Realistic Basketball Court - Essential Meshes Finished

After working with the scaling I've been able to quickly block out some of the other features and focal points that I liked from the reference images i'm using. However I've begun to realise that the metal frame is going to be difficult to keep modular and tillable, the doorway either side already creates a unique tillable piece and with the asymmetrical features I'm intending to add it might be the case that I divide the frame up into larger modular pieces, to allow me to keep the random variations of damage and such to break up the frame silhouette.


It's my intention to try and keep the models as close to the reference as possible, however in some areas I've been forced to deviate from the real version to allow for better player experience and level design. For example in the image below, I'm sure these struts are needed for the structural stability of the frame, however adding them would mean cutting off a large portion of the playerable area.


























Creating the feeling of natural and man made wear and tear is essential for the overall aesthetic i'm trying to create with this level. As I've been modelling i'm beginning to allow room for interesting focal points, by creating a clean mesh and then evaluating where it might be damaged and how this would factor into a composition.

I'm also aware of the timescale, so I'm trying to plan ahead for unwrapping/texturing and making sure to reuse assets where possible.

The triangle budget has shot up quite fast, which is surprising because I have been optimizing the meshes as I go, with only the surfaces the player will be able to walk up to having the majority of the budget dedicated to it. However I'm not too worried about going over the budget at the minute because I know that the reason it's so high at this early stage is due to the metal frame being the scale it is, with all the runs and joints being modeled it soon adds up despite them being low poly. Some of the joints are only a 'nice to have' for the realism of the frame and not essential to the overall silhouette, especially the ones at the top of the frame, so they are definitely on the hit list if I need to cut back later.


I'm hoping that that interior spaces wont look too boring as they really are just four walls and I haven't got many triangles spare to justify modelling details such as cracks or loose bricks, I'm intending to fake these details with the Normals and possibly Displacement maps.

I'm nearly finished with the essential meshes of the scene and I'm mentally preparing them into material groups to help me think how to divide the 4x 2048x2048 texture sheets.