Models and Textures

[anonymous_user_73888674]

Hello. I couldn’t think of where to put this, so here will do for now…
I have run into a minor issue with the models that I am making for my project. The models are either, too high quality for the engine (or my PC) to load properly, or just don’t load properly.
I’ve been using Blender to create the models, and to texture them as well. I was wanting to know if this is an issue with my computer, the engine, or Blender. Also, if anyone
could recommend a nice and simple modelling kit that you think is better than Blender, that would be grand. I would also appreciate if anyone could help with recommending a
better way of texturing my creations, because at the moment I’m using an old tablet to draw the textures, then importing them into Blender, then layering them onto my designs.

Thank you in advance to anyone that is able to help, and to those that at least attempted to help. I appreciate it.

[anonymous_user_32549598]

This is the correct sub-forum for this kind of question, so there’s no worries there =) Now, to your question. You’ve said that the models you’ve created are “too high quality”. I’m going to say this is rather unlikely. If you take a look at some of the sample content available, such as the Kite demo assets, they’re pretty high quality, to say the least. Typically higher than a large amount of modern games, even, I’d say.

I can’t really comment on your computer, personally, unless you provide specifications. Could you confirm what exactly your having problems with? I’m assuming you’re struggling to import your model into the engine / editor, and it simply hangs on the loading and importing process? That’s a guess.

If this is the case, it might be that your models are simply very high poly. You have to bare this in mind when creating assets. Most people will create a high poly version and a low poly version, which they will use to bake out the detail. This keeps the poly count low, whilst not skimping on the quality and detail. If you’re simply going into Blender and creating an asset without worrying or keeping an eye on the poly count, then it can quickly spiral out of control. This then means that the mesh will take quite sometime to import.

On the topic of an alternative application to Blender, I’m not sure anyone will have a better suggestion for you. Blender’s free. It’s also rather fantastic. Plenty of people on the forums here are using it without an issue. Once you find the cause of the problem you’re having, then it will more than suffice. You don’t really want to fork out the cash for Maya or Max, for example, until you know you’re ready to do so.

I’m not quite sure what to suggest on the texturing front. If the old tablet that you’re using is working, I don’t see any reason to scrap it or upgrade to something else, as of the moment. I regularly use old Wacom tablets, alongside my new Cintiq. They all, ultimately, manage to get the job done. I suspect you’re using Photoshop (or a free alternative) to texture? If that’s the case, you could also look into a more intuitive workflow, such as Substance Designer or the Quixel Suite.

Hope some of this information has helped. If there’s something you need further assistance on, let me know and I’ll be happy to assist.

[anonymous_user_73888674]

Thank you . This is indeed very helpful.
Thinking about it, some of the models may have had a very high poly count as I didn’t clean them up after I had finished detailing them. But there were one or two that would load into Blender broken. An example would be a floor tile that I had created. Only the top half had been correctly imported, the bottom half (which is visible at certain points) seems to only load properly it’s the farthest part from me (if that makes sense*).

For textures, I use SketchBook pro (Windows version) to draw and detail the textures, and then I’ll use Photoshop to clean up the textures.

*I shall add a screenshot of the tile later when I am back at my computer again if it would help more.

Thank you for the reply.

[cyaoeu]

If you’re having issues with blender you can post on the blenderartists forum in the support subforums or on the blender stackexchange.

[Luftbauch]

Blender works very well with UE4, if you ask me.
I do not know how you experienced you are, but for me the high to lowpoly normalmapbaking is complicated and very timeconsuming.
I like to ignore that part and stay low with polys.
Can you share some screens of facelayout and stuff?

[anonymous_user_32549598]

@Godzilla45;461282

Thank you . This is indeed very helpful.

No problem at all, happy to be of some assistance! =)

@Godzilla45;461282

Thinking about it, some of the models may have had a very high poly count as I didn’t clean them up after I had finished detailing them. But there were one or two that would load into Blender broken. An example would be a floor tile that I had created. Only the top half had been correctly imported, the bottom half (which is visible at certain points) seems to only load properly it’s the farthest part from me (if that makes sense*). *I shall add a screenshot of the tile later when I am back at my computer again if it would help more.

Certainly, if your models are high-poly, then that would / could explain the problem with importing them. There’s a few people who’ve reported similar problems on that front. However, even if they are high-poly, they will eventually import into the engine. It will simply take time. Ultimately, the amount of time it might take depends entirely on your system and its specifications. If you could provide an image showing the problem, that would most definitely help us to understand the problem better.

I know @Luftbauch has commented on the whole high-poly to low-poly method, but it isn’t as complicated as it might seem. Yes, it can initially be hard to understand and wrap your head around, but there’s tools to help with that, such as xNormal, for example.

@Godzilla45;461282

For textures, I use SketchBook pro (Windows version) to draw and detail the textures, and then I’ll use Photoshop to clean up the textures.

I think that’s a perfectly workable method. I’ve never used SketchBook, but I don’t expect there’ll be any obvious issues with doing so. When it comes to hand painting textures, I typically use Photoshop, personally. I combine it with Substance Painter, when I want to see what I’m doing in-real time. Which, also helps with painting directly over seams and the like, as well.

As aforementioned, simply reach out if you need further advice. Everyone’s pretty friendly around here and will provide assistance if they’re able to do so =)

[anonymous_user_73888674]

Thank you everyone. I managed to solve my problem with the help you gave me. Plus, the levels load a lot faster than they did before. If I do ever encounter the problem again, I’ll put up a small set of instructions through pictures for anyone in the future that may also be wondering about the problems, or wants to know how to improve the games.

Thank you again. Till next time, TTFN.

[anonymous_user_32549598]

Good to hear the problem is solved. Look forward to seeing what you come up with in the future. Best of luck! =)