[WIP] Modular - medieval church environment (UDK)

Rageleet

Hey guys just wanted to post up some work im doing for my final year project at staffordshire university, please feel free to give as much feedback as possible :P thank you!

Project: Study into Modular environment design. (produce modular environment)

Theme: Medieval Chruch - Based around the 'Black death' aka the plague (Around 1350), the medieval church has been ran sacked by demons and they have spread the plague (linked in with horseman Pestilence the bringer of disease.) :P

The project will be mainly focused on the interior, but im also doing the exterior aswell this is a huge project, so any advice and help would really be appreciated.

Project time: 1st may (including lots of written work )

Project goals:

• Have a better understanding of modular environment design.
• Decrease overall development time for future projects.
• Ways to break up modulariy (vertex paint etc).
• Produce a fully function modular environment.

Concept.


The church is going to be based around St marys, ashwell this church has alot of history around the 'black death' with many wall carving present still from around the time of the plague.






planning points

• Blood on walls.
• Touched praying benches.
• Demon stratches on the walls.
• upside down crosses etc.
• low level lighting (candle light).
• Really want to get some nice light rays comming out from those windows, im not sure weather to have a day time lighting or nighttime lighting ( most likley will be moon lighting, used to pick up dust particles ETC).

A few images to wet your beak.










Example of different brick



Block out

Progress has been really slow so far, way too many other modules going on. Feedback is really needed on this is anyone can point me in the right direction, thanks. Really been focusing on the outside of the church.. when really its the interior i need to focus on although i do want it to be visable from the outside aswell as the inside so i guess.. i have to :P

Outside shot.

Still have the tower to do.. such an annoying shape.



wire



Interior



Sorry about the terrible image quailty .. so much to get done today a little rushed, feedback is most welcome

Seirei

Oh hey another church. I'll keep an eye on this one.

SirCalalot

It's looking good so far, although it's difficult to critique as there isn't much to do it on yet.

I take it you're blocking the whole thing out inside 3DS Max / Maya before importing into UDK?
Personally, I like to do the main blockout in UDK, but then it's mainly because UDK feels more user-friendly than Max.

*Subscribed*

Rageleet

yeah i used to do my blockout in UDK, just i just find it easier to take the blockout models and turn them into the highpoly's sooo much more needed to do!

Rageleet

havn't made much progress this weekend , just been looking at some scale, planning and trying to tackle some geometry like the tower and how i can incorporate it into the level, any ideas on that note ? :P





please crit as much as possible, i would really like some help on turning this into a game level, not just a flashy environment :Pi really want to try and bloke up the main walk way may be with some deadbodies? any ideas anyone ?

Four6810

Looking good so far.

Maybe you can add some debris to block up the walk way along with some dead bodies. From your level plan, you put in broken benches. You can push some broken or unbroken benches off into the main walk way.

chrisradsby

I kinda get the feeling like it should be wider, I guess it depends on the FOV in the end though.

Blaisoid

i think arches would look better if they were taller, like on the ref pic. gothic churches were all about height.

if you're going to put inverted crosses there then perhaps bodies could also be placed in more deliberate or ritualistic ways instead of just laying around.

SirCalalot

That's a good idea actually, maybe even having someone dead and floating in a crucifix position or something?

Some real exorcist shit.

Rageleet

Thank for the replys guys.

I kinda get the feeling like it should be wider, I guess it depends on the FOV in the end though.

Yeah it does feel quite constricted and thats really the problem, i did find it pretty hard to get the shape of the church, but ill just have to suck it up and work around that.


As for blocking the walkway im concidering placing a whole in the roof, when have the debris and a few chairs block the way although this is really my back up plan for now im stilling with benches, deadbodies wrapped in linen (save on some modelling).

i was even thinking of having a central whole in the floor for blocking the path sort of a door way to hell but i think that might come across as bit too much for the environment, not sure if thats the style i want too go for? what you guys think? thanks again :poly121:

SirCalalot

Are you planning on showing off the church more, or having it as just part of the larger picture?

Rageleet

im basically going for the size you can see so quite small, i didn't want to set myself large project like a cathedral i dont feel i have enough time for a project of that scale.

enventually i wanted to do some outside of the church but mainly im focusing on the interior


Heres some benches ive been doing, been a really slowww week , i like the back of the benches but the front is just lacking, also think they need some tweeking on the textures. crit crit

Rageleet

Hey just testing out some brick work, this isn't 100% complete theres alot to be ironed out, please give feedback thanks

i think at the minute the stone is too big? and needs some TLC on the texturing side of things... what u guys think?

SirCalalot

While it's a nice texture/model, it looks like it should be a floor piece rather than a wall piece due to the excessive wear on each stone - something that would generally come from being walked on day-in day-out rather than on an interior wall which is rarely touched.



Looking at your reference image, there doesn't actually seem to be any place for this modular wall piece - as the walls here are plaster-covered.
If you intend on using this texture for the windows, I'd suggest just making modular window frames from scratch that could be duplicated over your scene.

Always keep referring to your source material - something which I know from experience is hard to remember.

