First UDK Environment

feliponz

Hi, over the past couple of months I've been trying to make my first 3D environment using UDK. Before I started using it I had very minimal knowledge on how to use the engine, so it's been a learn as you go experience. Below is my process and what I've ended up with so far. I'm kind of done with it right now (I don't like spending too long on a particular project), but I definitely welcome both critique and advice on how to improve it.
The environment is a stasis chamber in a deep-space exploration ship.

I used these 2 images as a starting point:






1st blocking in of the scene in UDK:



Then:



added a door:



Made the main wall piece:





It looked way to repetitive so I added some props (also took the opportunity to explore creating particle effects). I'm calling these "Atmosphere ionizers" (they produce ionized particles that protect the stasis chamber from cosmic rays)





Main center piece (Stasis chamber):



Learned about creating glass materials:

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feliponz

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Main controls for center piece (I was going for a holographic interface):



Textured the pods and ceiling piece:





Main wall and other stuff:







More holographic interfaces:





Lastly, a little test video of the scene:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5XTCWlZ2hQ&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5XTCWlZ2hQ&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

nick2730

Looks pretty good for first try, only thing is i think lighting looks flat. Some of the environment doesnt make sense to me. Like the main wall, what are those storage area's on top? Whats on the main wall cause it looks like a morgue chamber

feliponz

Hmm, good point. They were supposed to be storage units, but they DO kinda look like they could hold corpses. Got any tips on how to improve the lighting? I think the AO settings are too intense or something. I've been tweaking it but it makes it look more strange.
My original intent was to make things look like white plastic (kind of shiny, a bit reflective but not making it look like metal). It came out looking all washed out, and UDK keeps making my textures look really dark. Any ideas?

Rurouni Strife

Turn off Tone Mapping in the Post Process chain. that makes your textures look dark and can fuck up your lighting.

Just play with the lights. AO can either help or kill your scene, definitely work with them too. This could be a killer scene with some extra work, lighting is very important to making your work stand out. You might also want to look at your textures after some lighting improvements. It could be the lighting, but they look really flat. I would also look into breaking up the floor texture a little with some vert painting or decal textures. Just a small amount of grunge can go a long way (and I mean small in this scene).

feliponz

@Rurouni Strife: Thanks! I'll definitely try that. I haven't gotten into vert painting, but I was just looking up some tutorials on the matter.

cholden

Looks like a great start to a first UDK environment. BTW here's a silly thing, if you use the console command SetSpeed 0.5, this'll slow down that default run speed in half (adjust to your likely), and it'll make walking around in your videos appear more natural to the scale of the environment.

feliponz

@cholden: awesome, thanks!
(I don't know why it took me so long to start posting in this site... I was a little afraid I suppose )

ajr2764

Not bad at all, i like the concept of the environment..I'm a fan of Sci-fi work. I think you need to do something with the floor and ceiling. I think it would look better if you broke up those areas with some other design that conforms to the shapes of the meshes that are sitting on them. Textures do look a little flat right now, scene has more of a cartoony sci-fi look..not sure if that's what you want. Overall the scene has potential so keep it up.