Hi there!
I am new to UE 4 itself but not new to Unreal Engine itself. I used to work in Unreal Tournament a lot back in the day.
I have wanted to get back to level art & design for quite some time.
From what i’ve read - you don’t use BSP anymore , right? It’s all 3D models. I also read that Pipeline itself consists of :
BSP prototyping → Static Mesh conversion → finalization
As i do some 3D models , i am terrible at making textures.And here comes the questions that are not strict to UE , but are part of the pipeline.
-What is the best way of BSP - mesh conversion? Should i predesign everything on paper like i do with my typical 3D projects? Or just Try to make the level in BSP and redo it in 3D software?
-Any one knowing if Cinema 4D is able to use materials / textures that are applied to model to be converted as UV mapped texture? I’ve searched for the answer but nothing was found.
I used to just imagine level and make it in UT but i am not sure if level design consists of scu things anymore…
predesign is always useful to figure out how you are going to lay everything out. Then you can build in engine and make sure everything works for mechanics etc.
I’d say that it depends on your workflow if you use bsp for prototyping or if you design everything on paper first.
As long as you are building everything on scale, you might not even need to launch UE4 till your models are ready for import.
Finding the right scale is the issue for some ppl.
Often it’s better to see the size of a room in the engine to determine if it’s right or wrong.
Since 1UE=1cm in C4D, it’s not that hard to nail down the messurements though.
As for texturing, you need to know how to use UV edit in C4D, since realtime engines only accept UV mapping.
Still you can apply your Materials in C4D with other Projection methods such as cubic or cylinder,
but you need to bake them to your UV mapped layout to get usable textures.
Wanted to ask for it after reading the first lines of your post , good to know. It makes everything way easier. And as you said - simplifying workflow just to working on C4D.
I need to mess around with the texture baking tag. I am awful at UV mapping and texturing , it’s why i was interested.
Let me show you my level of UVs , it’s so funny so treat it as a joke more than anything serious. I need to work hard on this one.
(Language i use is Polsih , i hope you don’t mind)
Aaaand it’s what happens if you don’t need UV’s on daily basis.
It’s funny in it’s magical way , isn’t it? I guess i need to practice a lot. Any ideas of how the UV texture should look on the building? I know what’s wrong in UV itself.If i am correct , all the parts or most of them should pe connected to each other , am i right?
Also one of the main advantages of doing a prototype using bsp, is that it automatic has collision on it, so you can run around, and get a feel of the level, and quickly and easy adjust it. It’s the same process when making an model, you block out the shape first, often with simple primitives, to get proper proportians and get the scale and shape right. It’s easier to adjust, add/delete things, before going into details.
For example if you already blocked out stuff and then made an asset like an throne chair, and after you placed it, the room looks too small. Much easier to adjust your BSPs to give it a better scale, without having to rework a highpoly and a lowpoly model mesh, and adjust UVs ect.
Regarding the build, you might want to build it up modular, so you can reuse parts, this way its also easier to make UV and assign materials.
But if anything, try and seperate it natural, where there already is a natural break, such as wall meets roof. Regarding your UV on your building, it’s not a good way to unwrap.
There is two ways to do this, either have all your shared textures in one texture, which from the look of your model wouldn’t be practical, or assign material IDs to your model, and use tiling textures.
Create some base materials, such as brick wall, roof, floor, and assign them to the mesh (for example material ID 1 is Brickwall, ID 2 is Concrete, ID 3 is Metal Panel ect. Then assign materials IDs to the polygons, and then open up the UV editor, and adjust each UV island until the texture looks right. In the end, your UVs will look like a jumbled overlapping heap, but that is all right.
@Soldium Uv unwrapping is no magic.
I gave you the tip in another thread to start with a cube and use seams. Google Here for Blender , insert your 3D app to get better results for you.
Intersecting objects are no big problem.
Ngons could be one.
When meshing, use reference pictures in any possible case, till you get the right scalefeeling. https://www.google.de/search?q=building+blueprints&biw=1011&bih=539&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwicwNXh5YvLAhWIxRQKHbHmA-MQ_AUIBigB
When you learn that, then include modular asset creation.
It would let you reuse every single element you created before (roof/wall/door), like lego.
When you mesh houses not modular, then you get, what you see.
When you mesh 3 modular buildings you can create many more variations out of that and could generate a small village with some variation…
I love modular.
Follow the Grid, never brake the rules huh like in reallife
Thanks for all the advice guys! It’s time to practice.
It’s good i like having fun with some 2D CAD projects. this might come in handy.
Dividing buildings into modules may come in handy but i like to give each structure a personal touch. I guess that it depends on a project you currently work on.
I know that i should store all objects for reuse purpose , but didn’t really think of modular buildings. I also have to try if it works for me or not.
Anyway , huge thanks for all given advice. I’ll try to use it as well as i can and maybe share progress one day.
Stay safe
Sold.
