Low Poly ( game ) welding modeling

Hi folks,

I know there have been many subjects regarding welding emulation, but some of them looks very high poly.photorealistic oriented.

i would like to have your ideas regarding the modeling of welding joints, so in 3D, with relatively low poly usage.

The end result will be in a game, still I do not want it to use textures, normals or such to emulate it.

Thanks !

Might I ask why you would like to avoid doing it in the textures? If it’s going to be used in a game, creating such detail with geometry is very resource heavy.

Might I ask why you don’t want to create the welding seam using textures? If this model is going to be used in a game, creating such detail using geometry is going to be quite resource heavy. :confused:

Hi dude,

First reason is that I know nothing about textures, UV unwrap and such. Another person is going to take care of it, and while I have no doubts on his skills, I would rather have a " solid " welding feeling instead of a 2D image glued on the mesh. I’m not looking for very low poly solution, the whole finished object will be around 1 million poly.

Cheers

Real-time engines are all about trickery.

You maybe working on a 1 million poly object, but someone else will turn that into a 10k poly mesh that looks exactly like it. Even if its not part of your job, you should have an idea how it all works so you are more efficient.

On a more helpful note, you could create some geometry around the welded area, use a multires modifier and use the sculpt tool brushes to shape the weld pattern.

I don’t think any professional or indie developer would ever waste resources on something like that. Especially if it’s not a very prominent feature. I certainly wouldn’t take that approach from a modding perspective. Advances in hardware are still not at a point where putting in that kind of detail is advisable. A normal map would do a good job.

If you’re getting into games, you should either be able to tackle it yourself, or find someone who can assist. But textures are still a major component in game development. And probably will be for some time. And with good reason. :slight_smile:

Edit:
A million polys? Surely you don’t mean in the actual game? As a high detail source for baking, sure.

That’s a hell of a lot of geometry for a game asset.

There is a add-on, called WELDER, that creates welded-bead-like geometry where 2 objects intersect. Maybe a solution for you?

Agree with all of the above, just like to re-enforce the Team aspect and working towards a target as a team.

Communicate with the team and determine exactly what is required of you to assist the team in reaching it’s goal,