Improved Texture Maps in Bibble's Bar

I just finished the latest improvements to Bibble's Bar. Here are some before-and-after comparisons:

This is Yane's view of the bar from the top of the stairs, when she first enters:

This gives a quick overview of some of the changes I made:
- The temporary images on the 1st and 3rd holopanels were replaced with video images. (If you're a "Star Trek" fan, you may notice that I borrowed their LCARS displays (which I got from the awesome website www.lcarscom.net)).
- The color scheme changed from the original grey to a more earthy brown.
- The flooring was changed to multi-colored stones to make it look more earthy.
- There's a trash can (set dressing) at the bottom of the stairs on the left. It's one of those little details that helps make the bar seem more real.
- Most of the surfaces have shininess, bumpiness, and reflections added, all of which create a more realistic, 3D look. You can't really tell in these compressed images, but you'll probably notice in the close-ups that follow.

Here's a close-up of the Kel Dorian Pilot and Bounty Hunter (represented by temporary placeholders) playing the holographic arcade game:

I made the yellow and orange lights on the holopanel (in the background) glow slightly. I also improved the texture map on the sides of the chess pedestal, giving it a metallic look rather than the old, grey, fake look.

Here's a close-up showing the seats and walls:

Aside from the change in the camera position, hopefully you can see that the shininess, bumpiness, and reflections in the "after" picture make it look much more 3D and realistic. If not, please don't tell me... I'll cry. :(

Here's another close-up. This is the entrance to the bar. The blast door is on the right.

Again, it's hard to see in these small, compressed images, but hopefully the shininess, bumpiness, and reflections make the "after" picture look more real.

Here's the final before-and-after comparison:

Not much to say here that I haven't already mentioned above, but hopefully the overall impression is that the "after" image looks a lot more realistic.

Not sure what I'm going to focus on next. Re-texture-mapping is very time-consuming, especially on a model this big. I guess you guys will just have to wait for the next blog post to find out...

Later,
Bob