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Middle East Environment - UDK

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polycounter lvl 7
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karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
Here i'm posting some wip of my middle east environment. Feedback is appreciated :)

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  • karatekodden
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Some of the props in Maya viewport.

    electic_pole_01.jpg



    cargo_box_maya.jpg

    Oil_barrel.jpg
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Sculpt in Zbrush and lowpoly in Maya.

    plastic_bag_hi.jpgplastic_bag_low.jpg
    plastic_bag_low_wireframe.jpg
  • Mik2121
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    Mik2121 polycounter lvl 9
    Wow, those props look much better by themselves than in the in-game screenshots.
    In the last two screenshots, the empty area is taking up way too much space I think and something about the terrain feels off.

    But the props look much better. The trash can though.. I think I've seen at least another 5 people around here with the same prop (thanks to the cgtuts+ tutorial). You might want to add something more to it other than the changing the color :P

    Edit - Oh, and wires. Post them. Everybody here loves to check 'em out =)
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Thanks for the feedback.

    Do you think about the texture in the terrain or the terrain itself?
    I haven't seen the cgtuts tutorial but it might be hard to create a dumpster that stand out from the rest. But i will look in to it :)

    I updated with some wireframes.
  • karatekodden
  • oobersli
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    oobersli polycounter lvl 17
    your ground needs some more detail. right now you're using a sand texture that fits more on sand dunes, but with buildings in the way the ground won't recieve the same wind pattern the open desert would get. Get some rough sand or dirt and mix it in there. Some tire tracks, rubble/trash would also help along the foundations of the buildings.

    maybe even think of changing your trees to something more shrubbery like this?
    http://misscreativeclassy.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/desert-ambience.png?w=500&h=332
  • sltrOlsson
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    sltrOlsson polycounter lvl 14
    Yeah, you need to rethink your layout i think. The big open area doesn't work for me. Feels very strange that anyone would live like that in fairly big houses in the middle of nowhere..

    I think our props looks ace, but as mik2121 said, they look better in viewport. I don't know how the garbage system works in "The middle east", but that container is very city like, and with a very urban tag on it. Makes no sense i'm afraid. It looks goo though :)

    You don't have any concepts or something?
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    The dumpster i actually and old one I did to a city environment. I havn't change the texture on that one yet :P Tought the model maybe will fit in anyway. Just put it in there to get the feeling.
    The reason I put the environment in a desert was because i did't want to build hundreds of different building and to block the line where the horizon ends :P But I will look for solutions to make the scene feel more tighter.

    I'm far away from saying the environment is done. Going to build more props, change textures and experiment with lightinings.

    The only cocept I have is a fast blockout I did in maya and a lots of arabic reference pictures :P
    Thanks for the feedback! Cheers!
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Does anyone know how to light up a mesh in UDK with a lightmap and still get dynamic shadows from the mesh. In my case I'm thinking about the trees.
  • brandoom
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    brandoom polycounter lvl 15
    Hey Kraratekodden,

    if you haven't already, try creating a second UV channel for the prop. Here is a great tutorial by 3D Motive which explains how.. assuming you are using 3dmax. http://www.3dmotive.com/product-udk-lightmaps

    Nice work so far :)
  • sltrOlsson
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    sltrOlsson polycounter lvl 14
    Yeah i hear ya! Towns can be a bitch. I think it's the lack of plants and shit around the houses in the background that makes it feel "fabricated". Maybe a field of something and some palms and desert bushes would be cool?`

    If you haven't looked at Generation Kill you should. Both because it's a frekkin good TV series but also cause they have some really good settings and stuff..
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Thanks brandoom. I'm actually using Maya for this one, but the problem is that the trees is made in i free license of UDK speedtree and i can't export the tree to any other 3D-software then UDK. But I maybe anyway end up doing a tree in Maya that look a little more shrubbery.

    sltrOlsson, I think plants and some other things in the background will definitely make it feel better. Oh Generation Kill, one of my favorites. A very good insperation source. Thanks for the tips.

    I noticed that you also are from Sweden? Stay Frosty!
  • sltrOlsson
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    sltrOlsson polycounter lvl 14
    Regarding your lightmap problem with the trees. Do you have them animated from speedTree? In that case you can't have baked light on them, and i see no problem having dynamic light on there. If they ain't moving, why not bake all of it? :)

    And yeah, something that i forgot to mention. You should go back to that damaged concrete piece you got. It's way to wobbly. You need some harder broken edges in there.

