Good news everyone! Yet another glimpse into the landmark design world is about to begin. Strap your boots, grap your backpacks and get ready to stride into the wild! Bug spray is optional.
Tower Bridge is similar in technical aspects as the Golden Gate in San Francisco (in the US Cities DLC). Instead of being a full-fledged building, it is a prop that is used with a normal bridge road to create the Tower Bridge. This is done because it is a bit more flexible to design a prop than a fully operational individual bridge piece with traffic guidelines and whatnot. It also allows a bit more freedom when working in the level editor.
The design followed closely in the footsteps of my previous design with the Golden Gate. I used the ”instance” method in 3ds Max where I clone an asset and make it an instance copy. After that every change I made in the original was also made automatically in the copy. After mirroring the copy I had the framework of the bridge underway. It also allowed me to keep track of how the whole bridge looked at any given time instead of modelling half and copying it from time to time to see how the pieces connect.
Luckily the towers of the bridge are symmetrical as well which allowed me to use similar method in creating the small turrets. Obivously the instance method allows faster uv-mapping since you only need to map half of the building to get the whole thing done.
The physical size of the bridge had to be condensed to look better in the map. Sometimes realistic proportions are ok, sometimes a better result is achieved with a little tweaking.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the modelling process was to measure how it will fit in the map. I had to make some calculations in the editor and plan the rough version there before modelling. I had to take into consideration the river banks and road width so that the bridge parts would fit perfectly when placed in the editor.
Modelling the Tower Bridge was a somewhat smaller task but still quite fulfilling one to do. After all, it is definitely one of the most recognized features in the city of London.
Here are some WIP shots of the process.
Basic layout is ready. You can see that the model is symmetrical from the middle and therefore it provides an excellent chance to model the whole thing as an instance clone. When I make modifications on the left side of the bridge, the same changes appear instantaneously on the right side as well.
Testing the uv-map layout. I have drawn the base brick layouts so that I can see how the resolution works in the model. I have also applied a bit of ”noise” texture on the base so that it is not completely flat colored. I have also applied alpha map to the model to see how the support cables work. So far, so good, I'd say.
More colors! And some windows too. The colors are taking form and I have switched from the warm brown-grey into more cold grey and blueish tones.
Details, details. I have painted the windows, added more complexity to the bricks and painted also the moss layers on the base of the bridge. The green has also ”crawled” up on the level of the walkway and I painted hints of it there too to give an impression of a very old structure.
One final close-up shot of the bridge. You can probably see the bump map in the works with the brick tiles casting shadows under them. Of course, once it is converted into a normal map, the effect is somewhat sofisticated and with the lighting conditions in the game engine, the features are even more visible.
Tower Bridge is similar in technical aspects as the Golden Gate in San Francisco (in the US Cities DLC). Instead of being a full-fledged building, it is a prop that is used with a normal bridge road to create the Tower Bridge. This is done because it is a bit more flexible to design a prop than a fully operational individual bridge piece with traffic guidelines and whatnot. It also allows a bit more freedom when working in the level editor.
The design followed closely in the footsteps of my previous design with the Golden Gate. I used the ”instance” method in 3ds Max where I clone an asset and make it an instance copy. After that every change I made in the original was also made automatically in the copy. After mirroring the copy I had the framework of the bridge underway. It also allowed me to keep track of how the whole bridge looked at any given time instead of modelling half and copying it from time to time to see how the pieces connect.
Luckily the towers of the bridge are symmetrical as well which allowed me to use similar method in creating the small turrets. Obivously the instance method allows faster uv-mapping since you only need to map half of the building to get the whole thing done.
The physical size of the bridge had to be condensed to look better in the map. Sometimes realistic proportions are ok, sometimes a better result is achieved with a little tweaking.
Perhaps the most difficult part of the modelling process was to measure how it will fit in the map. I had to make some calculations in the editor and plan the rough version there before modelling. I had to take into consideration the river banks and road width so that the bridge parts would fit perfectly when placed in the editor.
Modelling the Tower Bridge was a somewhat smaller task but still quite fulfilling one to do. After all, it is definitely one of the most recognized features in the city of London.
Here are some WIP shots of the process.
Basic layout is ready. You can see that the model is symmetrical from the middle and therefore it provides an excellent chance to model the whole thing as an instance clone. When I make modifications on the left side of the bridge, the same changes appear instantaneously on the right side as well.
Testing the uv-map layout. I have drawn the base brick layouts so that I can see how the resolution works in the model. I have also applied a bit of ”noise” texture on the base so that it is not completely flat colored. I have also applied alpha map to the model to see how the support cables work. So far, so good, I'd say.
More colors! And some windows too. The colors are taking form and I have switched from the warm brown-grey into more cold grey and blueish tones.
Details, details. I have painted the windows, added more complexity to the bricks and painted also the moss layers on the base of the bridge. The green has also ”crawled” up on the level of the walkway and I painted hints of it there too to give an impression of a very old structure.
One final close-up shot of the bridge. You can probably see the bump map in the works with the brick tiles casting shadows under them. Of course, once it is converted into a normal map, the effect is somewhat sofisticated and with the lighting conditions in the game engine, the features are even more visible.
Thank you...
