Hilltop camp - forest environment - UE4 - WIP

TruPeLo

Hey everyone, I'm making this forest environment. Hope the idea of the scene is easily conveyed. A biker who's climbed up a hill and set up his tent amidst nature, in search for Inner Peace
Your opinions, suggestions and critiques are most valuable to me to improve this scene.

FreneticPonies

Not bad, though if the lighting is realtime (which it looks like) you might want to consider turning on DFAO to get some more lighting variation.

TruPeLo

Yes, the lighting is all dynamic. Also, DFAO is enabled, FRENETICPONIES. It's what is providing the contact occlusion for the objects shadowed by sunlight.
Any more tips to improve the look and authenticity of the scene?

KrisLW

The only thing that throws it off for me is the lighting - it's kind of bland being straight overhead and plain white in my opinion, and I feel not entirely consistent. The shadow cast by the main tree might as well not even be there it's so bright, versus the underside of some of the rocks that are nearly black. Likewise, the tree is casting razor sharp shadows, indicating direct sunlight, yet, the sky is milky and overcast?

Aside from that, the scene is very nice! It's very natural and unkept - somewhere I'd love to explore! Wonderful job with the variation of the terrain paints and foliage! (And the same with the textures - they're beautiful)  

FreneticPonies

TruPeLo said:

Yes, the lighting is all dynamic. Also, DFAO is enabled, FRENETICPONIES. It's what is providing the contact occlusion for the objects shadowed by sunlight.
Any more tips to improve the look and authenticity of the scene?

Ah, I assumed that was SSAO, the trace distance is so short.

Maybe just make it more interesting in terms of lighting like @KrisLW  said? A nice sunny afternoon with slanted warm light or a more extreme morning. 

TruPeLo

KRISLW, that is very valuable feedback for me! Thank you. Your observations are accurate. The lighting in these shots were not even for display purposes. I chose overhead lighting to get the density of foliage right, by looking at the shadows they cast. I really should have changed the angle for the screenshots. My bad. Sorry. You're right about the sky color too. Too milky. I will change it. 
So at 'bright sunlight' lighting conditions, the sky light intensity should be lesser? Will do Sir. 
I don't think I can do anything about the trees casting sharp shadows unless I get access to that fancy new tech they used in Assassin's Creed Syndicate to render shadow intensity and sharpness based on distance between shadow caster and shadow receiver.
Thank you for the appreciation of my work. I will improve it and show you the updated screenshots.

FRENETICPONIES, you won't believe it but this is what's happening.
Skylight max occlusion distance - 100 = too short.
Skylight max occlusion distance - 100 - 199 = almost no change.
Skylight max occlusion distance - 200 = drastic change and shadows from ground plants are so spread out that they're invisible