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Creating First UDK environment - The trainyard

Hi guys,

So ive been floating around on these forums for a little while now and I wouldnt use the word embarrased however I have been very reluctant to post my work here because frankly it is so amateur and basic compared to what ive seen here... however I realise to improve I need good constructive crit from people that know what they are talking about (you guys!):)

I am looking to create a portion of an open world environment in UDK. The area i am focusing on is a trainyard... I already have initial designs and a mock up I did last year in my 2nd year however I have learnt alot since then and hoping to really create the world I envisioned.

The trainyard is leading to a central transport hub (in the shape of a giant pyramid) The world is post apocolyptic due to a weakening atmosphere and a series of solar events. The remaining populace live within the slums of this trainyard as a slave working force under a dystopian dictatorship.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DKB7ZlZk0k"]PREVIOUSLY...[/ame]

The above link shows how limited my understanding of games creation was last year and this does not justify the vision I had... (A trailer I made for my assessment)

A few quick concept ideas and rough paintings to try and develop the kind of atmosphere and mood I want to bring into this world.

concept1%2Bcopy.jpg

A quick painting done of the motorway leading to the Heart of the hub (The pyramid) The browns convey a really polluted atmospheric setting which is relevant to the type of mood I am trying to create however its not quite there yet as it doesnt convey the horrors of the disaster.

concept3%2Bcopy.jpg

This painting was done using a very very quick Maya mock up, a spot light to create tone and then the screenshot imported into photoshop with digital painting over the top. I like the tension and mood in the environment as well as the sharp contrasts between hot and cold. I can imagine this world being very hot and stuffy with toxic air and very unstable weather.

concept4%2Bcopy.jpg



This is not really a concept of the city, rather just loads of resource images compiled in photoshop as I wanted to experiment with the use of Northern lights in the sky to see how they would fit into the contrast of the world.

This link will take you to my blogpost from last year showing all the top down layouts and the different layers as I want this to be a very layered environment working from sub-underground tunnels right up to the motorways above.
LEVEL DESIGN LAYOUT - PREVIOUS

layered+sketches1.jpg
All the layers on 1 image.

As I said I am still in very early concept and design stages yet and not had any real experience of putting together something like this in a game engine so your guidance and wisdom would be greatly appreciated! (Also I kno the work from last year is shocking)

Thanks guys... look forward to your views and comments :poly136:

Replies

  • Dark_jediBains
    Also to mention I have 3 locations specifically that will inspire the design.... The layout of various areas in Birmingham UK, The hi-tech architecture of Dubai infused with the slum conditions of India.... All of these locations I have tons of first hand reference.
  • Dark_jediBains
    overhead+structure+map.jpg
    Another layout drawing

    DSCF0350.JPG
    some reference collated along my various journeys and experiences

    DSCF0024.JPG

    refmoodboard.jpg
    Photo Reference moodboard
  • CrackRockSteady
    It's cool that you've put so much effort into the back story and reference research. My main concern for the project would simply be scope. Are you planning to create all of the content for this project yourself? If your goal is to improve your art skills I would recommend starting with a smaller project, or simply start with a small area of what you currently have laid out. Something as ambitious as what you have planned will likely take a very long time to complete and may not turn out well if you are still working on your fundamental skills (modeling, texturing, lighting, etc).
  • megalmn2000
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    megalmn2000 polycounter lvl 13
    +1 with CrackRockSteady!
  • gsokol
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    gsokol polycounter lvl 14
    Looks pretty cool.

    The youtube vid was pretty neat...animation wasn't the best but it doesn't seem like thats your focus.

