that you created specifically for that one single piece. By creating wall sections that have holes for certain pieces to fit into, you break the modularity of it's primary function... to be used, reused, recycled, and replicated over and over and over and over in many different areas. Now you could make a wall section with the console built into it if the design called for that sort of thing, but this, again, would need to be a single static. Even if you decided to do this, you would find yourself doing "extra" work because you would be texturing a wall asset to blend in with the other wall assets you created as you would now have an entirely different UV space with very limited options.

Does that make sense? The floor should mostly be BSP texture driven, decals, and a few static meshes here and there. Make A few custom angle floor planes to snap into your BSP where you would have rounded areas. That sort of thing.

Think in layers.