PDA

View Full Version : Tips for modeling game environments?

ThomasWright
05-20-2010, 12:51 AM
Hello everyone! This is my first post here, so let me say hello briefly.

I'm a 3d modeler, I graduated from Cogswell Polytechnical in Sunnyvale, CA. I have about a year's experience with start-up companies, and I'm trying to specialize in environment and prop modeling.

To that end, I'm hoping to get some tips and tutorials for creating game terrain. Particularly when it comes to UVs and textures. I have a difficult time imagining all the terrain for a game existing on one UV map, but I'm at a loss for techniques on how to divide it up and apply textures that aren't pixelated horribly.

I'd appreciate any tips you may have, thanks!
Dare-o
05-20-2010, 06:00 PM
google is your friend.

heres 1 tutorial of how a 'next gen' environment is modeled.

http://www.amc.ro/shares/tutorials/2008/environment/DanielVijoi/Creating_Next-Gen_Environment_Textures_by_Daniel_Vijoi.pdf

check out the website as well.
http://www.amc.ro/

Under "shares" theres more tutorials.
ThomasWright
05-20-2010, 10:25 PM
Thanks! those are helpful, and clarify some texturing techniques that I've been doing wrong. However, I'm more specifically looking at details having to do with landscape. However, I'll most certainly make acquaintances with Google, and see what I can find there.
KevBoy
05-21-2010, 07:30 AM
There's a reason a lot of developers make in-house tools for the world modeling, like UnrealEd and Hammer and Sandbox. Use them in conjunction with a 3D tool like Max or Maya and you'll be on your way.
BluRayDisc
05-23-2010, 12:57 PM
Just make sure you use low quality texture and the texture size is not bigger than 512x512, other wise it might lag the game.
limozen
05-24-2010, 02:03 PM
Use high texture size of 1024 x 1024, then scale it down to 512 x 512.
ScotchTapeWorm3D
05-25-2010, 01:52 AM
I wonder about landscapes too. Not even just for games, but for pre rendered scenes too. How do you go about making a landscape without using a giant texture, or big ugly seams all over the place.
ThomasWright
05-25-2010, 02:13 AM
it seems that a lot of game maps use a special shader that controls display of multiple tileable textures with a black and white alpha map. Or it displays tileable textures based on a height map, and then bakes that down to a flat image.

That's all well and good for maps with segregated zones and loading screens, but it leaves "Sandbox" maps a relative mystery. I wonder if they hide separate mesh lines using mountains or cliffs.
CGTalk Moderation
05-25-2010, 02:13 AM
This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.