[UDK] Cave / Ruins Environment

plyrs

Over the summer I have been working on a project for an independent study for school. I finally 'completed' it and turned it in for credit. However, I want to show it off and get some helpful criticism.





One thing I am worried about, is that they are incredibly dark. The screenshots are darker than how it looks in UDK. I'm also worried that it looks too monotone. Anyways, I am proud to be able to finally post some of my own work on here.

The floor and walls are BSP. Everything else is a mesh. If I can find a good spot to upload it, I have a video fly through. Anyone have any suggestions?

r_fletch_r

Looking really promising. have you tried using some coloured lighting? some cool coloured ambient light could really add some atmosphere. contrast that with some warm tones from those crystals on the walls and it could really look nice. Generally speaking pure white light is to be avoided. Also reducing the amount of ambient light and having areas of more defined direct illumination could really help.

plyrs

Firstly, YAY! They read as crystals. I was so worried they wouldn't read to other people. Secondly, all the light is lightly green tinted. The only white light is in the circular room under the giant white crystaly thing. I will try adding some contrasting light to see how it looks.

seventhspine

Like the setup. I think putting more variation of colors in the textures will help making the environment look richer. Also maybe setup the lights so that only the area of focus will be lit and framed by the darker areas. It helps to create a more dramatic feel, i'm no expert but may this will help.

Michael Knubben

A coloured non-black ambient would help a lot. As would reducing the noise-level of your textures, I think. I don't agree that the lights read as crystals, a less bulbous form would work much better for that, I think. Something like this perhaps?
Adding (or using!) coloured spec to everything could also help. You could differentiate materials more, give an oily sheen to some surfaces, colour the cracks differently (more brown?) to the rest, which you could give a slight blue tint. Stone may appear to be mostly grey, but things like this can really help sell something. Differentiate between the different types and treatments of stone in your scene! Even if in your mind there's only one type of stone used in there, the tiles will still have been treated much differently from the Obelisk, which itself will be different from the relatively untouched cave-walls etc.

plyrs

seventhspine - Thanks for the paint-over. I originally had a lot of shadows seeping into the corners like that. I was worried it was too dark so I lightened it up. I went too far from one extreme to another. I'm working on more directed light now.

MightyPea - These aren't supposed to be naturally occurring crystals. More like they were found and worked into gemstone type cuts. I will get some closer up images for the next batch. I'm working more in differentiating the materials.

After I am happy with the changes I will post some more images. Hopefully today.

r_fletch_r

+1 to masterPea. the gems would look better with some clear faceting.

plyrs

Here are the updates. I shifted the lighting color around slightly and added a blueish fill light for the areas where the wall lamps die out. I also modified the rough stone, the obelisk, and the trim stone blocks. They have a different specularity than before. There is probably still too much ambient light getting up onto the higher rock work. Of course, I only realized that after comparing the new screenshots to the old ones ><

Lastly, a close-up of some of the crystal lamps.





I originally planned for a more faceted stone, but was never able to get it to look right. I will try to make a new version of the crystals in the next couple days.

snake85027

looking good, just get some decal overlays for the walls.

plyrs

No new modeling completed. I just haven't had the time. However, I did work on the lighting some more. I also managed to get a decent screen of the waterfall. Looks better in motion, but then that should be expected







I think I finally got a decent handle on the lighting in the stairway room. I also toned down the bloom effect. It was waaaaay too much before.

fearian

IMO it looks unnaturally dark - everything is either lit, or pitch black. Lighting really needs an overhaul.

edit: I think its mainly the AO, lots of thick black shadows in between very mesh.

Mike Yevin

Yeah I completely agree with fearian on this one, don't try and hide all the details of the level just because its a cave. Brighten the scene up more equally.

plyrs

I'll see what I can do. Lighting is so painful to work on. So much time consuming rebuild time. It is definitely my least favorite part of the work :P

Will Faucher

Are you using lightmass? I really don't get the feeling that you're getting alot of indirect lighting there. Get a few more photon bounces and it should really light that scene up alot. Dark doesn't make a scene moody or give it more atmosphere, it just makes it hard to see.