    Like the other guys said...that is wayyyy to big. I think the trainyard itself would be a great environment enclosed by itself. Maybe just start with that.
  • Dark_jediBains
    Hi CrackRockSteady, the content will be done mainly by myself although I will have some help with the modelling, texturing.. The area which I did previously completely overshot the scale which I was intending so I am aiming to take this section by section. I do realise this is an extremely ambitious project but I enjoy pushing myself to the point of pulling my hair out lol... Im looking to create a majority of the assets as modular with about 3 - 5 variations. The plan is to create these low poly within maya and then make the variations as high poly assets in mudbox. I still do not know how long things take to put together within UDK so beginning monday I aim to create a small level in 11 days to see how far I can push myself to give me some sort of idea of time frame. This is based off a video I saw on Worldofleveldesign.com. I think once I have gone through that stage I will have a much clearer understanding of how much I can do. I know my skills are still developing and so for that reason this will probably not be the final version of the level as I am looking to continue this wayyyy after I finish University but I am just itching to give it a go and see how far I can push it.
  • Dark_jediBains
    thanks gsokol... yeh its pretty terrible lool... yeh the plan is just to stick to the trainyard and the rest of the city will come along later.... the concepts were just for the sake of trying to establish th mood but my focus will be entirely on the trainyard area
  • Prtofdacrowd
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    Prtofdacrowd polycounter lvl 8
    Definitely biting more than you can chew, are you familiar with the rule of thirds?

    I end up mostly applying it to my work... what you want to do, take a third of it off, what you have time to do, take another third off, and the third your left with is your project. Which to be honest does fall under the enclosed trainyard category. Try and be as modular as possible that short animation demonstrated, that maybe you cant animate, and maybe you cant texture (as there wasnt any) but you definately have an artistic eye for composition, that and passion gets you really far.

    Get some work done, get it in Unreal and lets see some progress :)
  • Dark_jediBains
    ok guys so today I continued playing around with designs, doing sketches and trying to figure out the sort of scale I want to give to this world. I have taken all the feedback into consideration and it will be ONLY the trainyard I will work on for this project... the main focal point will be the warehouse building which I am redesigning to be in the middle rather then on the side. I took a small section of the trainyard and did a quick blockout in UDK and play tested to try get a feel for the scale. This is an extremely basic blockout and it didnt take me particularly long but did take like half the day to upload to youtube.... Im currently doing a blockout of the warehouse building which ive slightly adjusted....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7AWhr8U0JQ&feature=youtu.be
  • Dark_jediBains
    a very quick blockout of the warehouse building... by the looks of the direction my sketches are heading in, the warehouse is going to end up being in the middle of the trainyard which will mean that a few of the train lines will have to pass under it and 2 will pass through it which will be freight and cargo trains....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blgXH_0Ok6o&feature=youtu.be
  • gsokol
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    gsokol polycounter lvl 14
    Definitely biting more than you can chew, are you familiar with the rule of thirds?

    I end up mostly applying it to my work... what you want to do, take a third of it off, what you have time to do, take another third off, and the third your left with is your project. Which to be honest does fall under the enclosed trainyard category. Try and be as modular as possible that short animation demonstrated, that maybe you cant animate, and maybe you cant texture (as there wasnt any) but you definately have an artistic eye for composition, that and passion gets you really far.

    Get some work done, get it in Unreal and lets see some progress :)

    I'm pretty sure that isn't what rule of thirds means. Rule of thirds deals with composition.


    Dark_JediBains: Looks like you got a start there, but be very mindful of your scale. I'm not sure what the structure above the players perspective is supposed to be...looks like a highway bridge maybe?? Either way...its really high up there. Overall the scale looks like it might be too large.

    Make sure you are judging scale based on the correct size of a character in UDK.
  • Dark_jediBains
    gsokol: yeh the structure up above is a highway, the height of it was done intentionally as the actual trainyard itself is below ground level, then there would be road level which the warehouse sits on and finally above ground level is the highway that you can see in that blockout, the reason I have done this is to create a very layered atmosphere in which you as the player start right at the bottom... iv not actually planned to do a character for this portion of th project... can i use any character as reference???

    Also a quick update.. dont have time to do any UDK stuff today so I did a very quick paintover of a cargo container which will serve as the main building blocks of the trainyard slums

    cargocontainerv1%2Bcopy.jpg
  • Prtofdacrowd
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    Prtofdacrowd polycounter lvl 8
    gsokol wrote: »
    I'm pretty sure that isn't what rule of thirds means. Rule of thirds deals with composition.

    Well you sir are correct the rule of thirds is definitely about the composition of a scene/piece, its usually used to discourage the artist from placing the focus of interest in the center of the piece using grid lines.

    I was more or less ripping it off for the lack of a phrase of dividing ambition into thirds. :p
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