Hello I’m working with friends on cartoon karting game and we need to make maps but we’re not entirely sure how to actually deal with this technically. There are some maps that obviously should be done in 3d software like some underground / interior maps w.e but also there are some maps that require landscapes like forest / swamps etc. And the point is - do you make it in 3d software or UE itself? This question is more like - does doing that in 3d software affect performance badly due to engine being unable to optimize terrain properly? We’re talking about cartoon style not ealistic, thus using UE tools might be a bit challenging I think?
Plus in case we should do it in UE what about objects like mountains rocks etc? We’re talking about landscapes like those:
Personally, i’d use UE4 landscapes for the ground, the geometry tools for very crude level geometry that doesn’t need high polygon detail (like large flat walls/floors or blocky fences) and everything else thats more complex than flat surfaces, like trees, rocks, doors, lamps, etc, i use static meshes that are 3d models from maya/blender/3dmax/whatever you’re using.
For mountains with steep cliffs you can also use the landscape for the rough terrain shape, and anywhere where the landscape is not good enough for details or having geometry that landscapes are not good for (like steep cliffs or caves inside a landscape) you can place static meshes that look like cliffs or whatever you need and make it so the landscape and the static meshes blend together perfectly.
I looked at some UE terrain tools tutorials and… they seem pretty limited - is it just sculpting? Are there any real disadvantages of modelling ground with 3d software? I don’t really see how you could succesfully model something lets say like this:
using UE terrain tools.
First it’s worth remembering that what Unreal/Game Engines calls a ‘Landscape’ is not what we call a ‘Landscape’.
In UE4 a landscape is basically a plane shaped according to a heightmap, with a material on it, which has special optimisations to make it render quickly and support collisions. In the Crash Team Racing video you linked it’s just the gently undulating tarmac- hardly a difficult thing to build. Everything else, from the rock overhangs to the sharply-defined green ‘cliffs’ at the side are separate meshes, added onto the landscape.
Going back to your first picture we have a slightly more complex landscape- it’s rolling hills, with a texture applied to make the hills green and the farmland yellow. Building this is relatively simple- just create a landscape, use the sculpt tools to create the simple hills (Easier than building a realistic terrain), and then paint a layer over to get the farmland. You’d then use more localised textures, overlaid geometry, or something like mesh decals to get the crisp ‘plow’ textures we see in the foreground- trying to bake those onto a world-sized texture won’t work.
After this we’re back to mesh work. The trees, building, fences, haystacks, tables… they’re all just meshes, not part of the UE4 landscape system.
There is in Blender as ANT landscape add-on, it is free so I think you are looking for.
Blender 2.77a
Hope that it helps.
And forget you can export in FBX too, voila 
Well I don’t think I would have problem with modelling terrain in Blender I’m using this soft since 2.32 it was like… 8 or 10 years ago. I just wasn’t sure if UE doesn’t have some issues with performance if land is static mesh instead of engine land but from what I heard UE should be able to handle it properly. So i think I’ll use full Blender because it’d be easiest for us.
