Organization and naming convention of Blender files, objects and collections

[Marc_Manhart (Mauschelbär)]

Hello folks. I hope again for your best practice and experiences. I hope this post is not too long for you for a relatively simple problem.

I’m currently working on a game project. Now I just want to create the map assets. I wonder how, in your experience, such a Blender project can best be organized. Especially with regard to the naming convention and the file organization.

My thoughts so far:
Such a map includes various assets. For example, the map - let’s call it “downtown” - consists of streets, several building fronts, cars, etc. Some of them should be designed in such a way that they are reputable, i.e. should be able to be put together in a modular way.
I would like to assemble the entire layout of the map in Blender, so that the map can already be presented and explored in Blender.

I am now wondering how the file structure (folders such as “export”, “textures” and the *.blend files themselves) could/should be composed and also how these blender files should be composed and named in terms of content (i.e. object names and collection names).

For me, it’s about not losing the overview and always being able to maintain a certain workflow with regard to the entire tool pipeline (Blender → Substance painter → Unity). It should always be clear what exports are called, where they can be found and how, for example, materials are named according to the correct pattern.

The design doesn’t dictate that all objects should be put together like a pure kit, as seen in RPG. Rather, almost every corner of the map should appear to be unique. So in the sense of “the map was designed as a whole”. As an example, like the maps from games like “Counter-Strike”, “Valorant”, “Overwatch 2”.

So far I imagine a folder structure like this:

Folders and Files

<projectname>
    /modelling
        /maps
            /downtown
                /downtown.blend
                /downtown.spp (on substance for all or mutliple per object?)
                /textures (exports from substance, like diffuse, normal, roughness, ...)
                /exports (contains fbx files for import in substance and unity)

Blenderfile

<downtown.blend>
    downtown_shack_01 (collection; may can be exportet to "downtown_shack_01.fbx")
        walls
        roof
        air_conditioning
    downtown_floors (collection; may can be exportet to "downtown_floors.fbx")
        base
        stairs_to_shack_01

With large levels, this seems very confusing to me and the naming convention described above can become very long. But I was concerned with exporting a collection as an FBX at any time and being able to load it into substance and later into unity. But that also leads me back to the question of whether one or more files are the right ones here.

I would be really happy if you could tell me your experiences and maybe even examples

[RSEhlers]

• ONE>>> Remember this KEEP IT SIMPLE!

I think you have started out with the right idea…get organized!..
But just in your outline, you have dropped to 4 levels of folders… When all you need are 2 folders…Navigating folders is time-consuming and things will tend to get lost quickly…

I personally take My first folder and give it a Name < Project Name>
in there I place another one >Texture Folder< ( under certain circumstances in that texture folder will contain several other folders when needed like characters are broken down to Hair>Body>Face, etc.)

That is the base folder system…you don’t need a separate folder for an FBX it could sit nicely in the Main Folder along with your Blend File…Now if you need to Break-out elements for external progs…then the same applies…keep things simple and keep nesting to a bare minimum! Like a single folder for Exports and another for Imports…

The Outliner is a whole different animal…I find it best to keep parts that are similar in the same collection…and keep the nesting ( levels ) to one…I have received Blends that have a bolt buried so deep I have to open the outline to full screen so that I can scroll far enough to get to it!! It is always nice to be able to turn off the display to a whole collection ( walls?) all at once to see what you need to work on! I do try to keep single elements in their own collection like one for each room or building…

Refer to bullet point ONE ^^^^

I have dealt will game engines that require a detailed folder structure that needs to be exported so that it will import correctly in that engine…and you are right it gets confusing real quick…when the model file itself is required to be 5 folders deep…

You can also KEEP a running outline/project notes right in Blender using the Text Editor…, makes things easy to keep organized and a quick reference right at your fingertips!

[Marc_Manhart (Mauschelbär)]

First of all, thank you for this detailed answer.
That sounds very good and I’ll take it that way.

What I now ask myself is what the opinion is on the assignment of the individual objects to the corresbonding FBX files.

Assuming that the blend file contains the entire level/map, as initially assumed, and this includes, for example, “Haus01”, “Street”, “Fridge”, etc… According to what scheme do you export these files?

My approach now would be:

<level_name>-<object_name>-<variation>.fbx

Example: downtown_house01_damaged.fbx

Also the material names are like this: “downtown_house01_damaged” (sometimes with a suffix called “-mat”).

Or do you export the whole file as an fbx (“downtown.fbx”) and load it completely in other tools (in my case substance painter) and then later in the engine like Unity?

Also regarding the Outliner within Blender: Under certain circumstances, some object names can become very long. For example, house01 has an associated object called Window, but so does another object, say shack_spawn_point. Because of this, the objects in the organizer must contain the “parent” object in their name, since two objects with the same name must not exist (otherwise Blender “.001” is attached as a suffix).

Of course, this is not reflected in the FBX export (because this would only be called downtown_house01.fbx) but in the outliner of blender it becomes confusing and also in the naming of the materials.

[thetony20]

As it turns out, I had similar questions on starting out my own animation project and while it’s still a work in progress I’ve documented my current thoughts.

For folders:

How to Name Your Folders for a 3D Production

On file naming:

How to Name Your Files for a 3D Production

Have started on Blender component naming as well, but not done a video on that work. Project needs to be more progressed so I can be more sure that what I say actually works.

[RSEhlers]

I hear you…and you have the Basic/Ideas and an outline to start with…your approach is just about the way things work out, especially on a large complicated project.

Here I show just one element out of hundreds that reflects the complex way things evolve…

( you have to also remember that in a game file you might need to complicate things even further when you get into using LOD ( level of Details ) for objects in your scene…)

the main file structure is

Notice I dumped the outliner to a new window, which takes a bit of getting used to but is worth it in the long run…its always there but can be minimized to give you more room to work…