P-172: Unity: Space Environment

I have been developing both my art and Unity skills this week, by creating a relatively simple space environment. I intend to use this in a more complex game at some point, but for now it is more of a learning experience.

The main goal here is to learn how to create a complex shape that can be viewed from both inside and outside, ie, it has an interior, and it is possible for the player to walk around within it, but it can also be viewed from the outside. The model that I am making here is a small space station.

There are some deceptively complicated issues to deal with here. Most shape files that I have dealt with previously have either only been viewable from the outside, (such as weapon models, characters, items, etc) or have been simple interiors (such as predominately square or rectangular shaped buildings).

A model such as a space station or space ship, however, requires both a complex interior (non-square rooms, multiple decks, access tunnels, maintenance shafts, etc) and a complex exterior.

My goal in creating this model is mainly to decide on the correct workflow for creating a shape like this.

Currently, I am planning to divide the shape into multiple pieces, with one piece for each room, or part of the structure. I will also have a separate object for the outside and the inside of the piece.

In this way, I should be able to simplify the modeling, by being able to work on one piece of the model at a time, and simplify the texturing, be being able to easily unwrap and texture each piece separately, instead of having to texture the entire object at once.

The only thing that I am worried about at the moment is joining together the pieces, I don’t want to leave any small gaps or cracks in the two adjoining meshes. I believe that I have solved this by adding a shape that serves as a connector between the two adjoining pieces. This makes sense, since in real life, there would be some kind of joint or connection between components on a large space structure.

I have not yet begun modelling the outside of the station, and I am still not 100% sure how to fit the outside pieces to the inside pieces.