[WIP] Modular assets testing

Hey folks,

I'm currently trying to build a set of modular assets for the UDK. From the general concept I have a setting insipired by trashy Sci-Fi in mind - here's a screen of the current state:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_01cibd.png]

Unlit / Wire:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_01wfvcno.png]

Closer with preview lighting:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_01screenr8oz.png]

Everything's still pretty early WIP and I've got much more cleaning up to do - at the moment I could fix some of the light-seam-problems with a second uv channel and by correcting normals, but there is still a long way to go... also I still don't really know what I'm going to do with the textures/materials.

My goal atm is to have a basic set of assets working / looking / handling well - after that I think I'd like to make a little level but I'm not planning too far, because I want to concentrate on getting the base parts right.

I'd like to know what you think - all input is welcome (:

-Update-

Sooo this is going to be a base. On the moon. Here's a concept of the outside:

[Blocked Image: http://hs1.abload.de/img/concept_outsidennyp.png]

Also I've worked on the assets and also changed the asset textures to a less colourful and clearer theme:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_02screenuwcf.png]

I'v painted over a screen to get an idea of how this could look like:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_02overdrawnscreawf2.png]

Cool, thanks for the replies (:

I thinks it's a good Idea to carry the colour even further onto the base parts - but I'll just have to see if/where that makes sense (atm I think it's some sort of isolation foil... so.. space... isn't as cold... whatever sounds reasonable^^). I think atm the basic scheme consists of passive, structural parts being gray/orange and more active/useable parts being lightgray/blue. The preview lighting makes for some ugly artifacts.. but I've got two lights on the ceiling, so the floor is pretty much flooded.

Yeah - big round screen is a go! I also now remember a German tv show - very old and also still pretty awesome - which was aired in the late 60s: "Raumpatrouille Orion" (translates "Space Patrol Orion"). They used to have these very creative but cheaply build sets, great stuff. It's not exactly where I wanna go with this, but nonetheless I think its a good source of inspiration:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/thumb/controls_005y8uc.png]

Been fixing some issues with the assets and experimenting with a new floor, it has a transparency mask and produces shadows onto a lower floor. I'm not sure if I'll stick with it.

[Blocked Image: http://h5.abload.de/img/assets_03floor2fj1g.png]

Just minor 'real' changes, there was an error which caused the models textures to mipmap strangely so they would bleed pixels around the edges. If anyone encounters something similar, I enabled "use maximum streaming texel ratio" in the static mesh options. Dunno if thats the way to go, but it certainly helped my case.

Update:

I've added some props and changed the lighting a bit:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_05avqsq.png]

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_05bprzg.png]

Unlit:

[Blocked Image: http://h4.abload.de/img/assets_05c4p7s.png]

At the moment the mood is a bit too dark for my taste. Next thing to do is to figure out a better lighting that fits a more peaceful mood. The blue lights may be unsettling? Also some windows may help.

I'd like to have a set of simpler outside hull models to have a walk around the station on the surface. As long as I'm doing that, work on the other props is delayed. But don't get me wrong - I still wanna have some blinking control panels, screens and technical stuff looking all fancy in there. But that's gotta wait, else I'll never come around doing the outside stuff.

Quote from e-freak

ye, big improvement, although:image

the corridor looks a bit uncomfortable to walk and the floor texture is very blurry, making it hard to get the scale right. What's up with that?

Guess that's the preview lighting:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/thumb/lightartifacts8p2g.jpg]

I'll try to get a better camera position for the floor and recompile the lighting on a higher level - I hope this'll do it. Also I haven't added a lightmap to every model yet, that's why some of them look... not too good

I will change that before adding anything else.

Thanks for the feedback (:

I changed the lightmap resolution for the floor plates (64), this is rendered with high lighting settings. I don't think it is too bad, but if it should be a problem further along, i can just replace the floor above with a solid one.

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/thumb/assets_05dsu7c.png]

I'm also always fighting with the seams - trying to get the normals right and using continuous lightmap channels to keep the artifacts/deformations low.

On production lighting most of the seams aren't visible anymore, but I still have sometimes weird bleeding artifacts on the edges when there's a bigger distance between the camera and the props, as if the mipmapping gets too sloppy and literally spills the diffuse and also the lightmap texture across the uv map?

This can be seen above on the lower picture with the last right piece of the corridor.. the little yellow stripe in the air floating. I've already added padding in the uvs and tried to improve the lightmaps, but these lines keep staying. They are not that bad, but they annoy the hell out of me.. if anyone has an idea ... I've already read through some threads but they keep repeating the stuff I'm already doing..

It's supposed to be an isolating gold foil (some sort of termal coating), I remember it from the apollo modules.

Also google found this one with a finer surface structure:

http://%7Boption%7D[Blocked Image: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA14055.jpg].

In motion it looks not exactly like that, because it has a glossy specular on it.. but now that you say it... it really looks a bit like cheetos. o=

Perfect. I'll just call it done - there is nothing that could make this any better!

...

Okay, changed the specular and color a bit less orange and more yellow, looks a bit meh in combination witht the blue light, but at least it's easier to read:

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/thumb/assets_05e3rbo.png]

Next one - I like it much better, also bit better colorwise (btw: cool gadget - i generally use colorschemedesigner, but yours seems to be handier)

[Blocked Image: http://www.abload.de/img/assets_5f_goldfoilbkk4.png]

Don't mind the ugly spec maps - they're over the top (especially the metal) - I just put the new textures onto the material - there's no good looking tiling whatsoever atm, just to get a feeling for the look. I'm not sure if this has too much contrast. I guess I can make it looking more soothing/relaxing after it's basically not crap anymore