Hey guys, while doing commissions lately I have been building quite decent builds that my clients have been really happy with. Although, I have found that one complaint keeps popping up- something like, “why do you build so slow” and “come on this has taken ages”.
I use all the keyboard shortcuts by the way, so that isn’t the problem. The end product is always decent but the process is less than favourable.
So, I repeat- how can I build faster?
Thanks!
So you may already do this (or not), but for me I like to start on a baseplate then copy and paste it onto the main map. So I don’t have to get confused by comparing it to the surroundings. But again if you already do this then I am not sure how to help haha sorry.
Really depends on what kind of stuff you’re building. There are plugins and workflows that work best for different size/detail projects. When I build large maps my main time-savers are plugins like brushtool that allow me to quickly fill the map with assets with minimal need for revisions and fixes. When I build smaller, condensely-detailed pieces, I find that re-using and retexturing models or layouts is a huge timesaver compared to making entirely new assets for each part of the project.
Building is a very slow and boring process. I know some people that have given up on building because of how slow and boring the process is and learn scripting. I wouldn’t say that plugins really speed up the process, and if so, only really by like a second or so.
Solution? Well I like to listen to music while I build or do something enjoyable at the same time. I also just get into a VC with some of my friends that aren’t having much of a conversation and I just ask them random things and it’s quite funny lol. But I highly suggest listening to really hype songs that you really enjoy while you build.
I hope this was helpful to you man, good luck bro keep building!
Thanks mate! Thanks everyone for the help so far. More is appreciated!
You are probably asking for techniques and methods.
if you are going for realism i suggest using Blender and importing full scenes into studio when finished, when im working on studio i usually dont use parts as much as i used to back in the days.
If you are just using Studio the best is to use Plugins, but my workflow at the end is blender and studio plugins, even for Low Poly stuff i mostly do them on Blender.
Also Modularity is important, if you can use modularity it can be impressive on some scenes.
Building wasn’t easy, it’s take a lot of times to finish it up. Don’t rush, but I mean if they have high priority then oh well. Just take your time, and try to stay motivate to continue to build. Don’t let off yourself being lazy to build, just keep it going!
That overall depends when I normally create things such as particle effects I normally duplicate the same effect in another npc and go from there, there’s also useful plugins you could use to build faster with me.
There’s a plugin that will be used for sizing and resizing effects, it’s very helpful instead of using the size property in the particle emitter plugins such as ParticleScaler that allows you to quickly scale a particle to whatever one that suits your liking, it also helps because you can select multiple particles and scale them depending on what particle you’re trying to achieve or make.
Another helpful method would be use building plugins like SBS or F3X which have some tools that make building easier there are a lot more supporting plugins that you might be interested in try finding some your more comfortable with.
Building fast isn’t always necessarily a good thing. And building too slow isn’t a good thing either. If your client wants it to be faster if you are building something huge or decent size, good chance that they don’t really understand much about building. (If you build too slow people might think you stopped building completely) Using plugins could be good however it wouldn’t really improve how fast you build by much. So basically if your client wants a good quality build then rushing someone isn’t a good idea 
If you really want to build faster then just hurry lol As long as they are satisfied at the product i am sure waiting awhile is a good trade.
plugins and planning
if youre making something big scale, try dividing sections of the map/building and building the separate sections firsrt then joining together instead of just working on it as a whole structure
creating the basic shape of a structure or maybe a simple floorplan (it can be very simple) of a building helps before building. planning helps a lot, and that goes for almost anything you do
Certainly a bold question buddy, building is all in the passion, time and effort you put into it. The more time and effort you put in, the better the build looks and the faster it is done. For example, I can stay on my setup building an entire home store that’s completed with mannequins, tons of detail in 24 hours if I set all my time in one day. If you’re someone who isn’t so fund of building, and you give up after a few hours, this slows your pace. Overall, building speed is within the creator, simple answer.
Have a plan. I waste so much time staring into the screen (probably more time than i take to build) just thinking. Before you start building, have an image of what you want in your head, and then start building.
Also never get distracted. I lose so much time just being distracted instead of focusing on building.
If you are using buildings, models, etc that are nearly identical, use an asset storage map and organize it somewhat. Now, you have a massive area to copy and paste from, and all you’ll have to do is tweak them to create uniqueness
The time you take to build depends on what you are trying to build. If you building something small like a simple house for example you may be able to do it fast. However if you are building something bigger like a store it will take a longer amount of time.
But all together building is a long process and takes time to accomplish.
Hey Octavodad,
I recommend telling them that building faster = a lower quality product.
I totally not suggest rushing a build just to for the fact that they want you to work more rapidly as small details are the key to a masterpiece.
It kinda depends on what kind of build it is. Tell me this, how long do you usually build for?
As others have said, it depends on the type of game you’re making. Personally I’m a fast builder but thats due to practice and I already know what I’m making. This may tie into how long you’ve had a PC for as the more you type, the faster you get. This ties into your mouse as well as you just naturally become faster at doing things.
While I could not play your game (it costs 1000), your assets seem rather detailed so that’s why you are probably slower. Different styles also change your speed. Low poly is faster whilst more detailed builds are more complicated and slower to make. If you’re trying to go faster then try to cut corners (especially where players will not see, out of bounds)
Just keep practicing.
Why are you taking so long, though? It’s hard to answer this question without knowing what slows you down. Is it concept creation? Is it something to do with your knowledge on building?
If you want to build faster consider using hotkeys which are are a resourceful shortcut.