My Part
For this project, there have been several different steps taken for the creation of the final environment. From modeling creation, to setting UV's, to texturing, to importing, to placing, we each took jobs. Both Ryan and I did all of the jobs at one point or another, but we predominantly did certain tasks over the course of this semester.
My jobs were mainly the modeling, setting UV's, and importing of models. Ryan did modeling and texturing. I will touch briefly on what steps I took to complete each task and a workflow that I created for myself.
Creating Models
I was first and foremost responsible for creating models. We wanted models that worked with our theme of industrial complex in the desert, but we also wanted visually complex looking models, that will work with the general theme of Unreal Tournament 2003. When creating a model I chose to start with usually cubes or cylinders to keep the polycount as streamlined as possible. When using the Karma engine from UT2K3, we have a very large polycount budget, but we also want to implement dynamic lighting and particle effects, which strain the computer and can slow the game down considerably. So, I chose to drop the polycount on my models down a little bit, and let Ryan work his magic with the texturing to make each model look detailed and dynamic. For most models, the primitives are altered by moving vertices and extruding faces.
Setting UV's
When setting UV's, I generally try to think about Ryan's well-being because he is the one who will ultimately be using them to create texture maps. I try to map model faces using either automatic mapping or planer mapping to get the model faces in the UV texture editor. I then select and move the UV's around to get the polygon edges to line up, this reduces seams in the texture. A seam is an area on a model where you see lines, textures don't line up. This reduces the realism of the model and we try to avoid it where ever possible.
Importing Models
The process of importing models from Maya into UnrealEd (Epic Game's in-house tool for creating custom environments) is quite an arduous one. Unreal Tournament 2003 is a package based program. This means that all models must be saved into package files, where all of the data is, and then all of the textures must be imported and saved into texture packages. After all of the textures and objects are imported, then we must link the proper textures to the corresponding models. After all of that is done, then we can place the object into the level, rebuild all of the geometry, save, and playtest to make sure the model shows up the way we want. If not, then debugging ensues. we scale objects, rotate, and if all else fails we alter the object in Maya and re-export.
WorkFlow
For all of the above mentioned tasks, I have to wrestle with a schedule to get each thing done. Generally I don't want to do all of one step at once, but I also don't want to go through each step for every model, every time. Each way would be tedious and take time away from the overall task at hand. So what I do is go to the sketchbook and select an area that needs to be completed, a single room for example. I then model all of the models for that room, placing all objects into the room where they will be found in the finished environment. Next I break down the objects to see what pieces are duplicated, as to not set UV's for more objects than I have to (this makes life easier on both Ryan and Me.) Finally I go through and import the models and textures.
By creating models in this fashion, I never lose my train of thought nor do I get bored or frustrated with the modeling process. It makes modeling fresh and new every time I sit down to work.
Final Thoughts
The creation of an environment like this has its share of hardships and road blocks, but ultimately those obstacles are what make us as 3D modelers come back time and time again.
I love to create environments, and to challenge all of the obstacles that come with each new task. I feel that the challenges are always unique and ever changing. It keeps me on my toes and ultimately increases my satisfaction when looking back at the finished environment.
Think in 3 dimensions,
