Building a large city environment, advice on model division
by Kenneth Eves · in Artist Corner · 11/14/2012 (10:09 am) · 3 replies
I need advice on how to organize models for a cityscape exterior.
With the most division, I'd have each building as its own model, with a group of buildings sitting on a concrete slap, roads as their own models, then lots of city scene decorations (trash cans, signs, fences, street lights, phone booths, that sort of thing).
With the least division, a district of several city blocks would be modeled all as one.
Are there advantage or disadvantages either way?
With the most division, I'd have each building as its own model, with a group of buildings sitting on a concrete slap, roads as their own models, then lots of city scene decorations (trash cans, signs, fences, street lights, phone booths, that sort of thing).
With the least division, a district of several city blocks would be modeled all as one.
Are there advantage or disadvantages either way?
About the author
<3 TGE/A Quickly becoming a fan of T3D 1.2
#2
11/14/2012 (4:58 pm)
I'm working on a similar project, i settled on building "tiles", pieces of roads and buildings in different sizes (but on a common 10x10 grid), slices of skyscrapers and the like.
#3
I'm not sure about roads. I'm tempted to paint an asphalt surface on the terrain and call it done. :-)
11/15/2012 (7:04 am)
I agree. LOD is essential given the size and view distance. It looks like most of the building models can be LOD'd down to a cube or a cube with a roof slope. That has me thinking that I'd do concrete slab for sidewalk (one per block) and then individual buildings each as DTS.I'm not sure about roads. I'm tempted to paint an asphalt surface on the terrain and call it done. :-)
Torque Owner Brian Mayberry
Dead on Que Productions
Split it up as much as you possibly can to facilitate aggressiveness on your LODs. It is the only way you'll pull off a big cityscape and reasonable performance. Also, don't model/texture what we won't see.
The only advantage to not doing this is that it's easier as an artistic process, which really isn't always a worth-while advantage.
Another thing, if you can limit or carefully direct player movement, you'll have a shot at using the various culling tricks to help increase performance.