Unit 70
Pre-Production
Inspiration
I looked at my Mood-Board that I had created for Unit 79. I decided to look into those games I mentioned and create a mood board focusing on their game environments.
I found a lot of stuff from these games which I liked. I really like the low-poly rocks and trees that animal crossing and LittleBigPlanet use. They’re also assets which can be made quickly and in large amounts so you can create a nice variety to populate the game world with. In Splatoon I like the bright billboards and signs which decorate the city. I’ll be creating an urban section to so I’ll look into how they’ve created various buildings.
Urban Environment Board
Nature Environment Board
My plan is for the player to start in the nature environment. They’ll be sent to retrieve a key from the bottom of a mine so they can enter the city. The city will be located on the higher portion of the map.
Landscape
Sculpting
I created a basic flat landscape and began using the sculpt tool to create a higher area. I then used the smooth tool to smooth the cliff side so the textures weren’t as stretched.
I also used the flatten tool which upon use makes anything you brush over the same height as what you started on. This is great for having flat ground at different heights.
I then used the ramp tool to place two points. I moved the bottom point a little closer to the cliff and adjusted the width of the lines to give the cliff a thicker walkway.
This is a great tool for creating natural ramps between two different levels in the environment. It’s a lot quicker than manually sculpting, smoothing and flattening a ramp myself.
By holding shift I can invert the brush and create crevices in my landscape. I used this to create a pond which I’ll later fill with water. I made use of the hydro-erosion and smooth tool to get a realistic slope into the pond rather then it being too sharp.
It’s important to think about how the different sections of the landscape would have different materials (when I later paint the landscape)
When creating a landscape you can also choose to use height maps which automatically generate and sculpt your landscape according the a height map image. This is great for creating huge landscapes where manually sculpting every mountain and crevice would be too time consuming. For my project however I decided to simply sculpt it myself as I’m only creating a small compact environment. A downside of this however is I’ll have to make use of fog, lighting and assets to hide the edge of the world from the player character. This becomes much harder as they reach higher areas. I wouldn’t have this problem if I had decided to the an interior of a building. I’m happy with my choice however as I’m enjoying the landscaping tools and learning a lot about UE4 which will help me in the future.
After the painting processs I went back and sculpted hills around the edge of the area to act as a natural barrier to contain the player.
Painting
To start the process of painting my landscape I first had to create materials for the different layers such as grass, dirt and sand.
I found a few images of grass and edited them together in photoshop.
I added small dots to stick to the stylised feel that I’m going for. For the dirt and sand I simply found some JPEGs from online that suited this style. I then imported the textures into UE4 and began working in the material editor to create a landscape material.
I created a layer blend with different sections for each material.
I did the same for the normal maps which I also created in photoshop.
An issue I had with the materials is that they were tiling and it didn’t look good when placed on the landscape. To reduce this I used ‘texture bombing’
The texturing bombing lets me add some variety to the texture tiling. I also did the same with the normal maps so they line up correctly. The normal maps are great for giving the illusion of depth to the grass. I used similar techniques when adding my other materials.
Another issue I had with some of the dirt was I didn’t like the colour. I simply used a colour parameter to add an orange hue. This also makes the dirt work nicely with the rock assets I created.
I mentioned how it’s important to stick to a colour palette so the world looks coherent.
All the textures then connect to the layer blend which then connect to the base colour and normals. I also added a 0.5 constant to the roughness which makes the landscape reflect light a little less. I could of set it to 1 to be more realistic but I like the small shine and I’m not going for complete realism.
Painting in UE4 is really simple! You simply select the layer (after creating a landscape layer weight) and use the brush to paint directly onto your landscape. You can edit the brush size and strength to get your desired affect. I started my covering the entire area in grass then covering a pond area in sand. I blended in the two different types of dirt along the cliffside (with a low strength) to create a semi-realistic cliff-face.
I’m happy with my first attempt. I’ll make use of my dirt textures to create pathways to guide the player through the natural segment of the project. I’ll also use assets such as rocks, fences and trees to populate the landscape (and help guide the player character).
I really like how I can go back and repaint the landscape at any time. As I place assets I can change the landscape to suit the needs of the level instead of being stuck with what I’ve created at this moment.
I end up going back and editing my grass texture in Photoshop. I made it more stylised and bright.
Environmental Assets
Rocks
I began creating more environmental assets to populate my game world. I started off simple by creating stylised rocks.
Here’s the base material. I then created two material instances and made the colour a parameter. I have a dark and light one to have a difference between the sides and tops of the rock formations. I wanted a cartoony and colourful environment like I described in other units.
I created my models in Maya using tools I’ve used before such as extrude and multi-cut. I then imported them into UE4 and applied the textures to preview them.
I made sure to set the collision as ‘complex as simple’ which means the character can walk along the mesh accurately.
I’m really happy with the textures at the moment. They fit the simple stylised world I want to create. I made the top edges a little brighter as I like the contrast.
I also created normal maps in Photoshop which give the illusion of depth to the material. It’s especially noticeable when the material is reacting to light.
Trees
I experimented with different trees in Maya and settled on a smooth flat top design. This will be useful for if the player needs to jump across the tree tops to reach higher points.
I did the UVs for the tree and the trunk. It was difficult finding a good place for the seam on the tree head.
I then created the material for the tree. I began with the tree head. I used two different spot patterns to create a fun material.
For the trunk I used a wood texture and changed the base colour to be darker. I also used the panner tool so the material slowly rotates.
After playing around on the materials I placed the asset into the world and placed a few to see how it looked.
