This assignment was to create a modular environment kit for Unity's Render Pipeline. It was completed with post processing effects, full texturing and snapping pieces, as well as some extra props to dress the scene.
I chose to tackle the darker corridors of a spaceship. I wanted rust, a dark setting, and lots of grates and pipes. I accomplished all of this, but not without a few slip ups along the way.
Firstly, my initial scope for this project was far too large. I partly knew this, but I overestimated how much I could accomplish in five weeks of time. This resulted in me having to cut many things out unfortunately, including quality of props and the centerpiece. This was my fault and I've learned from it. Next time I plan to focus less on modeling hi poly pieces and instead make impressive pieces without having so many faces.
This issue went hand in hand with my next one, which was exceeding the maximum tri count. This is the second reason for why I had to make basic props and cut down on ideas. I originally had a mesh made of various felt straps to cover some of these pipes. It looked really detailed and fitting for this environment, but both the pipes and mesh had to be cut in order to save on polycount.
I'll have to really reconsider how I model things and start effectively using normal maps in substance painter to make up for lots of the detail in games. I really overestimated how much I could get done as well as how much was allowed in a project.
One final thing I would like to spend more time on is texture preparation. Had I put more time into naming and IDing (perhaps using vertex color instead of materials to ID faces) I could have achieved a much higher quality level of texturing for these props. I also think I can get more creative with my floaters and normal maps for each piece. My texture work has never been outstanding, so I think I can put more effort into more tutorials and research. This being said, I am happy that none of these textures were premade smart materials. I worked hard to make sure all of these materials were from scratch and that I was applying my knowledge of the PBR workflow instead of relying on dragging and dropping materials to each piece. I don't like seeing materials I have seen in plenty of other student projects or independent games, so that was important to me. I think next time I can spend some time in Substance Designer making my own materials to fit pieces. This coupled with a more simple approach to modeling and a smaller scope will hopefully result in an overall more consistent quality of product.
Things I think I did very well on were cohesive shape language of the scene. Each piece fits very well with each other, which was something I put lots of time into. The threshold pieces compliment their surrounding walls, floors, and ceilings, which works to hide the fact that this scene is in fact modular. Something I think can be bad for modular environments is their repetitiveness and snapped-together feeling, and I actively worked to counter this. I think I succeeded in that this scene looks more cohesive in shape and geometry. I even made my trims very different, from firehoses, to structural supports, to pipe ladders, to help keep this scene feeling fresh and unique.
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