A little trick: You can disable triangulation on export in Sketchup to get your model into blender.
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By unchecking the "triangulate all faces" when exporting?
Will blender then re-generate the triangles when the model is imported but without the wierd extra triangles sketchup makes?'
Also on a sidenote, do I have to unwrap all faces in Blender to be able to load my obj in the asset editor?
Blender will triangulate the model on export (if you enable it in the export settings).
You still have to use "Remove Doubles" in Blender to remove the double edges created by sketchup.
These 2 things are important for unwrapping:
The faces are larger and square, which is easier to handle.
Also, after you removed the doubles and set some seams (google that), Blender will split up your model into multiple UV islands (can be moved easily).
You don't have to unwrap all faces (though it is quite simple with the unwrap tools of blender).
You still have to use "Remove Doubles" in Blender to remove the double edges created by sketchup.
These 2 things are important for unwrapping:
The faces are larger and square, which is easier to handle.
Also, after you removed the doubles and set some seams (google that), Blender will split up your model into multiple UV islands (can be moved easily).
You don't have to unwrap all faces (though it is quite simple with the unwrap tools of blender).
Thanks for the help.
I think I'll put my project on hold for a while and try these techniques on some of my other models that needs a custom LOD. Feels like it's better to figure out how UV-mapping etc. works in Blender on a far less complex model than the Al attar tower.
Do you have any tips for a custom LOD?
From what I've been able to find,..
* I do need to be within 0-1 UV coordinates ( which I believe Blender does automatically when I Uv-unwrap )
* I need a much smaller texture (128x128)
* As few polys as possible ( <200 polys for growable)
I think the LOD texture size could be bigger if the building is a big one. A 4x4 level 5 residential or level 3 office building will be visible from quite far.
for small buildings 128 is ok, but for tall ones I think we should all use 256. I'm a bit tired of seeing super blurry buildings in the distance
I think the LOD texture size could be bigger if the building is a big one. A 4x4 level 5 residential or level 3 office building will be visible from quite far.
for small buildings 128 is ok, but for tall ones I think we should all use 256. I'm a bit tired of seeing super blurry buildings in the distance
Most of my buildings are pretty high ( +100 meters ) , so I'll take your advice and use 256x256 textures on all of them.
If you have high buildings with a lot of repetition, it makes sense to model only one floor in Sketchup.
Then do the UV unwrap in Blender.
Then use the array modifier of Blender to duplicate the floor as many times as you want. When everything is set up correctly, apply the modifier.
You will need at least 2 more objects: The ground floor/foundation and the roof.
It makes sense to create separate objects for them in Blender (You can import them from Sketchup as well).
In the last step, merge all objects into one with CTRL + J.
Then use "Remove Doubles" again in edit mode, and you should get a beautiful mesh.
Then do the UV unwrap in Blender.
Then use the array modifier of Blender to duplicate the floor as many times as you want. When everything is set up correctly, apply the modifier.
You will need at least 2 more objects: The ground floor/foundation and the roof.
It makes sense to create separate objects for them in Blender (You can import them from Sketchup as well).
In the last step, merge all objects into one with CTRL + J.
Then use "Remove Doubles" again in edit mode, and you should get a beautiful mesh.
Thank you very much for the help.
The array modifier will most certainly make it easier for me to create things in Blender.
If I understood everything you've explained correctly, I'll probably do my Al Attar building in 4 steps... Groundfloor, second floor, top floor and roof. When I then got those 4 objs made and UV-mapped, I'll import them to the same scene, merge it all together and then remove doubles.
How will it work when I've UV-unwrapped my objs seperatly, will I then get multiple UV-islands again when I've imported them to the same scene?
Also, is the best way to avoid multiple islands to subdivide and then mirror my model?
Every object has it's own uv-space (but you can apply the same texture to them).
The only problem is that you can only see the UVs of the active object.
My workflow: Unwrap every object separately, but scale down the UV islands. Position them so that they won't overlap when you merge the uv spaces.
Now apply array modifier and merge all objects with Ctrl + J.
Then scale and fit the uv islands so that the UV space is used efficiently. If you use the Array modifier, there will be multiple UV overlapping uv islands. To select them all at once, use the circle (C) or rect (B) select tool.
You can enable uv vertex snapping to connect multiple uv islands
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