    I thought that name of yours felt Swedish yeah :P Attending to any educations atm?

    I'm actually gonna be that guy whom quotes himself ;)

    sltrOlsson wrote: »
    That wont sell as concrete i'm afraid. Look at what damaged concrete blocks like. There smooth and flat and nice, and then with a very sharpish edge, a broken one, it turns into the uneven concrete mess that we love.

    I'm trying to create a broken-ish concrete ceiling. I'm not sure if i'm going to use this, but the technique i used worked pretty well.

    It goes like this.
    • Save a morph target.
    • Fuck shit up with fast mallet brush and clay buildup. I use clay build up to get some nice holes in. Use spray and a square alpha.
    • Use morph brush with spray and a square alpha here to and paint back the edges you want.
    • Fuck shit up more, morph bake more.

    Try it out!

    2nst0ki.jpg
  • LateWhiteRabbit
    Yeah, that dumpster prop doesn't really work. I don't know how the trash system in the Middle East works either, but I'm betting small villages like this don't have garbage trucks zipping around.

    Also, I know you said the texture on the dumpster was old, but you need to be careful of details in your environments. For instance, the graffiti is WESTERN graffiti - if the dumpster belongs at all, it would have EASTERN graffiti like this.

    And what are barrels of flammable liquid doing sitting around a Middle Eastern village? Last I saw, IEDs were a little more subtle. Not that I want to dispute a time honored video game convention of having something to blow up - but I'm betting your dude has grenades, and it looks like you are trying to be realistic here with your representation.
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Been working on ground texture and some other textures. Skipped the dumpster this time :D Going to be carefull with text and labels in the future. The environment is ment to be a realistic presentation. Going to put some more props in the middle to fill the empty space out. Maybe also put some antenn on one of the building?

    strlOlsson: I was using the exact same technique to create my damged concrete pieces and my toughts was that the cracks have been there fore a while and the edges has been worned out by people walking back and forth. But I should maybe create some more hard cracks in the middle and change some of the wobbleyness on the edges :P. The trees are animated and I was worried the where to dark from the underside. But i think I'm going to change the trees anyway. Nice quote you got there :D Thanks!

    Yeah! I'm studying the last year in Skövde as an 3D-artist. So just some more months before the degree. Cheers!


    udk_09.jpg
  • michaelmilette
    Something with this scene that pops out for me is the electric pole. It seems way to clean to be in a sandy and worn down scene also it is really vibrant compared to all of the other objects in your scene. I think if you toned it down a bit and grunged it up it would gel really nice in your set

    loving the textures on your buildings looking pretty rad.

    None of the doors look like they have any forum of door handle that may just be how homes are in the middle east however definitely look for some reference to make sure.

    mike
  • SinisterUrge
    I'm a fan of your work. After checking out your website and portfolio, awesome stuff. Keep it up. I got a suggestion for the lighting, its too white. It need a bit of a orangy yellow hue and the shadows needs a bit of a blue tint. This should make the lighting give the scene the realism its lacking. The modelling itself is excellent.
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Thanks SinisterUrge! I'm definitely going to try that out. Will update later with light test and some changed textures.

    Cheers!
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Been experimented with the lightning. Here comes a small update with light and color correction.
    udk_11.jpg
  • aajohnny
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    aajohnny polycounter lvl 14
    Looks awesome, could be in a battlefield game, good work so far. Maybe you should add cars in the middle (they must have needed transportation)
  • popngear
    The scale looks off on the buildings (they seem too small). Looking at the size of the soldier on the right side and comparing it to the height of the door, it looks like he wouldn't be able to walk in without smokin his head. I don't mind the subdued palette so much except I think the sky looked better in the previous iteration.
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    You current camera angle makes this feel like a GI Joe toy set or something. If you bring it down a bit it'll help a ton.

    The lighting is really nice. The shadows might be a tad too dark. Otherwise I really like what you're doing with the lighting.

    The telephone wires seem like the would sag a bit more as well.

    All small things and won't take long to fix.

