Peris, I wanted to comment quickly and say that this shot here makes it look like theres birds flying in the sky (I know, they're entity icons in Unreal).
And now I really hope you put some flying birds in this area as I think it shows a glimmer of hope amongst this.. evil.
hmm maybe adam , but birds wouldn't really fit in the little story i have in my head for this, since the air is supposed to be toxic..
little update! Added some extra stuff in there that can hardly be seen , worked on background buildings and remodeled the middle building. It still needs a lot more detail but at least i got a base to work from now . I managed to get the entire building on a 1024x2048 sheet, with the parts the player can get close to still at high pixel density.
i started thinking about my second perspective as well, i will probably go with something like this, which shows some stuff more up close and gives a nice view to the other side. I need to fill this up of course, but with the collection of props i have now it shouldn't be too hard!
thanks guys!
Here's another small update, I did some texture tweaks, made an extra piece of vegetation and some wires. I also mocked up a lamppost which will give some more sense of scale i hope. I might still add some benches, but the clock is ticking now...
If you have green plants, why no birds? Green plants don't give the sense that the air is toxic. Also I'd like to see some more detail in the foreground of this composition. Right now my eye is attracted to the front lower part of the image, but there is nothing but a flat rock texture there, then I look up to see the detail in the middle of the piece.
Update
I've been a bit lazy this week, since the contest was extended i took some time to relax .
I'm very unsure about what i will choose for my final shots, for the first one I think i will go with one of these two:
and one of these for the second shot:
Everything still needs a lot of polish, especially the normal maps and specs. Small model errors everywhere as well, and the lighting can also be a lot better i think. I'm going to put more stuff in the backdrop aswel and make a new skybox. Lots of things to do, but thank god theres still 2 weeks left .
maybe add some more buildings in the background. it looks a bit empty in parts. also why'd you get rid of the street lamps/signs? some more elements to help sell the size of the area would really help i think.
some fog sprites could look nice too. currently the fog looks like a normal gradient (which always looks fake in games in my opinion)
the street lamps/signs etc will come back, i just removed everything that was untextured atm . The backdrop buildings will come back as well, don't really know why i removed them, i was rearranging things .
I agree on the fog sprites too, that together with some god rays and sprites of leaves floating around should work very well i think.
these will be the final angles I will use i think, I'm trying to nail them down now so i can focus where to spend most time polishing and adding details . What do you guys think?
Not much has changed to the previous pics except that i tweaked some materials and made some changes to the lighting, trying to set it up so that the specular will show at least a tiny bit
loving it man, the ground could use some props or something to fill it up like out of work electricity poles or something to simulate toxic decay dunno . This is my fav entry btw.
very nice! def reads as a playable space. alot of other entries dont come off as a "gameplayable" env. but yours is top notch! great work so far.
My crits would be
I would like to see more depth to the city (more buildings feathered to the background elements, more background elements in general )
skybox could also use more detail IMO.
Since I finally officially entered the contest, even have my own thumbnail and shit. Yeah!
Thanks for the comments everyone. I should start working on some smaller props now, is it obvious i don't like doing that kind of stuff much?
I've painted a new sky (that you cant see much of in this pic) and did some polishing on the red building:
really considering going for a close up shot like this for the 2nd beauty shot now .
I like this shot a lot. It puts you right in the level.
Not that im in a position to give specific crits, and I love this as is, but im a big fan of having a piece of something that is repeated or represented a lot in the background, to have a section of that in the foreground closeup.
for example like instead of those alpha bushes, push them off to the sides a bit and put like a nice big vent in the foreground, same ones you have at the back or really similar but perpendicular or something, or actually one of those rafter scaffolds with the cabling that are connecting power between the buildings, have a piece of that cornered in the foreground real close up. This will give movement throughout the piece i think, and when you can see the closeup texture and normal mapping up close, the viewer will instantly push that detail to each piece in the background even though you cant specifically see the detail back there.