I hope that helps

Rageleet

Looking at your reference image, there doesn't actually seem to be any place for this modular wall piece - as the walls here are plaster-covered.
If you intend on using this texture for the windows, I'd suggest just making modular window frames from scratch that could be duplicated over your scene.

Always keep referring to your source material - something which I know from experience is hard to remember.

I hope that helps

Thanks for the reply, i can see you point, i also think the bricks look to big, ill go in give that sculpt a tweak.

As for those references i was mainly looking at the different types of arches i wont be modelling that section of wall, i am a little big unsure on which brick types to use that will fit correctly with the century used materials and with the arches themselves, need to have anothe rlook at reference images (y)

im working on the floor at the minute ill get some sreenshots up later on

Rageleet

Here are some way over due progress shots, development has been very slow alot of other uni work has been getting in the way .

Lots of crits would be really awesome pleaseeee , areas i feel bad are some textures like the pilars/ arches seem quite flat. which i think need to be working on.

a little update to the theme, Im sticking to my orginal theme around the black death but with a bit of a twist, the main center peice will now feature a beating heart instead of a cross, the cross just didn't look right.

SirCalalot

This is coming along nicely, I'm just a little confused why you showed so many screenshots

sltrOlsson

Screenshots to small, please bigger then 4k?!

Looks pretty good! I would say that your shadows are very dark. It helps to establish a good baseic lighning from the start, you should do that

Zwebbie

I recommend you pick up a book about gothic church architecture. By the time of the plague, churches had been the most important buildings in a city for over a millennium, so I'm sure you can imagine they became quite sophisticated in ways that you or I wouldn't think about. They weren't as rule bound as Greek architecture, but it's painfully obvious that you aren't familiar enough with the sources.

On top of that, we're a long way from the 14th century, and churches have changed in the mean time too - don't think churches in the middle ages looked like modern churches, because as fashions and customs changed, so did the visuals. The crosses that would be placed when a bishop inaugurated the church, for example, have often been lost, and often all doors have been painted red when only one should be. And in general, they were gaudier than they are today.

Right now, you could make the most beautiful assets ever, but the scene would still look painful to anyone with even the slightest hint of knowledge of medieval architecture.

Rageleet

Thanks for the comments guys. haha yeah sorry about the images i forgot how big tiledshot 4 makes them haha.

@ Zwebbie - thanks for the feedback, i completly agree with your statement many of the reference images iv found from around the 14th century are completly different and it makes it very hard to jugde whats right, i just dont have enough to go back and play around now im just planning to make the most out of what iv got. Going to have alook at some books see if i can get it looking better with minimal work.


date too come for today got the central heart done going to upload it later, needs some more veins, i also got it Beating which too the best part of a day haha.

Rageleet

Here's some current progress.. ended up scrapping that beating heart i nthe end

iv'e changed the scale of the church so its alot taller now, mainly been working on getting some of the non modular assets into place, going to start working on a brick texture over the course of today crits please, thanks.

Rageleet

a few wall textures done and some test glass, still need to work on some of the lightmap seams, getting alot of dark borders around my meshes.

SirCalalot

That's already looking tonnes better.
I can't wait to see the next update

Rageleet

Hey there guys its close to the end of the time available to complete the environment (3 weeks) and with other modules theres there not much going to be changed except some asssts for the exteria of the church and to fill in some gaps etc. Overall Im not that pleased with the way its gone, tbh id scrap it and start again if i could.

if i could get some crits that would be great thanks please be as harsh as you like i can take it ;P.

Rageleet

iv been trying to get night time lighting, at the minute looks a little too much like day time, any idea to get an effect of moon lighting? iv been playing around with some post processing liek dof and highlights, but still doesn;t quite look right anyone know a good solution? thanks

Rageleet

Hey guys just trying out some dust particles please let me know what you think

uncle

Unicorn tapestry seems out of place and way too dark for me. But It's getting there

mystichobo

uncle wrote: »

Unicorn tapestry seems out of place and way too dark for me. But It's getting there

Yeah, I'd brighten it up quite a lot:

MrNinjutsu

Nice progress but i agree with uncle, the unicorn tapestry is a bit out of place. Cool atmosphere too but i'd brighten it up so you can see things!

Rageleet

thanks to the comments im going to get right on to doing those now, that looks so much nicer just with the colour corrections! thank yoo

as for the tapestry its design is from when i was testing just havnt had time to revisit it, im thinking about maybe have a standard colour with more of a white design or something simple like a hand print or a guild sign for example. not sure how to explain what i mean haha, any ideas?

Rageleet

Hmm think this might be to light, im struggling to match the reference image and tips/suggestions? thanks

Rageleet

too dark ?

SirCalalot

Looking good so far.

Try increasing the intensity of your moonlight just a little bit and then upping your light-bounce intensity to fill the rest of the scene with more light (View > World Properties > Lightmass > "Diffuse Boost [About 5]" and "Num Indirect Lighting Bounces [About 6]").
See where that gets you

Rageleet

thanks man ill have ago at then when i get some free time, working on side project at the moment :P

SirCalalot

I'll allow it :P

brandoom

just my two cents.. but try going back to something like this



Its still got some moody shadows and lighting, but there's a lot of colour from your props at the same time. Also, I like what your trying to do with the large window in front.. but try playing around with a different light direction.. see if you can get some light streaming in from the side and roof windows - might help light things up more.

Anyway, its coming along nicely. Just gotta stick with it and keep trying to push it more. Good luck

Rageleet

haha SirCalalot do you worry ill get back on it as soo na si can

and thanks for the comment brandon yeah i agree i do prefer that lighting ive lost all those settings now though so it will take some playing around.


I found out today that the hand in for the project is the 1st may and the showcase is the 24th may, my main focus is the showcase so a few things can be changed then iv been working mainly on the outside of the church getting everything together for may 1st mostly looking at things like vertex painting, still getting some nasty lighting seams cant get them to go away :poly127:

anyway here is some recent progress

Way to bright and it really needs a tower!!

ParoXum

From an architecture point of view, the whole church is quite low in height still you created very large supports on its side that usually serve as a structure reinforcement to help it stand up. It's weird because the photo references you have are not bugging me on this point.

There's an obvious butterfly effect in the middle of the building.

The vines could be using at least a better texture or better, actual foliage planes over the wall.

You need to pay attention to texture consistency, the vine color for example is to saturated and clashes with the rest, the mapping scale of it matters as well. The stained glass windows should show darker outside if not almost black, unless you have a very powerful sunlight inside your church but there's no light source inside anyways.

There's a big gap in texel ratio from some of your columns inside to the arches on top of them. That puts the scale off and doesn't look good.

The roof slates texture is off scale as well, and doesn't tile that well vertically it seems.

Lighting should be reworked also to give the interior more contrast. It's pretty evenly lit at the moment, and the very long shadows dont help. Create areas made of darkness and add some light sources be it real or fake to create interest for the eye.

Hint: start relighting your interior from absolute black.

Rageleet

thanks for the points ill get to work on them, on the architecture side of things i know its wrong, it was jsut too late in the developement stage to fit .

seeing as i havn't got much time left on this project im most likly not going to get all the issues fixed , im just wondering which areas i should really focus on? whats going to produce the best overall, what do you guys think?

thanks again.

ParoXum

If you really have no time, focus on lighting. A good lighting can save an average scene without problem

wirrexx

Nice job dude, i really love the overall style, can we see the texture for the exterior?

Btw! I dig the darker picture, it gives me the creeps! in a good way! And the Bricks on the Pillar (exterior) seems larger then the bricks on the building itself, shouldnt they be the same size?

SirCalalot

A good tip for overall scene composition and lighting is to blur your vision while looking at a screenshot.
Are there areas of interest that draw the eye? Or does it just blend into a grey blob?

Rageleet

thanks for the comments guys! really helpful just working on my final year project write up now.. really not fun

@ParoXum
yeah im going to get to work on the lighting as soon as, im going to start from scratch like you suggested :P

@wirrexx
thanks man need a good pick me up on this project haha, and yeah they need to be scaled down a little, as for those texture shots ill upload them when i get a break in this write up :P

@SirCalalot
ill have look around the level :P i can see someone walking in my room while im staring at the screen cross eyed looking at me very confused haha :P

Rageleet

ParoXum i was just look through ur portfolio and ur environments are amazing i especially like the fort highness environment! i was just wondering what your workflow/how you created those rocks/cliffs they look amazing

SirCalalot

Pfft, us cool guys have had @ParoXum's stuff as desktop backgrounds for ages now... :P

Skillmister

Rageleet wrote: »

ParoXum i was just look through ur portfolio and ur environments are amazing i especially like the fort highness environment! i was just wondering what your workflow/how you created those rocks/cliffs they look amazing

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1411329&postcount=99

Rageleet

Pfft, us cool guys have had @ParoXum's stuff as desktop backgrounds for ages now... :P

haha well u add a new member to that :P, these evvironments are sexy :P

Thanks skillmister! :P :thumbup:

Rageleet

Hey guys i know its been a while since the last post, I've been writing my dissertation and its horrible

please let me know what you think there's a lot of issues mainly light seams,
just cant seem to get hem correct, i was rocking light maps at ridiculous light res as well, i've used a max of 256 on objects and the quality i feel is better or the same in areas which just seems weird but coool Added an extra doorway on the side like the reference of the church , improved on lighting alot, sooo anyway..

please be as harsh as you can with feedback :P thank you

Rageleet

some updates

WarrenM

I think it really needs work on the lighting. It's all very flat and uniform at the moment and in each screen shot, my eyes have no direction - there's nothing to tell them what to look at, really.

I like the idea of the window throwing a shadow down the middle of the church but that REALLY needs to be pumped up with contrast before it will work correctly. I only noticed it because I happened to see the window shape on the floor.

The exterior shots look better because of the strong moonlight, although those shadows could be darker as well.

Selaznog

Great work! I agree with Warren about the eye not knowing where to go. I mean, my eyes go to the end of the the church where the candles are glowing, but I think they could be throwing up some more warm tones. This could help the overall look of the scene methinks