[UE4] [WIP] WW2 Plotting Room Environment
This is an environment I'm working on at uni, inspired by similar Second World War interior environments, such as the Battle of Britain Bunker. My aim is to get experience with a modular workflow, effective use of lighting and, further down the line, experiment with particles to establish ambience and atmosphere. Currently, I am texturing the different components of the modular kit, and most of the prevalent assets have been seen to.
Environment Description
This room is the heart of an old air defense system. The map in the middle of the room is used to track the positions and movements of allied and enemy aircraft, by moving markers around when new information comes in from various sources, such as coastal radar networks, spotters and airfields. The desks overlooking it are for staff to pass information to other areas, such as airfields who can pass information and orders to their planes. The long boards on the wall over the desks are used to display the status of aircraft from different bases.
The chairs by the back wall are for visitors to use, as the room is preserved as a historical site. As such, I'm aiming for a calm atmosphere that shows the room is maintained, but not in active use. For example, I plan to use particles to introduce a very small amount of dust floating in the air, some small amount of dust in hard to reach areas like on the vents, and a protective layer of clear plastic over the map.
Workflow
Blockout
I started off using a lot of reference images I gathered from a visit to the Battle of Britain Bunker to build the overall layout of the scene with some simple blockout meshes, dividing the room up into re-usable assets.
At this point, I realised that my initial plan left a lot of empty space between the doors, on the back wall, and left room for more detail on the desks. Returning to the reference photos, I added some PA speakers and vents to the back wall, chairs between the doors and fans to the desks.
Lighting & Early Models
After the blockout was completed, I started to replace the basic models and experiment with the lighting, aiming to capture the kind of yellow-tinted lighting that old lightbulbs can give. 
Details & Texturing
I'm currently adding textures to the pieces of the kit, in order of prevalence: larger pieces and those that are used more frequently (e.g. walls, desks) are being prioritised.
Current Progress
At this point, I'm working to add textures to the assets in the kit. As the most recent screenshots show, I'm also dealing with some blurry lighting on the walls, which I'll be continuing to tweak as I work on the scene. There's also seams in the lighting between the basic wall pieces and doorway wall pieces, and some strange transparency problems with the lights, as the bulbs are translucent, but so are the light shades.
Feedback in all areas is welcome, but primarily, I would like to ask for feedback on the state of the lighting and the scene's overall composition - is the detail well balanced, or are some areas too busy or too desolate?
Thank you very much for your time.
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