UDK small jungle scne

Moshbeast

so i have been working on this little project for my blitz open day submission


mostly i have been having trouble with the normal maps even though i really cranked it up in photoshop it still looks really flat so id really like some criticism and no need to be nice

Sharvo

Hey, good start on the modelling, texturing and lighting. But it doesnt really look like it is in a jungle to be honest. I was expecting a few ruins surrounded by foliage, right now it looks like a castle or a medieval town, which i think could be a gd idea, these buildings could be workshops or blacksmiths, so cogs ooutside the place and lil buckets would really help this idea have a bit of story, thers no real focal point to it.

If you want to continue down the jungle option i have two suggestions one is to have foliage all over the place, these buildings have been lost and nature has taken over, a nice glow coming out that well would be nice as a focal point something mysterious is down their think about the Tv series lost. the second is by just typeing in jungle village into google will bring u image of lil huts, ponds and fireplaces.

You got a good start and keep on going! As for the normals some textures to see it would be nice have they got a spec map? Could be quite a few things. Hope this doesnt come across as a rant or a kick in the teeth, but its for an open day and you need this to be the best it can possibly be.

Moshbeast

that is actually a very nice response rather then a rant or kick in the teeth so i think ill take the second advice and add some more plants, some bricks on the floor so it looks like the buildings are falling apart and moss on the walls. Also the idea with the well is really nice I'll definitely use that also ill add a little fireplace and buckets to make it look like even though its falling apart its still inhabited

so thank you for the advice I'll defenetly use it and here are the diffuse, normal and specular map for the bricks since they are the most prominent

specular

normal

diffuse

Oranghe

This is a good base but it needs some more life as Sharvo stated, i also feel the buildings are a bit rigid, don't really understand them since they are so tall. (Don't think you have to shorten them i think this set up can have a nice atmosphere but they just go straight up with no other information on them could break this up a bit with more decals on the buildings or windows / architecture).

Your normals seem a bit noisy for me but i can't tell from your ingame shot without it being closer, could use some surface blur on them to even it out but from the screenshot shown they seem okay ingame so far.

A different texture on the floor of your buildings and more plants / general focus of your scene would help allot i think!

I did notice you have some vertex shading on the floor there that's a really nice touch and i'm glad to see you using that really well This is a scene you could do allot more with and i look forward to seeing it grow!

Good job

Eastlin

Too small screenshot :S but yeah too much flat walls imo and try to do something about thouse hard edges,

Oranghe

Hey mosh i did a really messy really quick paint over haha it's not very good but has some ideas of how to fill the space a bit, make sure you have a focal point though! i felt the well would make a good one.

P.S got a bit carried away with the blood sorry :P

Moshbeast

and once again oranghe i thank you for some brilliant ideas

Mark Dygert

It has potential and I think you're off to a decent start. Its a bit blocky but it reminds me a lot of Unreal 1-2, which is good but then again those are pretty old games. Even if we weren't about to take another big hardware jump next year you could round out the corners and break a few straight edges.

Those are some cool ideas, it would be cool to see a few of them put in.

Moshbeast

since i am not really great at baking yet i dont think ill use it with the edges on this one but i definitely will use a lot of the ideas here

Oranghe

oh my god Mark Dygert think's i'm cool! xD xD my night is made thank you

n go go go Mosh!

Moshbeast

so here is the updated version

Rhinokey

seems you are worrying wat too much about lighting and fogging and stuff now. your geo is still rearly bland and boring. your scene should be able to stand on its all without all that fancy stuff. everything is still basic. can you find some photo ref of the kind of structure that you are making?

i also notice you have no transitions, the dirt just ends at the walls, maybe some rubble or edging there. the bamboo is lifeless, looks like a cylinder with a texture an some leaves slapped on. they could be more tightly packed in cluesters, perhaps thinner, an some with slight bends

in face almost everything in the scene looks like a complete primative object with a texture. the walls are flat. the well is boxy, the brick rubble are perfect blocky shaped bricks. you really need to get in there and start masaging your shapes into something with life.

the texture itself could use a lot of work also, check out some refs, and get in there with your painting. now its way noisy and fuzzy.

dont take my crits too harshly you are working your way thru the stages that everyone goes thru when learning how to do this. its only natural,

Moshbeast

to be honest i don't really find it harsh since its your honest opinion which is quite helpful so and in your response i pretty much found my biggest mistake i didn't actually work of any references on this one. So I will definitely take your advice at heart and improve it in what time remains till the hand in

Razorb

I really agree with Rhinokey, you have a tendency to make things look very rigid/basic I know you want to keep it very low poly.. but at the same time not as the cost of the environments appeal, look at games like WOW and see how they have kept a lot of shape and visual interest in their environments even though it is low poly!

And onto the scene itself! I did a wee paintover and explained most changes in the second pic so I wont do much talking here! I think what you have is a nice base and could easily be improved! I think not using reference or concepting things out at the start really bit you in the arse this time! But i do think you could easily improve it before the hand in!

Hope this helps and good luck!


and some explanation!

angieb1970

The feedback you've had on the forum is very clear and helpful and I agree with what has been said- in fact it's hard to add much to Razor_b's critique because both his advice and the paint over give so much good information.

The thing that comes across loudest to me for future reference when looking at your jpg is that you need to sit down and actually 'design' your scene using thumbnail sketches which are gradually worked up to a layout that you are happy with. You will also need to have plenty of reference material for authenticity and produce some mood boards and reference boards to inspire and guide you.
Unfortunately,the lighting in your original jpg looks like a blanket of orange fog and evens out all the tones beneath. You should be aiming more for areas of contrast in your scene which add drama, with the main elements in focus and placed carefully in the composition. The lighting needs to be more local around the lamps with some mysterious shadowy areas to add interest. You could do with some bright orange highlights hitting surrounding objects from the fire.
Razor_b's paint over resolves this and his suggestion of adding torn red cloth to lead the eye around the composition and emphasizing the gateways is particularly effective.
I think you need to look at some imagery of the type of building you want to feature in your scene and add some particular architectural features to stop the building from looking bland.
It may help to break up one of the walls so that the eye can linger beyond the foreground to add a sense of a wider environment.
Just a thought- but maybe a flight of stone steps above the armory sign that leads to an adjacent doorway but has open jungle and sky beyond.
I've done an additional paint over on top of Razor_b's to quickly suggest what I mean.

n88tr

all the fog looks like it's hiding the scene

Moshbeast

so here is the finished scene only finished because I'm running out of time though :P