Just wondering if I’m doing this wrong but at the moment I am currently creating buildings with 3DMax but the time sink in doing this is awhile and wonder if there is any quicker way? Reason I ask is because we need multiple buildings in a level that do not look the same.
Thanks
There’s really not a right or wrong way of doing it. It’s really down to how you want to do it and the end result that you are aiming for. You could model each and every building separately, without an issue. It’ll just take time if you’re working on a large level / scene.
You might want to look into using a modular setup. Essentially, it’s kind of like using Legos. You build a handful of sections, then put them together in Unreal. Google it for further information.
Just like Daniel said, it’s up to how you prefer to work. But modularity might be preferrable as you can reuse everything for more buildings and that’s a lot faster than building the whole thing in 3ds. Just make sure to stay on the grid and scale everything so they fit together.
there are addons you can use …
for example for blender you could use something like : http://cgchan.com/suicidator/index.php
i dont use 3ds max so i dont have a link but i know that there are addons for it too
Hi,
for 3ds max you can use several plugins, for example ghost town, for tutorials head over to youtube. Ghost Town Lite is free, but I am not sure if you can use it for comm projects. Depending on your project you could buy game-ready models and modify them (if the licence allows it) - that may speed up your project but maybe some other people did use the same models in their projects as well. Dexsoft and Arteria3d sell low poly models. You may find models with higher quality at places like TurboSquid, but they are more expensive.
Hi MitchRaz,
As Daniel mentioned modularity is potentially a good way to go. A really good tutorial series on 3Dmotive explains and demonstrates the benefits and workflow for using “Lego” pieces to build your buildings. This is something that Epic and a lot of other developers use in their games!
3DMotive Modular Building series
One of our senior artists, Kevin Johnstone, has a great power point he used for the East Coast Games Conference here in Raleigh, NC a couple of years ago. This will give you some key points about modularity and using the grid to your benefit in Max and UE4. Check out his site here.
In regards to modeling everything being a time sink, this is absolutely true! It’s easy to have it become that way. As you work you’ll get a workflow that works best for you and getting the work done! 
If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Tim
If you don’t mind spending money on this project, there are quite a few sites where you can download/buy finished models. Some of them are free, but it’s more likely you’ll have to pay for the better quality ones. I like CGTrader for these kind of projects: http://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models?keywords=building