How to start a game environment - Scale and Units?

[Rawz]

A friend and I are going to have a go at building a simple game environment but I don't know how to start -

What are the units of measure / what is the setup for modelling for games?

Does modelling to real world scale apply when modelling for games?

I have found a heap of good articles here, from people like Thiago Klafke and Phillipe K, that we will read so if our answer is here please excuse the basic question.

Thanks

(PS, we will be using Max)

[J25]

if your modelling in 3ds max and using udk as ur engine then for a 6 foot character its about 96 units in 3ds max so divide that up and its 15.2 units in 3ds max for a foot in udk.

[Benjammin]

Or, if you use the metric system, 1 UDK unit = 2cm. This means that a 96 unit high is closer to 6'4". Its better to design in terms of UDK units that it is to be precise in terms of real world scale, what matters is consistency and ease of navigation for the player. As a recent example, the air vents in Deus Ex: HR are far bigger than they would be in reality, in order to let you move through them.

[Rawz]

Hey thanks for the replies.

Not the answers I expected, glad I asked! So game engines have their own (game) units?

If we were going to use Unity, then would it be a case of finding out what the game unit is?

Also, thinking ahead a little, when modelling in Max I might set the Units to decimal, 1 Unit = 1cm, and set the home grid to 2cm squares (or a division of). I might also make a stack of simple blocks to have as a height and width reference. Does this sound OTT?

[Benjammin]

Nope, thats not OTT at all.
Be sure to test and check things in your engine constantly, though - if it doesn't feel/look right from the player's perspective, then it doesn't matter how accurate you've made it.

[Rawz]

Thanks BenJammin, thanks for your replies guys.

[megalmn2000]

Each engine has it own unit size.
I'm working on a game environment too, I was planning to make it in Unreal with the default character proportion. But when CryEngine 3 SDK came, I decided to switch engine. The character proportions weren't the same, Unreal character is about 96 units while the CryEngine character is about 1m80, which aren't the same height. So you'll have to scale them to fit the size of the main character, depending on the engine. I always start with a correctly done character proportions in order to model the doors and props.

[Rawz]

Originally Posted by megalmn2000

Each engine has it own unit size.
I'm working on a game environment too, I was planning to make it in Unreal with the default character proportion. But when CryEngine 3 SDK came, I decided to switch engine. The character proportions weren't the same, Unreal character is about 96 units while the CryEngine character is about 1m80, which aren't the same height. So you'll have to scale them to fit the size of the main character, depending on the engine. I always start with a correctly done character proportions in order to model the doors and props.

So that would have made your character 16" (1'4") too tall for CryEngine, from what BenJammin said earlier. Good to hear a measure from the CryEngine.

Your approach is very much like the real world I guess - in architecture and interior design the standard units of measure for doorways, ceiling heights, steps and stairs, and the heights of chairs, tables and counters are all based on human proportions.

My colleague found that a Unity game unit = 1m.

This almost needs a period table of game units, although I doubt many would be across a couple of engines at once.

Thanks Megalmn2000

[megalmn2000]

That's why I like CryEngine 3, 1 CE Unit = 1 meter in real life. Much easier to calculate real-world proportions.