[Beginner] What’s the best way to create a large subterranean cave world?

Development World Creation
, , ,
1

Hi, I’m new to UE.

I’m working on a game that takes place entirely underground. Besides some small caves, there will also be very large caves that even contain towns (1 level == one big cave).

My initial idea was to create only a landscape and build the cave outlines using high rock meshes, then use a light source that only reaches a defined height (fading out into darkness). This would save me from having to create a cave ceiling over the entire landscape.

Problem: A DirectionalLight reveals the upper ends of the rock walls, making it obvious that there is no ceiling.

I then tried using PointLights (static, no shadows), which allow me to restrict the light perfectly. However, this severely increases light complexity and hurts performance. To avoid dark spots, there would be a lot of overlapping.

What’s the best way to light large caves without destroying performance? Are there any settings or techniques I might be missing? Or is this approach fundamentally flawed, meaning I really do need to create a cave ceiling?

Thanks & cheers!

2

Hello there @Battle.Snake!

I would say, trying to fake the ceiling and making your lights behave accordingly to the lack of said ceiling, will get you more headaches than just making a roof for your setup. Also, UE has great options to create complete cave systems, either with splines or landscapes. I would suggest checking the following guides below: