Final Major Project | Dustbound [ Feedback Needed]

mertsakli

Hi all!
I'm doing a Master's in Games Art & Design, I will be sharing the progress of my final major project here. 

I am creating a Cinematic for my sci-fi game Dustbound inspired by Dune and Starwars. Dustbound is a military science fiction third-person shooter game that depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology and sources.

Rough storyline :

Our protagonist receives urgent information: the city is under siege. Quickly, they trigger the city-wide alarm, gathering its defences. With fellow soldiers, they board their aircraft, Launching towards the unfolding conflict.

mertsakli

My Concepts for Main Scenes and Assets

I primarily use ready-made assets for my characters, as my main focus and strength lie in creating detailed environments. This allows me to put more time and energy into the areas where I excel and am most confident.
And I also have my concepts for a smaller aircraft and a launchpad. 

All were created using Midjourney Ai

mertsakli

For my exterior design, I modelled low-poly wall sections and added details using displacement maps. I generated these maps with a program called JSplacement, a free tool that procedurally creates sci-fi greeble displacement maps.


For the interior of the headquarters, I modeled sci-fi metal panels and a central table featuring a holographic display.


For the landscape, I sculpted a desert landscape using a heightmap and I designed a auto paint material.


Last update for one of my main objects a VTOL aircraft. 
For this prop, my main focus was optimization. I modelled a low-poly asset and textured it in substance.

mertsakli

VFX

I created a layered sandstorm using Niagara, incorporating flying particle effects and sand clouds. To add more depth and richness to the scene, I also designed a moving sand decal for the landscape. Here is a GIF to showcase it. And feel free to give me feedback about it. This is my first time using Niagara.

mertsakli

The final Cinematic 
My main focus was the camera angles and the movement of the cameras. I tried my best to render it in the highest resolution. I faced some issues like shadows disappearing and exponential fog not acting properly in renders. 
I edited the sequences and the sound very quickly. So I know the post-processing can be better but I hope you enjoy it and feel free to give me feedback for evaluation. https://youtu.be/STuMdWIchFw