Forest/Nature Environment

justinbett

Hey everyone! Dedicating my first post to an environment I just completed. Here is a forest/nature environment rendered in Unity.

I really wanted to test out the engine and see what it can do. Damn, was I surprised. Please feel free to give some helpful tips. I love getting feedback.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO1Lw-lAFds"]Flythrough Video[/ame]

shrogg

I agree with Chillydog, There is almost no ground foliage, it currently has a very man made feel about it, Almost like a display at a museum or something similar (it looks like you have only used each piece of ground vegetation once, as if they were hand made)

justinbett

Thanks for the advice so far! That was one of the things I was trying to balance out. At first I thought I had too much, so I deleted some. If I still had my trial for Unity Pro, I'd go back and fix that in a heart beat.

Natural: Fill it up with plants.
Man made: Less plants and scattered.

Joopson

Yeah, ferns tend to grow in swarms.
As in this image: (quite large, so I didn't embed it)
http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/march-bank-ferns-7-17-2008-kls.jpg


Otherwise, I like it. Things feel sort of flat though. Do you have spec-maps for the props? Also, the lighting itself feels quite flat too. Maybe find a way to make it look better, whilst ignoring how nature really works. Like cave levels in games, where things aren't pitch black. They tend to have oranges and blues to create lighting interest and contrast where there wouldn't be any in real life. Maybe experiment more in that way. Especially if you make some proper spec maps, it can really bring the environment to life when you have a good lighting set-up.

[edit]: since you don't have unity pro's trial anymore, just consider my points with whatever you make next. Spec and lighting are majorly important, and so often ignored.

THRILLHOUSE

great composition and camera placement. Unity had always looked a little cartooney for my taste, I can wait to see 4.0 when it comes out

justinbett

Joopson wrote: »

Yeah, ferns tend to grow in swarms.
As in this image: (quite large, so I didn't embed it)
http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/march-bank-ferns-7-17-2008-kls.jpg


Otherwise, I like it. Things feel sort of flat though. Do you have spec-maps for the props? Also, the lighting itself feels quite flat too. Maybe find a way to make it look better, whilst ignoring how nature really works. Like cave levels in games, where things aren't pitch black. They tend to have oranges and blues to create lighting interest and contrast where there wouldn't be any in real life. Maybe experiment more in that way. Especially if you make some proper spec maps, it can really bring the environment to life when you have a good lighting set-up.

[edit]: since you don't have unity pro's trial anymore, just consider my points with whatever you make next. Spec and lighting are majorly important, and so often ignored.

Oh sweet! I'm adding that reference to my folder right now. Thanks for the advice!

I'm going to be using UDK for my next environment. That way I wont have to worry about any trials. I learned lots in Unity working on this though!

Jeff Parrott

What's with the bloom water? It's really pulling away from the cool forrest atm.

Also ferns need some lighting.