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[UDK] Sci-Fi Corridor

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Robert Berrier polycounter lvl 10
Hey!

Just finished my own version of the classical sci-fi corridor and wanted to post it here for some feedback.
Check them out and let me know what you think.. and most of all, what I can improve for future projects.

Thanks!





Replies

  • Tidus
    Crazy structure, I really like it. It doesn't look metallic enough though. I would add some fog too, specially visible at the horizontal intersection.
  • aobond
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    aobond polycounter lvl 7
    love it, and added it to the inspiration folder :). but agree about the metalic look though, maybe crank the specular up a bit and add some reflection on the surface
  • theonebutcher
    really like this man! I agree about other folks crits on the spec though. Maybe get a small amount of reflection going on in there? Would be nice to see some texture flats as well please! Awesome work though!
  • Robert Berrier
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    Robert Berrier polycounter lvl 10
    Hey!

    So, it seems I did some things wrong when it comes to assets in UDK.
    Things like having the wrong direction of the Y normal map channel.
    Or not using explicit normal smoothing on the static meshes.
    And a few others.

    So now that I got those correct, the scene felt a little more .. as it should be..
    Though I am still having some issues that I just can't figure out. Check out these images:

    doorissue.jpg

    floor.jpg

    You can really see it on the door, something seems to be wrong with the normal smoothing, or the normal maps.. I don't know.. I do know that it has to do with the lighting build.. if the scene or mesh uses dynamic lights then everything looks good.. but once I render the lighting, the issue it back.

    Iit should be a large smooth surface without those lines. Example in Marmoset:

    doormarmo.jpg

    I have been looking everywhere for a possible fix, but there is so much UDK information out there.. things I tried:
    - normal map Y- / Y+ (it is now Y-)
    - explicit normal smoothing on static mesh (now is it enabled)
    - using 'import tangents' for static meshed (now it is disabled)
    - 'indirect normal influence boost' is now 0.. though this doesn't affect that much

    If anyone has any tips on how to fix this, then please let me know and thank you!

    some screens of the scene at it's current state:
    scific_preview_normalissues_1.jpg

    scific_preview_normalissues_2.jpg
  • matthewjvia
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    matthewjvia polycounter lvl 13
    I like the design and I like you lighting. My biggest issue is that the red and blue light seem to be coming from nowhere. It might just be the camera angle, but the only light sources I can see are the white lights shining onto the wall and a couple of panels that would not be producing nearly enough light to completely change the color of the scene. It might be ok for setting a mood, but with the white outer halls, it seems like there must be some source for those lights.
  • Robert Berrier
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    Robert Berrier polycounter lvl 10
    I like the design and I like you lighting. My biggest issue is that the red and blue light seem to be coming from nowhere. It might just be the camera angle, but the only light sources I can see are the white lights shining onto the wall and a couple of panels that would not be producing nearly enough light to completely change the color of the scene. It might be ok for setting a mood, but with the white outer halls, it seems like there must be some source for those lights.

    Yeah your correct. I kinda cheated there.
    I was planning on making some models for it, and a few other details.
    But wanted to get everything else done before I do that. Thanks for the tip though!
  • Robert Berrier
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    Robert Berrier polycounter lvl 10
    Anyone have some tips for that issue I am having, a few posts up with the door screenshots. I think at this point I looked everywhere. But just don't know what is going wrong. Also tried word/object tangent space. new model exports, new normalmap renders.. just can't find what I am doing wrong. Might try to do the normals in 3Ds max instead of Xnormal.

    Below some texture images, including the normal maps so you can check them out.

    wall_diff.jpg

    wall_spec.jpg

    wall_norm.jpg


    column_diff.jpg


    doorway_door_norm.jpg
  • Tiraldric
    Huh. I almost hate to ask, but with the issues your describing with the lighting, you do have a second UVW channel set up in 3dsmax that has no overlapping faces for your lightmaps, right?

