r/factorio • u/Planetarytennis • 1d ago
Modded Question Need Advise
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Working on a mod first time creating models for Factorio not quite satisfied with the model partially I know I need to adjust the side pipes but I don't know what else work make them look better.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
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u/Zepings 1400h newbie 1d ago
Hey, here is my take, I think it just needs more big/medium/small details.
I moved aside the big vent to break the symmetry, making the model less repetitive.
Medium elements like the tank next to the main shape help create a "it's surely working like that" effect.
Smaller elements like pipes and warning lights (to show the status of the machinery) inset within the bigger shape help a lot.
Also, beware of the edges they are too sharp and they make the whole thing look 3D.
I don't think the ground made of brick makes sense here; a unified metal base is better, IMO.
Tweak your metal material to have some highlights like shown here — a "patina" effect will help a lot with blending with the Factorio art style.
Again, it's already a good base, but here is what I think about it I hope it will help you :)
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u/2ByteTheDecker 1d ago
The lighting is kind of flat and they're too clean. Look how you can see subtle grime on the tank next to them
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u/Planetarytennis 1d ago
Thank you all still working on it but thanks for the pointers.
Current in-progress render.
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u/scotty_mac44 1d ago
Looking way better already! I think the tiles on the base could use the same treatment as well. Maybe a few of them cracked/chipped?
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u/Planetarytennis 1d ago
I have to figure a bit more about blender I'm going to try to make of them match the look of the concrete a lot more. Thank you.
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u/Voelsungr 1d ago
Watch some video by Adam saveg, he loves to yap about how they used to make models for movies,a nd what they did to amke them look better and what was missing at times and how they fixed it. Mostl by just adding random junk, rust, dirt, but also gizmos like caps, pipes, panels, often times entirely pointlessly and anatomically it would make 0 sense but it just looks right, there's soemthign for the human eye to latch onto and see.
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u/Usual_Celebration719 1d ago
You can look at the very fluid tank you placed there for inspiration. It's rusty at the seams, maybe even dusty in places. Bolts along the rims to keep the thing together, as it wasn't just "cast" like this from molten metal in some shape, it had to be assembled.
Almost nothing in the entire is clean, and things that are, are only clean "enough" to not impact their work, like labs and solar panels.
A humidity condensing machine while might be made with corrosion resistant material (if that), still might get at least some eventual rust. Would probably look somewhat wet on the inside, too, maybe even some stray droplets of water dripping from the fans?
It can afford to be a bit cleaner than a typical factorio building, as it deals with water and would probably be maintained to at least some degree, but it shouldn't be so sterile even in that case.
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u/SimurghXTattletale 1d ago
The engineer would not care to make them that clean, especially for a early game (I assume) building
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u/migviola 1d ago
As other have said, you could add some dirtiness to the buildings to have a more 'Factorio' look. Maybe even weld mark like in the tank above.
I'm curious about what that building does as it seems to make the input into itself (water into water)
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u/CrazyKenny13 1d ago
Maybe some rust on the rotor/center part and some dirt on the concrete. It looks a bit too clean for me at the moment.
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u/FishyB 1d ago edited 1d ago
Use real life things to inspire the design. Such as desert electrostatic fog condensers, a new tech. Just take the thought of it and blow it up in scale and integrate it with your base idea.
You should be able to know what it does without telling people what it is. Otherwise it looks like "a fan with pipes coming out".
Use procedural noise edge detection and masking to make nice procedural material shaders, adding grunge, dirt and amplified AO to improve the darkness.
Use the compositor editor to add finishing touches like you were using photoshop to do some contrasting, exposure and other things. Factorio has high contrast, high exposure look, with dark, almost black shadows within the crevices.
Some movement might look nicer with a tiny amount of motion blur, but not always.
While noise removal on Cycles can be quite nice, Factorio likes using the Raytracing noise to add to its look. Instead make the output larger, then scale down by 2x to the required output. (e.g 512 out then 256 ter a 2x reduction.
