Hey all,
I've been studying game design professionally and have learned a lot about what makes quality texturing for realism in video games. One of the reasons why Uru still looks so vibrant today is that Cyan is and have always been the masters of texture work.
A couple of pointers:
1. Use http://cgtextures.com/ or http://www.mayang.com/textures/ for quality sources. Be sure to pick the right elements with a creative eye.
2. Use ambient occlusion. This is why Uru looks so real. The shadow play between surfaces are baked into the edges of the textures to simulate realistic light play. Remember, everything has a shadow because light bounces off everything, no matter how subtle.
3. Make use of the specularity and glossiness levels in 3ds Max to simulate realistic lighting. Remember, a material should NEVER just be a flat texture.
4. Photoshop is your friend. I created this pillar texture in photoshop solely from textures from cgtexture.com with an overlay of ambient occlusion. This is what you should aim for. Try to make the textures pop out. Cyan is great at doing this. Just go to Noloben and look at the piping in Esher's lab and you'll see how rich and vibrant a rust material can be if done right. Choosing the right textures and using them creatively is key.
5. I modeled this room in 3ds Max 2014 again from cgtextures. Although it's pre-rendered, these textures are large enough to be used in Uru and any game engine today.
6. Make tileable textures. This means import a texture into Photoshop, click on Filters --> Other __>: Offset and blend in the edges using the Clone Stamp tool to create a looping texture from all sides.
I think this is what will strongly raise the bar of Ages closer to Cyan quality as the modeling really isn't the hard part. Materials and shading/lighting are what create the element of realism and vibrancy that you get in modern games.
PS, is there any way I can make Ages for Uru with 3ds Max 2014?
Guild of Writers
