Hey guys. So, I have some knowledge and experience with blender… but I am currently trying to make a model for a game me and my friends are developing. Well, not a model, i’m trying to model the entire map of the game. I have used blender and made models, but i’m not very good at it… I mean, I find it difficult to make a basic building… So, I have some questions: 1. For a static map I should use .obj yes? If not, what? 2. I am trying to replicate (or almost replicate) a building (a school) and well… like I said, i’m not really making progress… Part of the issue is a lack of proper dimensions for the rooms and walls… meaning that my model is quite off scale… do you have any tips/tricks or recommendations that may make this easier? One thing I have trouble with is lining things up… I can do it by eye but If I want to do it accurately (which i should yes?) and use numbers, it takes forever to line a simple wall up… I mean, idk. Maybe i’m over exaggerating, but I just … i’ve used UDK’s modelling… and it was the easiest modelling system EVER. Not really sure what made it so great, but I could make maps SO EASILY in it… but blender I just struggle with. So, if you have anything for me that will make this easier, PLEASE let me know.
Sadly, all of the easier options are expensive(6-700 USD), so you will be better off stick to blender. IMHO, it is better than all of the other modelling tools you pay for, in fact. The reason it is hard, is due to its capabilities. If it was easy to learn, you would sacrifice using advanced tools. Just stick with it, and watch tons of tutorials. It will help you. Trust me, I did blender for a bit, and I got the hang of the basics within a few weeks of 24/7 Tutorials. Remember, modelling is a complex subject. People even go to college for the sort of thing.
Yeah. Alright… I’ll stick with it. I mean when you consider how long we intend to work on this game, it is fair that it will take me a very long time to model it. However, a few questions about modelling in general: is it important to make sure edges line up? Because I find it quite difficult to do… and, i seem to have forgotten the other question… ???
I would try to stay as neat as possible, but really, just go here for blender issues. It is a great community (Last I checked 2009 (quit making unity games)).
Learning to model is an important and great thing, however I do suggest you look into procedural generation for things like plants and trees and even mountains. Did you know that the mountains and plants in the Lord of the Rings series were completely computer generated? Yeah that’s how awesome procedural content is.
Not unless you’re alleging that New Zealand is all CG. It might have been enhanced, but there’s a variety of landscape there, even the barren rocky parts of Mordor.
Blender is a great program iv used it before unfortunately theres not much advice I can give but its a hard program to learn so just be determined.
Blender is great free software, especially if you know Python. I’ve only ever used it to mod Oblivion ~2 years ago, and it was still pretty good back then, even compared the other modelling program I’ve used which is 3ds Max.
personally i found blender impossible to use. Anim8or, however is free and easy as hell.
I remember trying to make a game in blender back when I was 12, I always really liked the modelling part. After you learn all the keyboard and mouse shortcuts, its super fast and easy to use.
If you stick with Blender you will learn the necessary key functions, and with functions I mean their shortcuts, too. I’ve been using it for geological modelling which had it’s downsides because Blender gives you some trouble with pure point and line objects - they mightbecome invisible in object mode which is annoying if you compare stuff. But in the end, everything went fine!
For a static map you can also ose ply which is originally meant for 3D x-ray scans but the file format is as easy as obj and it is more direction safe. obj-files are often thought to switch between the horizontally y- and the vertical z-axis which can lead to weird results. The real difference in usage for ply and obj is that obj is easier to give whole faces certain colors while ply makes efficient use of vertex coloring. Vertex coloring allows for easy applicable color gradients between vertices and a smooth appearence. However, as game programmer you might be better off with obj because it is meant for such purposes and, despite being not sure, I think ply does not support textures/texture coordinates.
Blender allows you to display vertex coordinates in the 3D-window. This helps. You can further position every vertex by its coordinates. Make use of the orthogonal viewport (press num5) to prevent being mislead by the perspective. Utlilize the 3D view direction (num7, num1, num3) and stay alogn the axis as long as possible because you can always move a point along 1 axis only or a plane of 2 axes (pressin x, y, z while manually rotating/translating or combining them with shift? to the planar movement). Use “snapping” when you already have a faces, edges or vertices which you want other objects to be attached to. For more organic/natural models do not hesitate to use “proportional editing” which gives you a tool to move not just one vertex, edge or face but grab somethign and drag the surrounding mesh components, too! This way a key feature for my geological model as it allows to stretch a first assumption of a layer to the actual elevations/positions. Use array modifiers whenever it makes sense, so you don’t have to repititively model identical parts of the whole thing. Best example is a high building with balconies, windows, etc. which is actually amde of repedetive parts. Even on a smaller scale (e.g. a fence) you can use array modifiers to accurately position parts of it. Keep your model clean as long as possible. “Remove Doubles” and “Recalculate Normals” because wrong normals and edges at the exactly same position might srew your lighting up afterwards and they steal away some memory. Always keep in mind that you might reuse objects. Give them materials early, so you can easily change every object of the same material easily at the end. Phew, there are a lot more things than I can tell you or I even imagine. I am kind of new to Blender myself but I possibly faces the same problems as you. Read/watch tutorials which actually show you how a house is constructed in blender, or to be more general: a good tutorial should show you the actual model devlopment instead of naming the key presses for some tools. This way you know for sure, that something will work for you.
At the end: Blender is powerful and, besides driving you crazy (especially at the beginning) it can be addicting like programming 