Creating roads for environments in engine
I'm new to environment art and I'm currently working on an environment where I need a road like this
Artwork from artstation - ArtStation - Golden Gasoline - Desert Gas Station - UE4
The whole road is made using splines but I'm mainly wondering about the segment mesh and how to texture it so that it tiles perfectly when using splines. Also how the edges of the road appear, is that actual geometry or possibly an alpha map?
Replies
Hi! One way to get a ideas how to make roads would be to study sample projects. The most recent one I can remember would be the matrix city.
Maybe you find some useful information about roads in this thread (and the road specific thread mentioned in there): https://polycount.com/discussion/231309/desert-gas-station-ue5-wip-critique-welcomed Using the search function you might come across other threads about road making.
Be aware there is a polycount wiki that might also contain interesting info overall.
Some notes how I would approach a simple road:
- Road mesh is tiling in forward direction, has downwards extruded sides so the road clips into the ground.
- UVs are layout so they tile in forward direction.
- Large areas textured using tiling materials. For break up use world projected masks (texture blending, modulate values). Add markings and details to segments using mesh decals. Another option to add details would be via a second UVs channel.
Much success!