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Forest level (Studying UE4)

Community Work in Progress
#1

Hi everyone! I started to study UE4 a couple of months ago and I think is time I can share some of my results with the community to get some feedback! I have a loooooong way to go before me, there is a ton of stuff which I still don’t understand (for instance, light building which completely change the look of my level, or objects which worked fine until 5 minutes before and then aren’t able to build light anymore. I had to erane the swarm cache yesterday).

However, this is a project I am using to study the engine and also is an idea for a game I have in mind… but still too early for that :smiley:

All the assets are made by myself in blender, except for the trees that are a sample from speedtree (studying that as well :smiley: )

So far performance is acceptable… about 70fps on my nvidia 570 and light build times are within the minute at medium quality. However the level is really small for now…

Here it is… more to come soon I hope! Comments are welcome! :slight_smile:

http://s28.postimg.org/62pwauby1/Highres_Screenshot00001.jpg

#2

Hey, that’s a great start!

A couple of things to improve the immersive qualities of the level, and expand on what you’ve already got going for it.

The top right quadrant, while just a single image of what appears to be a large level, has no real depth - by which I mean it had midground elements, but no foreground, or background - it looks like the level just poof ends. Some tall rocks or trees in the back might help out!

The lighting is nice, but the sky is fairly neutral - using a simple light function to simulate clouds, or using the built in skysphere and increasing the visibility of the default clouds, might help out as well.

The focal point currently is the tree, which is growing at an odd angle. Unless the species grows somewhat erratically, the trunk of the tree will, to the best of it’s ability, try and grow upwards - most of the time, the quickest way of doing so is by going straight up. You can simulate this by dropping the tree’s Z level a bit. I typically go for 1-2 degrees of rotation on trees, and 3-4 in extreme cases.

Also, is there a spotlight or point light in the middle of this scene? For some reason, the ground near the focal point seems very, very bright, at least compared to the rest of the scene.

You’ve got a great start, and I am excited to see what you come up with!

#3

Thank you for your feedback Havoc! Nice one for the tree, I have to experiment with the foliage painting settings! Regarding the strange light, yes, there is a point light there, I wanted to try something with the lighting… maybe I will remove it.

As for the rest, I basically still need to learn that stuff (sky, skysphere and som on) and to finish the level. The idea of the rocks in the BG however is really nice! :slight_smile:

#4

Here is an update:

http://s14.postimg.org/v1o91lif1/Highres_Screenshot00002.jpg

Im a trying to create water now, following this tutorial https://wiki.unrealengine.com/Water_Shader_Tutorial
I am getting strange results… looks like I get a sharp falloff of the depth… any idea on what could be the reason for that?

http://s14.postimg.org/v1o91lif1/Highres_Screenshot00002.jpg

Here is a detail of the node setup for the opacity, where I think the problem is located…

http://s27.postimg.org/i78f1951r/Water_Mat.jpg

Thanks for any help and feedback! :slight_smile:

EDIT: I just realized that I attached the wrong water picture… I cannot change until the evening thou :frowning:

#5

here is the right screenshot of the water

http://s27.postimg.org/50o7qm5lb/Highres_Screenshot00004.jpg

#6

I did not have much time, but I managed to do something. Still no success with the water, but I added a new asset (the bridge, but is still wip) and learned a bit the matinee.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=sbpTyAc0EVI