[Architecture] The difference between Human and Forerunner?

[DarkHalo003]

One thing I keep noticing is that half of the Human interior architecture seen in the games looks very similar to that of Forerunner non-ornate interior architecture; however, there IS a massive subtle difference between the two, but what is it exactly?

*My biggest issue is my trying to keep interior human architecture from resembling Halo 1 Forerunner architecture, which is considerably simplistic compared to that of Halo 2/3/Reach. I'm not trying to model neither the interiors of a UNSC Ship or 20th Century Earth architecture.

[Timo]

This is Bungie's description of the two types, from the HEK Tutorial:

2) Human structures, ships, vehicles, weapons and other related elements are military themed. The human technology style is relatively near future with obvious advanced technology but it is all recognizable and functional without being overly complex or "gadgety". The color palette tends to follow the aforementioned military theme with darker greens (olive drab), various metallic colors (gun metal, burnished aluminum), dark grays or blacks, as well as various browns. The construction style tends to be angular with 30 degree and 45 degree angles being standard.

4) The Halo structures or Forerunner structures and the technology they contain are far more advanced than either Human or Covenant technology. These structures tend to be massive and distinctly "alien" yet elegant when compared to the Human or Covenant objects and structures. External covenant structures tend to have smooth metallic surfaces with large or bold architectural features. Interior structures tend to be larger (compared to Human-sized rooms or hallways) almost cathedral-like in many instances with some common elements such as pillars, illuminated control panels and wall panels, as well as various alien machinations. The color palette for Forerunner structures tends to stick to metallic colors such silver with blues, purples, and yellows being common for the luminous elements found in the Forerunner structures. The inner surface of the Halo ring and its terrain and thus associated colors tend to vary. Even though many of the environments do not appear in the game it is assumed that Halo has all the environments found on Earth (except geological formations and features related to geothermal or volcanic activity such as volcanoes or geysers). These environments include rolling plains and grasslands, deserts, oceans, lakes, beaches, islands, forests, snow and ice covered canyons, etc...

[Cagerrin]

Is that Bungie's description or Gearbox's? For some reason I seem to remember the HEK tutorial having that list of forerunner angles that everyone uses(and just so happens to be inaccurate), and I haven't trusted it since then.

Human architecture doesn't seen to be as tightly-defined rules-wise as forerunner(I haven't managed to find ANY similar measurement shortcuts), it's possible to do it as "forerunner but with arcs", but it's generally best to just eyeball everything.

also purposefully keep from using the 10" increments that forerunner's built on except at macro scales, and well, don't use uniform increments for separate buildings in general

[DarkHalo003]

Is that Bungie's description or Gearbox's? For some reason I seem to remember the HEK tutorial having that list of forerunner angles that everyone uses(and just so happens to be inaccurate), and I haven't trusted it since then.

Human architecture doesn't seen to be as tightly-defined rules-wise as forerunner(I haven't managed to find ANY similar measurement shortcuts), it's possible to do it as "forerunner but with arcs", but it's generally best to just eyeball everything. also purposefully keep from using the 10" increments that forerunner's built on except at macro scales, and well, don't use uniform increments for separate buildings in general

Alright, makes sense. I just want a human structure to look human without being possibly confused as Forerunner. Here is the reference I am modeling from:

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As you can see, it looks human, but shares characteristics of Forerunner. Though this IS an exterior, it shows a bit of what I'm concerned about, mainly because in HCE's Engine the poly count can't become too high. Basically, I'm worried my human structure may be seen as a simplistic Forerunner structure.

[Cagerrin]

caution tape/other decals, triangular girders, keep your scale a lot tighter, think about what every part of the building's used for and model its details with that in mind(forerunner is generally done as art rather than functional structures, details will make it seem more human)

[n00b1n8R]

Maybe the difference between the HEK style and the game style is because the HEK was working off the PoA while modern human style has come from H2?

[DarkHalo003]

As far as BSPs are concerned, how many polygons can one BSP take without causing Tool to utterly mess everything up? I know there is a pretty high number, but as I'm working with one that leads into a small warehouse that exits into the similar canyon, I'm wondering whether or not I should divide the model so that it the level runs better.

[DarkHalo003]

Alright here are two human architectural designs I've modeled up. I simply want to know if they look human or not:

2419

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And these models are intended for the HCE engine, so before anyone yells about details, I just thought you out to know where my limits are at.

[Cagerrin]

Halo can handle rather more than that.

As for looking human, you need textures first. Unlike forerunner, human architecture isn't geometry-based.

[nuttyyayap]

Lots and lots of angles for forerunner, very boxy for human.
Forerunner stuff has been known to be smooth and round though.
If you want to know, play through the entire series (yeah, I know, it'll suck) and take the styles into account.