it seems a bit unnecessary to have all that detail in the low poly. a lot of the wires and downward bevels can be dealt with using normals without the requirement of having it built in. regardless of that it looks nice.
only other concern is the modularity of it. the fact that youve got 1 piece hanging off of the mesh to fit into another piece of the mesh that is empty is kinda bad i think. just for when you end a floor, you're going to have some part going into a wall or something, and another part just empty. id say cut that piece down the middle (since its already textured) and just toss it on the other side of the mesh. it will still tile properly.
Thanks for the feedback Oniram. The wires are actually normals, the pipes are still there, but can be cut down in tris, since there is grating over it. I was wondering what the best way to tile the floor, and your idea seems good. I was just going to have a separate piece of glass that I would shove into empty spots in UDK, but if your method works, it would save me some time.
yeah, having those extra pieces would get to be a pain in the ass to put in. especially if those areas are not "grid-snapable" you seem like youve got the lightmapping figured out so cutting that one piece in half woulnt result in a seam or anything if its lmaped correctly.
Overall, I believe you did some solid high poly modeling for this piece.
Though there some things that stand out that could be improved. Right now the entire texture has this Red/purple wash on it, almost looks monochromatic. It could just be the lighting. As a result, the entire model looks like rusted metal. If that is the case, then you run into the following two contradictions:
- The diffuse looks very rusted, yet the specular reflections are high for rusted metal.
- If it is very old and rusted, why would all the glowing bits be working? I would expect most of the glowing parts to be broken, or at least have variety on the intensity and hue. If you're keeping it blue, it might be a better fit to use a blue that leans more toward a shade of green, and is less saturated.
Finally, when designing a modular piece like this I would suggest not having to many details on the diffuse, and have more details on the specular. As well as testing the model on a player view, because it may look good on a high angle, but once you make multiple copies, the repetitions can feel almost like a checkerboard. Its important to have the right balance of big, and small shapes to avoid the noisy look. For example, in this piece I would consider the following:
- Merging 2 1/2 of the larger panels, into a single one. The result will be two large panels only.
- Getting rid of half of the emissive bits or turning them off.
Those seem to be the major contributors to the repetitive look.
This screams the 3d motive tutorial its good to get practice with but i would be hesitant to put in portfolio since it looks like you just copied the tutorial. Good execution tho
Julio - You made a lot of good points. Yes I did put a red light, which in turn made everything look extra rusty. I'll change that to a blue light which should definitely help it look more new and fuctional. I'll try to tweak the panels, and get rid of the emissives, and only have them in portions that are dark.
EVAC is a group project that I am coleading atm. it is suppose to be a 3rd person sci fi coop experience, that is if we can find programmers. If not then we'd like to have our marines and insects rigged and posed within a completed level / environment. We start up the 29th, so I will be working on this throughout the next year. We will start and EVAC thread where my partners and I can all upload our progress.
nick2730 - Yes I used the 3dmotive tutorial, and I chose the same colors that he used. I will go in and mess around with the diffuse and see if I can make it more unique. I thought the glass panels would help separate it from 3dmotive, but I guess it's not quite enough. Hopefully as the scene comes together, it might not stand out as much as it does atm, considering the floor piece is the only thing in the scene.
As this scene progresses, I am planning on installing fans w/ lights underneath a few of the glass panels, so you can get shadows cast onto the ceiling which will also help.
Replies
only other concern is the modularity of it. the fact that youve got 1 piece hanging off of the mesh to fit into another piece of the mesh that is empty is kinda bad i think. just for when you end a floor, you're going to have some part going into a wall or something, and another part just empty. id say cut that piece down the middle (since its already textured) and just toss it on the other side of the mesh. it will still tile properly.
I think the normals on your flat square pieces are a little harsh. Are your scratches popping out instead of recessing?
Though there some things that stand out that could be improved. Right now the entire texture has this Red/purple wash on it, almost looks monochromatic. It could just be the lighting. As a result, the entire model looks like rusted metal. If that is the case, then you run into the following two contradictions:
- The diffuse looks very rusted, yet the specular reflections are high for rusted metal.
- If it is very old and rusted, why would all the glowing bits be working? I would expect most of the glowing parts to be broken, or at least have variety on the intensity and hue. If you're keeping it blue, it might be a better fit to use a blue that leans more toward a shade of green, and is less saturated.
Finally, when designing a modular piece like this I would suggest not having to many details on the diffuse, and have more details on the specular. As well as testing the model on a player view, because it may look good on a high angle, but once you make multiple copies, the repetitions can feel almost like a checkerboard. Its important to have the right balance of big, and small shapes to avoid the noisy look. For example, in this piece I would consider the following:
- Merging 2 1/2 of the larger panels, into a single one. The result will be two large panels only.
- Getting rid of half of the emissive bits or turning them off.
Those seem to be the major contributors to the repetitive look.
What are the plans for Evac, what's the story
Best Regards,
Julio Juarez
Julio - You made a lot of good points. Yes I did put a red light, which in turn made everything look extra rusty. I'll change that to a blue light which should definitely help it look more new and fuctional. I'll try to tweak the panels, and get rid of the emissives, and only have them in portions that are dark.
EVAC is a group project that I am coleading atm. it is suppose to be a 3rd person sci fi coop experience, that is if we can find programmers. If not then we'd like to have our marines and insects rigged and posed within a completed level / environment. We start up the 29th, so I will be working on this throughout the next year. We will start and EVAC thread where my partners and I can all upload our progress.
nick2730 - Yes I used the 3dmotive tutorial, and I chose the same colors that he used. I will go in and mess around with the diffuse and see if I can make it more unique. I thought the glass panels would help separate it from 3dmotive, but I guess it's not quite enough. Hopefully as the scene comes together, it might not stand out as much as it does atm, considering the floor piece is the only thing in the scene.
As this scene progresses, I am planning on installing fans w/ lights underneath a few of the glass panels, so you can get shadows cast onto the ceiling which will also help.