I’ll create a few more variants and use different sizes and placements to avoid too much repetition. I also want to go back and tweak the landscape materials as they’re a little too realistic compared to the cartoony assets I’m creating.
I decided I wasn’t happy with the original tree texture and went back to create better normal maps which will help improve the quality. I find when thinking of ideas in my head they don’t always look how I thought when placed in the project especially when comparing them to the game world I’m creating. It’s great that it’s so easy to go back into UE4 and make changes to textures and also go back into Maya and make changes to the UVs if necessary. I don’t feel like I’m stuck when I find something I don’t like about my models because I can always edit them.
I’m a lot happier with the appearance of the trees and I’ll continue to stick to this style as I create more.
Foliage
I need to create grass to populate my landscape to give it more depth.
I began by finding a grass PNG that suited the style I was going for.
I then created a material instance and applied it to a blueprint class of four panes (double sided).
I made sure to remove collision as the player needs to be able to walk through the grass. I went into the material editor and made some changes.
Here’s the blueprint that gives the grass movement. I can change the intensity and speed the grass moves in the wind. I also used a Linear Gradient node to ensure only the top ends of the grass sway in the wind. This movement gives the scene more life.
An issue I came across was the gaps between the panes were too dark and looked weird. To remedy this I created two more PNGS and blended them together into the emissive input.
This means the texture ignores some of the light and doesn’t cast large shadows. Here’s a before and after. Notice how the gaps between the grass are now a darker green and not completely black.
I liked the grass however it was bland just having the same thing repeated across the level. I went back and looked at other foliage that would make sense to have in a forest area near a pond.
I went into maya and created some toadstool mushrooms and also some oyster mushroom clusters. The clusters can be placed on walls of rock, or trees. The toadstools can be scattered across the ground and also large ones can be used as platforms by the player. The lily-pads will be platforms for the player to jump across the pond. They’ll sink however if the player stands on them for too long!
I placed my Lilypad across the lake to see how they looked and created the texture in UE4.
Mine Entrance
I created a simple plank in Maya and exported to Unreal. I then used the landscaping tools to build a hill and carve a hole into it. I then placed my plank and rocks to create a mine entrance. I want to keep the entrance to the mine dark as it’ll teleport the player to a different area (I’m planning it to be a boss battle room) however I do want light on the outside to show off the models.
I needed to place a light at the mine entrance but didn’t have a source for the light with my assets so I went into Maya and created a lantern model which will act as this source.
I then decided to create a minecart which I can reuse for the outside and inside of the mine. I obviously only needed to create one wheel and can simply duplicate it.
I placed a couple of carts around. In different levels of disrepair. I’m really excited because I made sure to make them hollow so I can place other assets inside them of have enemies use them for cover. I can also place useful items inside which will train the player to search them and eventually let me trick them by hiding a trap/enemy in one.
Crystals/Ore
I want to create colourful crystals/ore to populate my rocky mine area. I’ve always found them really eye catching when used in other games. I created a simple cylinder in Maya and played with the attributes such as subdivision axis and height.
I can create more crystals of different sizes and shapes with this method. I’ll then create the textures in Unreal.
I made use of the Fresnel node. I’m a big fan of how it pushes out the colour. I inverted the Fresnel so unlike the holograms I made which has a coloured centre and white outline the crystals have a white centre and coloured edge. I made the yellow a parameter that can also be changed. The great thing about using material instances is that it’s the quickest rendering and is generally less demanding on the system.
I placed a couple of the crystals in the level of different colours. I also went back and created a small smooth rock to have some jutting out of.
I created some mine tracks to make it obvious to the player that the area is an old mine and also adds something interesting to the ground which is very flat and bland at the moment.
I created three different sets which I can easily extend to make longer ones. I also made bent ones for corners and some that had an incline.
Dust Clouds
I made use of the particle system to create some dust clouds to give the impression of the dusty dry area that the mines would be like.
I set the colour, hardness and extinction of the dust clouds as parameters so they can be changed on the fly.
I created a thin and wide cylinder emitter and set the particles lifespan to a constant.
Here you can see I’ve placed a couple of the emittors around the scene. I focused on shrouding the entrance to the mine as it’ll teleport the player upon entering them to an interior scene.
Lake area
I placed a simple space plane and resized it to fill the lake area. I then turned off it’s collision so the player character can move through it.
I then added a custom material that I created to the plane.
I also placed a post processing volume inside the lake which blurs and changes the tint of the screen to blue. I made it so the transition is instantaneous as the player character falls into the water.
Here’s the material that I made. The parameters can be changed in the editor which is great to easily preview how it will look. With the panner nodes I can change the speed which the water moves. I’m really happy with how my lake turned out as it’s the first time I created water. I’ll decorate the rest of the lake and great a fishing pier. I’ll also create collision boxes to change how the player character moves when inside the water.
Urban Assets
Buildings
I created a handful of small simple buildings in Maya. These can be placed together to create different buildings and give more variety. I also made sure to have sections where different materials can be assigned such as glowing sections or windows.
I placed simple placeholder textures on them to see how it looked. I used these assets for my small scene in a previous unit.
Clutter
I also created clutter such as signs, wires and lamp posts. These help populate the urban environment and make it more interesting.
This clutter can be used in lots of different ways. For example wires can hang across the street like powerlines which make the scene more interesting but also give a place for birds to sit. The same wires could instead be used to plug into a mechanical asset and give an explanation for how it’s powered. Lamp posts not only fill the street but also provide the level with a source of light which will be very useful for any night scenes I might create.