    IE, add a second UVW modifier to the stack, change the UVW channel to 2, move your old UVW's over onto it, and then Pack everything then re-export the mesh?

    P.S. The textures look great! Add meshes that facilitate the lighting!
  • gsokol
    If your baking your normals in max, you don't need to flip the y channel. UDK shares a similar tangent base to max (might actually be synched, but I don't remember)

    Your bakes have issues in them...you shouldn't be getting those sweeping gradients across flat surfaces like that. Make sure that you area breaking your UVS in areas that have a hard edge, and giving them a few pixels of padding. If those are hard edges on the extrusions for your door, thats likely the issue with the bake, and why it looks ugly in udk.
  • Robert Berrier
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    Robert Berrier polycounter lvl 10
    Hi,

    Thanks for the reply guys!

    @Tiraldric:
    yes, where needed I have a second set for the lighting.
    Though some meshes don't have overlapping at all, so they only have 1 UV set.

    @gsokol:
    I tried baking them in both xnormal and max. I flipped the green channel where needed, so that should be correct. About the gradients in the normal map, isn't this how it is supposed to be. Since the normal map is "correcting" the normal smoothing. Check the images below to see how the normal smoothing is done.
    The only way to remove those gradients would be to use more hard edges, but that can't be correct? In general the smoother the mesh the better, right? as long as you don't have sharp edges like 85 degrees or more.

    Below some images of all the meshes in max. And the result in both marmoset and in UDK. The workflow I used:

    - low poly creation in 3Ds max
    - high poly creation in 3Ds max
    - cage creation in 3DS max for Xnormal
    - bake normal map in xnormal using above meshes (normal settings: tanget space, X+ Y+ Z+)
    - normalize normal map in Photoshop and create textures (diff, spec, gloss, normal)
    - import meshes into UDK ('explicit normals' enabled)
    - import normal maps (TC_normalmap & TEXTUREGROUP_WorldNormalMap)
    - import other textures (default settings)
    - create and apply materials to static meshes (flip green normal map channel)

    max.jpg

    marmo3.jpg

    udk.jpg

    udkmat.jpg

    So what am I doing wrong?
    Sorry to bother you all with this issue I am having.
  • Visceral
    From the material editor preview your normal map looks really weird. Could you post the normal map you have from UDK? just dubble click it and bring it up.

    Also, do you really need to bake with a cage for a model as simple as this? I usually bake with without cage for simple objects, usually it fixes my issues.
  • SaferDan
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    SaferDan polycounter lvl 14
    gsokol is right you need to harden up the edges, in the normal map for your door the faces on the front of the door should be a flat blue colour.

    I hope the image helps, if I am making no sense let me know and I will try and explain again!

    max.jpg
  • Robert Berrier
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    Robert Berrier polycounter lvl 10
    Hi Guys & Gals,

    So I tried some of your solutions and few tips from a mate.
    And it seems I got it right this time. The best solution is to use more hard edges where the smoothing groups create strange artifacts. And where needed some support edges for baking.

    Thanks to everyone for helping me out!
    Lesson learned :)

    So check it, and critic is always welcome:

    Sci-fi_corridor_1.jpg

    Sci-fi_corridor_2.jpg

    Sci-fi_corridor_3.jpg

    This one seems the best:
    Sci-fi_corridor_6.jpg

    Sci-fi_corridor_overview.jpg
  • Darkleopard
    Looking really cool. Im glad you fixed those baking issues, taught me a couple things in the process.
  • Fomori
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    Fomori polycounter lvl 12
    I like it! The only thing that's bugging me is that it looks like you've put the same amount of paint wear/scratches on pretty much all metal edges. No matter where they are positioned. Just doesn't seem like that would happen in real life.
  • RogelioD
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    RogelioD polycounter lvl 12
    I'm really diggin this environment. Also, looking at your node graph taught me how to invert my Y channel from the material editor; thanks for that xD
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