Thats my 2 cents for as much as its worth. I love this piece. I vote Peris!
i prefered the old shot because you could see how vast the city is, right now you lost that appeal , and all we can see is like 2, 3 buildings and not understand how the city was abbandoned etc
looking awesome Peris a bit monochromatic maybe ? but that can be an artistic choice, even though I do believe that more color touches in the lighting here and here would add a lot
katze: I will probably turn up the lightmap resolutions for the final shots, now I'm keeping them low so the light baking doesn't take too long . Also I don't think ill get the grass shadows right, unreal doesn't render alpha shadows
I tried getting some more color in the composition, what do you guys think?
Replies
And now I really hope you put some flying birds in this area as I think it shows a glimmer of hope amongst this.. evil.
little update! Added some extra stuff in there that can hardly be seen
i started thinking about my second perspective as well, i will probably go with something like this, which shows some stuff more up close and gives a nice view to the other side. I need to fill this up of course, but with the collection of props i have now it shouldn't be too hard!
Here's another small update, I did some texture tweaks, made an extra piece of vegetation and some wires. I also mocked up a lamppost which will give some more sense of scale i hope. I might still add some benches, but the clock is ticking now...
Just need a couple more props to really pop the scale. Trash cans lamp posts, etc..
I've been a bit lazy this week, since the contest was extended i took some time to relax
I'm very unsure about what i will choose for my final shots, for the first one I think i will go with one of these two:
and one of these for the second shot:
Everything still needs a lot of polish, especially the normal maps and specs. Small model errors everywhere as well, and the lighting can also be a lot better i think. I'm going to put more stuff in the backdrop aswel and make a new skybox. Lots of things to do, but thank god theres still 2 weeks left
maybe add some more buildings in the background. it looks a bit empty in parts. also why'd you get rid of the street lamps/signs? some more elements to help sell the size of the area would really help i think.
some fog sprites could look nice too. currently the fog looks like a normal gradient (which always looks fake in games in my opinion)
good luck with your entry. loads of potential
I agree on the fog sprites too, that together with some god rays and sprites of leaves floating around should work very well i think.
one thing id like to see is a few larger mesh blocks in the rubble just to break up sillohette and lighting
Not much has changed to the previous pics except that i tweaked some materials and made some changes to the lighting, trying to set it up so that the specular will show at least a tiny bit
jesus and baby jesus and mother mary and the last supper, holy hell.
thats rad.
It doesn't feel so evil, but that's ok. Maybe it's lacking some secondary light sources, little lights, to get some more color contrast.
I really want to walk around this area, hope you make a map of it or something.
"Maybe it's lacking some secondary light sources, little lights, to get some more color contrast"
Yup, i agree this com, maybe add some point lights here and there with a bright color.
Vegetation adds a lot to your scene, it seems really deserted and really unearthly with those strange structures.
Here's another little update, added smoke sprites and god rays. Also some more texture tweaks and made light maps where i thought it was necessary.
I just need to finish a few more props like extra vines and the light posts, and then its almost only texture polishing left
This is shaping up really nice, especially for a 1 man team
My crits would be
I would like to see more depth to the city (more buildings feathered to the background elements, more background elements in general )
skybox could also use more detail IMO.
Unearthly Challenge | Peris | Abandoned Colony
Since I finally officially entered the contest, even have my own thumbnail and shit. Yeah!
Thanks for the comments everyone. I should start working on some smaller props now, is it obvious i don't like doing that kind of stuff much?
I've painted a new sky (that you cant see much of in this pic) and did some polishing on the red building:
really considering going for a close up shot like this for the 2nd beauty shot now
Not that im in a position to give specific crits, and I love this as is, but im a big fan of having a piece of something that is repeated or represented a lot in the background, to have a section of that in the foreground closeup.
for example like instead of those alpha bushes, push them off to the sides a bit and put like a nice big vent in the foreground, same ones you have at the back or really similar but perpendicular or something, or actually one of those rafter scaffolds with the cabling that are connecting power between the buildings, have a piece of that cornered in the foreground real close up. This will give movement throughout the piece i think, and when you can see the closeup texture and normal mapping up close, the viewer will instantly push that detail to each piece in the background even though you cant specifically see the detail back there.
Thats my 2 cents for as much as its worth. I love this piece. I vote Peris!
can you give the floor a higher lightmap res?
The grass shadows don't look too good
katze: I will probably turn up the lightmap resolutions for the final shots, now I'm keeping them low so the light baking doesn't take too long
I tried getting some more color in the composition, what do you guys think?