Polycount Monthly Noob Environment Challenge (July 2014) - Blog Update #2

I started my a BSP blockout in UE4, using the 3^rd person preset provided in UE4 for scale reference. I knew I was going to use BSP for the walls and floors. Any other BSP in the scene is purely placeholder for static meshes, there function is purely to ascertain dimensions for when it comes to making the static meshes in 3dsMax.

For example the holes in the ground of the upper platforms are there so I know how big the grates will have to be to plug them. Although in the concept the gaps in the grate are painted in black. I imagine from a functional stand point these grates act as a way for water to drip back down to the lower levels in order to prevent the upper floor from becoming slippery. So when it comes to making the grates the player will be able to see down trough them from the upper floors and vice-versa.

I was fairly happy with the “eagle door” section (although after finding out it's not even an eagle above the door but rather falcon, or more specifically Ra! NOTE: read up on Egyptian culture!) I also felt the stairs may have looked a bit narrow but not so much as to break the scene.

The trim was my next challenge. The trim is made up of four main parts, a long, medium and short piece, with a block that is used both for decoration and to hide any seems in troublesome areas where z-fighting or lighting errors may occur (hopefully they wont mind!)

I'm not 100% pleased with the lighting as I feel it is too in your face with only one colour going on. This may be due to the colour of the lights being too saturated or I need more variation in the colour of the lights.

Next I'm going to create some tiling textures for the walls and floors. It'll be my first time working with PBR so I'm curious to see the results, I hear good things!

Peace and love x