Here are some more combinations of the parts.
If i look at it i am not sure what kind of graveyard this should be. But hey it´s a game and i like that it looks somehow unique 
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Some of the most elaborate and creepy Graveyard Assets I’ve ever seen. I have not seen that style before. Which is great.
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The graveyard is almost done, just testing some atmospheric looks before i finish the scene (use of fog and skybox).
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As i started to build final enemy models i did a test what is needet to use as less models as possible without having the same look. Feels like the best way is with heavy blood patterns.
Most what stud out was the face and the arms, because this is mostly seen and looked at.
A few examples::
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Nice Variety. Dismemberment still included?
Yes all models come with gore and dismemberment off course, it is just not finished/activated right now.
Need to do the masking for the models and also fit the gore parts for the belly.
I first wanted to check the blending of the enemies with the environment. And also how similar they look if basicly only change the textures.
Here is a short vid about a test of 4 out of 8 new enemy archtypes:
I noticed the hair seems to make a big difference in the look to have kinda unique look for the models. So i need to change the plan to use only 1 Material (1 UV) for each model and seperate the hairs (basicly use it like the helmets).
I think having the shoes still in is ok, because that is not where people most likely will look at.
Here are the variations i tested so far:
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I did upgrade to UE 5.5.1 because of the SK_Nanite.
Need to test this first more but if this really works the way i hope i also redo the whole meshes of the gore system before finishing a lot of models.
Just a little woried about the Nanite overdraw, as far as i know this can get very performance heavy if it is to much. But i will test more in deep.
Just see the upgrade also does strange things with some of the UI images. Need to figure out what and why this happends.
Looking Great. With consideration to variation of mesh/materials, are zombies now procedurally generated?
Thank you.
I can::
- Manipulate/change the materials as they are already used as dynamic.
- Change the color range of materials
- Add more and different blood with a mask
- Add dirt with a mask
- Randomize Hairs/hats/helmets
But not the body/clothes meshes. They just do not work for procedurally generated right now. The system i created basicly depends on masking the parts that are hitted.
I guess this could work if you merge them at spawn but it would also need to merge the UV´s and the masks. Just way to much for what i do, this would more be needet for a horde shooter where you need to have a lot of enemies on the screen. I will have a max around 7-12 at the same time.
It is more work with the setup because you will need to check what you spawn where. But in on-rail shooters you normaly have the same enmies spawned every time. Just so you can remember what will spawn and get better and faster with every run.
Maybe it is easier to see why with a picture of the UV´s i use at the moment, i seperated it in zones for Body/InnerGore/ClothesTop/ClothesBottom/Shoes (scrapet the hairs)
Still not final, maybe i merge the body island more for better use of blood masking.
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I tested how to randomize the hair even more. This is a first result from 1 hair mesh.
It is done at spawn with dynamic materials.
Addet a few 3 more textures and select them also RND based.
Not perfect but i guess if playing more with the range of some values this is close to final.
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And this is how the result of RND hair at spawn looks like.
Changed the hair now also a little a way so they do not look to clean, and fit more a zombie themed enemy. Just 1 base enemy in use for the test.
Some of the hair needs changed because they just look strange without physic, basicly all the long hair.
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Merry Christmas to all.
Here is last short test about cloth color variations and blood usage before implementing the RND code.
With this method there are basically thousands of color combinations possible. This way i almost do not need to worry about enemies to look the same.
I could also seperate the top / pants / shoes. But i think this would be an overkill (as it already feels with what i have created)
To have this ammount of variations i needet to sacrifice the better looking blood i used before though. Maybe i will use this only if the top is nacked.
Just can´t find a good way to exclude the wounds from the color changes without doing it for every part. This would be an insane ammount of needet textures.
So i decided to use the already in place masks for fatal wound overlays to nest in a more simple but also changeable use of mask for base blood.
After testing a more, i noticed i forgot something to make it look less clean.
Here is a kinda final result with also the dirt mask includet. Looks much more realistic this way.
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Here is the final test of the enemy randomazition.
Only 1 base mesh for the enemy and around 10 Hair meshes are used.
I also changed something and removed the texture selection from the material to use less instructions.
It is now done with more material instances and a random selection from an PDA. This way it is also more easy to maintain and add more different textures if needed.
I am quit happy with the result of the variations.
Here is also the InGame test (Gore not fully activated)
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I removed now also the shoes from the UV and addet the full inner gore system instead.
Now i do not need to spawn the gore parts for the belly, just using masking to make it visible.
Just looks a little to clean at the moment. Not sure if i will stick with this but here is the result.
Damage states 0, 1_l, 1_r, 1_middle , 2_complete
The reason for the change was basicly to have a system to use on all models without doing dozents of models to attach and spawn. This way i can have a much bigger range of models with different body looks also now.
What i used before would make me crazy to create and fit for every little change of model size or look.
Edit:
I did some tests with changing the gore models and using blood at the seams. Feels like this kinda works. I think It looks much better this way and can now really be used.
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A short test with an almost ready prepared Nanite SK model & gore.
Not sure what it is exactly but somehow it looks like i need to redo again the middle gore parts.
Feels like the middle impacts are to hard to see, maybe just a little to small.
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Love It!
Here is a vid about a few tests i did at once.
Seems like randomisation works very well. Only one base model is used and a few hair meshes.
Also added some more different headshot models.
There are some strange looking models where the material give strange and dark results. Could not figure out what cause this till now.
Edit:
I figured out what the problem with the material was. I use Virtual and NonVirtual Textures, i mixed them somehow within the MasterMaterial this caused the strange looking results.
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The rework of the gore for SK Nanite is almost done.
Only thing left is the head. Not sure at the moment but maybe i change this also to damage states. This way a enemy could still live with half of the head, i guess could look fun if close.
Just not sure how to handle this, could cause confusion.
Added blood at the impact point while dismembering to have a more natural look.
The middle part is now reworked (beeing bigger). This will hopefully help to see better if and where the enemies are hitted.
Here is a short vid about the test:
Edit:
I am thinking about to add also 2 damage states also for the head at the moment. Just looks to creepy to not think about it
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I actually like the no head-shot instant kill. Get to enjoy the gore more. However, i know these zhouls have to go down sometime, what will be used to indicate this?