How We Expand Our Asset Library 🏗️
With the Construction Mode plugin, our dream is to create detailed, high-quality buildings inside Unreal Engine, as if you're playing a game! 🎮 We’re developing a tool that makes it super easy for artists to build stunning 3D structures right in Unreal Engine. 🏗️
However, we quickly realized that there aren’t many high-quality, ready-to-use 3D building assets out there. And finding modular parts that include modeled interiors? Good luck! 😅 So, we decided to create a whole library of these assets ourselves. 📚
The challenge? We’re a small team, and creating these assets using the usual methods would take forever. We want to move fast – like, 50-70 unique building styles in just a few months fast! ⚡ So, after a lot of trial and error (and we’re still tweaking things), we came up with a pretty slick workflow to get the job done:
Create base 3D models in Plasticity3D 🖊️
Bake Curvature, AO, and Mask maps in Houdini 🔥
Set up a Master Material in Unreal Engine 5 🛠️
What is Plasticity3D? 🤔
Plasticity3D is a relatively new innovative tool, known for being flexible, user-friendly, and perfect for quickly making highly detailed 3D models. It’s like a blend between CAD and traditional poly-modeling software, which is fantastic for game assets that need both precision and detail. 🎨
Why We Love Plasticity3D:
Flexible Workflow: Make changes without starting from scratch! 🔄
Fast and Lightweight: Runs smoothly on a wide range of hardware, no supercomputer needed! 💻
Easy to Learn: More approachable than most CAD tools, especially if you’re coming from a poly-modeling background. 👍
A Few Downsides to Keep in Mind:
Limited Texturing and Shading: Focuses on modeling; advanced texturing and animation tools are missing. 🖌️
No Sculpting Tools: Not great for organic models or fine details. 🚫
Adjustment Period for Poly Modelers: A slight learning curve if you're used to pure polygon modeling. 📐
Plasticity3D has been a game-changer for us. Its flexible workflow lets us keep tweaking until we get things just right! Once the base models are ready, we move them over to Houdini for baking maps, setting pivots, and poly reduction. If you’ve used Houdini, you know it’s like a black box of awesomeness that can do just about anything! 🧙♂️
Finally, in Unreal Engine, we’ve set up one Master Material that controls all the different materials using vertex color values. This keeps things clean, simple, and efficient. ✨
We’re still fine-tuning this process, but so far, it’s looking good for quickly expanding our library while keeping the quality consistent. Stay tuned for more updates and check out our current models here! 📢
