Hi there!
Please, give me a tip here…
Which software is THE BEST one to model structures like buildings (architectures)? I’m using Google SketchUp, is that a good idea?
And also, which tool should I use to get better looking textures on walls and furniture?
It is a very complicated answer to be honest. There are many programs out there. And each one is good in a different way. I work with Max and Maya which are good but expensive. For architecture I believe Max is slightly easier just because of the pivot points,splines and that you can work with an “off axis” methodology. Plus it has years working with autocad. on the other hand if you want to do some more futuristic nurbs work maya provides a certain smoothness!
Many architects use rhino too … and grasshopper. but it isn’t very much related with games …
Textures are depended on image processing software. and in unity with normalmaps and/or lightmaps things could look really good.
Maya models look a bit better in the viewport.
Blender is free and a good tool to start with. It is getting there.
Sketch-up is good for quick visualizations but I find that lacks controls and precise tools for controlling your mesh. I don’t know how it works with unity but I am sure that you won’t be able to do some more complicated things. On the other hand you might set up a building in five minutes …
and … modo is sexy but I haven’t work with it!
Neat!
Gonna check Rhino and Grasshopper… never heard of those.
In SU I usually mess things up… maybe because I don’t know it very well… but it’s kinda decent and fast
The major con in SU is the lack of REAL LOOKING textures… you said that I can get better textures usign UVM in Unity, so I’ll read about that and learn as much as I can…
You answear was very useful, thanks!
I know some projects that are using SketchUp Pro for basic architectural modeling and whiteboxing then exporting to another package for detailing and texturing. Something to think about maybe if you’re already comfortable with SketchUp.
i love these guys!
Right, that stuff is great, but you still have to convert all that NURBS geometry into optimized polygonal, unwrapped meshes for use in a game engine. Rhino is rarely used in games for this reason.
jbuck,
Could you post any of those project’s url here, please? To get and idea of how the final product would be.
I decided about using SU, because I could model a house in a very fast way. But the lack of details is driving me crazy…
I’ll try to export to 3DS or make use of Unity’s UVM.
alexnode,
Nice models there! I’ll definetly try Rhino+Grass.
Hmm… thats bad for me…
My final product is going to take place in Web. And may run in as many computers as it can.
Going to take a look anyway.
Thx!
It’s most proprietary stuff with little to no actual info on how SketchUp is used. I hear more and more about AAA using sketchup for this or that. For example they used it on Fable 2 and I know several other companies that are using it for level whiteboxing and “base” assets. I don’t know anyone using it for final assets though.
Looks like you’re going to have to dig into something that allows for a little more depth like Max, Maya or Blender. I don’t use it but if budget is an issue, learning Blender could be one of the best uses of your time. 
@jbuck
Yes definetely. But there are some cool ideas in there. I guess that if there is a need to export a building like that you could always turn the nurbs to polygons and star removing edge loops …and tweak it and tweak it. The uv’s are the real problem … In games you never see such complicated architecture…
Yeah, right on. Almost more important to just find inspirational work somewhere.
I think you could try a conversion – there are tools in both Maya and standalone that convert NURBS to polygons with varying levels of success.
I think a better workflow might be to do a standard retopology workflow by modeling a low poly game asset over a high poly mesh, nurbs or poly. That way you can build clean geo from scratch instead of trying to fix a mess.