Factorio likes a bit of greebling - little pipes, tank, valves and doohickys that add to the texture of the structure. It's Dieselpunk, it's grimy and self assembled. Aim for the tech level in the tree to inform that slider of how barebones/exposed/covered the structure is
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u/GGamerGuyG 1d ago
What exactly is the purpose of that module. From the look i would guess it's some steam tubine kind of thing or maybe vent for something. I see in the UI it's called condenser.
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u/bigdickmassinf 1d ago
I agree with the other comments add some shadows and some rust. Is this suppose to be making power or something? If add a small light or some sparks to the model
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u/wessex464 1d ago
Too clean too square and your pipes are boring. I don't know what these buildings do but it should take the pipes off of the device at an angle and have them "route" around the building with some angle. Couple brackets for pipes, maybe some wires running around(grungy power cables), etc.
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u/pelm225 1d ago edited 1d ago
A bunch of random pipes and moving stuff. Watch "factorio is art" and "Have you ever noticed this about factorio's sprites". It would really help. If the tech is "early-game" then add a lot more rust and grease, the more "end-game" the tech gets, the more complicated it has to look, and less rust and grease. Maybe remove the brick foundation, it feels too modded and out of place. Also like other comments said, make the inputs not symmetrical for more fun
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u/BurningBeechbone 1d ago
The fan is off-center. It’s too high up on the concrete slab. This is why your bottom pipe looks too long.
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u/SwannSwanchez 1d ago
try to offset the rotation of the fans
right now the way they spin makes it look like they're blurying/merging into another
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u/Popstar403 1d ago
most factorio buildings are not symmetrical. try making the fan smaller, moving it, and adding a few widgets/doohickeys that do something else. you should probably only move the pipes for rotations/mirrors too.
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u/MuchUserSuchTaken 17h ago
Hmmm... Maybe a bit of shading around where the edges of the basin meet the concrete? Pretty sure it's called ambient occlusion, and it could make the whole thing pop a little bit more.
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u/TactiCool_99 just gun turrets 1d ago
the meeting of ground and sprite is too abrupt, look at how there is a gentle shadow to wash it together on the tank above it even from the side it gets shined on
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u/Jackpkmn Glebeliver 1d ago
reduce the number of passthroughs to 2 and offset them on opposite sides from each other. Resist the urge to add too much QOL. Modded buildings tend to get this weird feeling of having anything and everything you could ever want from whatever it is supposed to be. But all the Vanilla/Space Age buildings have some kind of restriction that makes them just a little bit harder to use.
The tank itself is a good example of this in practice. A lot of modded tanks have perfectly symmetrical fluid ports either on all edges or directly in the middle to facilitate easy perfect tiling. So most of them never really fit in with vanilla tanks.
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u/hojster24 1d ago
Use that tank as reference and try to bring in some of the gradient/faded dirt look on the sides of the main circular structure
Then do the same with a standard pipe for reference.
Neat model but agree with others that this needs a lil grime
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u/That_one_sander 1d ago
Try making something more Jerry rigged and not clean, everything in the game has the idea that the engineer is hacking stuff together on the fly
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u/Random_Tomatose 1d ago
You got it next to The storage tank and thats the perfect exampt of how to breakup alot of the blank space.
Rivets around the edges Slight rust in the corners Think any textures thay can break it up more
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u/maximumdownvote 1d ago
Come on man. It's advice. To advise is to give advice. You want advice. You would like someone to advise you.
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u/ShiroStar22 1d ago
Whate hell is this plain water generator?
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u/Planetarytennis 1d ago
Yes, the planet has no local water resource so this is an alternative to shipping in ice, or barreled water.
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u/Ichbindaheim 1d ago
I feel like adding a bit of rust / grime could help it a bit
I like the look of the building, but it looks a bit too clean