    BTW having a character in there for scale reference is cool. Did you make the guy too? If so you might want to pull up closer on him.
  • sketch81
    Looking really nice dude, reminds me of Bad Company 2. The scene looks a little clean and I think you need to scatter some weeds and rubbish throughout the scene floor.
    Looking forward to more updates :poly142:
  • marq4porsche
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    marq4porsche polycounter lvl 9
    This scene is looking good but it's not quite there yet. I'm not really liking the palm trees at all. They're hurting the overall quality of the scene. The leaves are looking too big and the proportions are off as well. I feel that the trunk should be a much taller and have smaller leaves. Right now they're right on top of the characters head.
    Maybe you can also rethink your choice of props in the center of your scene. Instead of the palm tree maybe you have a fountain there . That alone will give the scene a bit more variety and more sense of place. More rubble and debris will make it stronger too. You can put a bit more grass into the scene around the edges of buildings and such. I think this scene can also be a bit more atmospheric. Don't just make the shadows a cold gray, add a hint of blue hues to them and make your sky a bit brighter blue to make the scene below it really pop. I really hope this helped, because the scene is coming along! I can't wait to see what you do with it.
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    A well to the scene
    well_low_maya.jpgwell_low_maya_wireframe.jpg
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Been working on some more props. Like a Well and an Antenn. Changed some lightning and the trees. Added more grass and dirt. Think I will put some more vegetation and gravel into the scene. Still some more props to create, textures to change and then experiment with lightning. Thanks for the feedback. It's very appreciated.

    udk_13.jpgudk_14.jpgudk_15.jpgudk_16.jpg
  • MainManiac
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    MainManiac polycounter lvl 11
    reminds me of the iraq mission in conviction, good job.
  • aajohnny
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    aajohnny polycounter lvl 14
    Keeps getting better man. I still think a vehicle should be in this scene somewhere.
  • marq4porsche
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    marq4porsche polycounter lvl 9
    Looking better, some rubble and rocks would help flesh it out even more. One thing I've noticed is that in your first shot, all of the trees are lined up in a straight line.
  • Jeff Parrott
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    Jeff Parrott polycounter lvl 19
    Those new camera angles are helping a ton! Looking great.
  • BARDLER
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    BARDLER polycounter lvl 12
    I think a light dust/yellow height fog would really help sell the middle east look.
  • InMOP
    Hey man, the scene is coming together real nice,
    I spent my childhood in the ME and can point out a few things that are missing.
    - not many petrol stations about so we used to have a few petrol cans around the place.
    - never seen those vents before its all mainly water cooling vents, huge yellow cube looking things on the roofs.
    - had a lot more clothes on the edge of the roofs to dry.
    - stone and rubble everywhere.
    - bullet holes in some buildings (most people have guns)
    - the most important one is Place 3 or 4 pairs of cheap plastic sandals around the entrance of the houses :) seriously
    - haaha would be nice to see some chicken running around the place too

    just for future reference don't use black bin bags (cant afford them dont think shops even sell them) use old white rice bags.

    petrol can
    0118933001195660877
    rice bag
    rice_sugar_big.jpg

    cant find any reference for the vents mainly because most of the buildings don't have roofs now.

    Your scene looks good as it is but those are some stuff that might make it more believable.
  • beancube
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    beancube polycounter lvl 17
    Getting tonnes better - but you gotta bring some color back man!
    Not sure of your post effects, but try and add some more color in the textures too. ( bump the saturation on the Palms leaves, awnings and rugs etc)
    Youre washing the scene out alot. I agree with BARDLER.

    Heres quick color pass. hope it helps abit.

    mideastquickcolor.jpg
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Oh! That helped a lot InMOP and beancube. I will definitly try to create some of that props.

    About the color, I am actually working on a IPS-screen so I havn't tought so mutch about the color until I took the sceen to my other regular LCD-screen and realised the color was way to wached out. So the picture you sent me look to saturated on my IPS-screen and good on the other lcd-screen.

    I have desaturated the sceen in my post process chain but I think I will change that one from now :) Will post some color change and som other changes later. Cheers!
  • karatekodden
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Here's a little flytrough so you guys get a hint of how the scene look in motion. Still a lot to do before calling it done :)

    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df2Fw4otEvA[/ame]
  • sltrOlsson
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    sltrOlsson polycounter lvl 14
    I like your current post processing more then the one beancube tweaked.

    The moving cloth is a really nice element in the scene, but i think you should turn the wind down a bit. Doesn't feel natural now.

    The stones needs more hard edges to. They'r way to soft.
  • roosterMAP
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    roosterMAP polycounter lvl 14
    excellent work! looks great! those cracks on the wall... is that a decal?
  • InMOP
    looks much better man Great work,

    I agree with sltrOlsson the wind does seem a bit too strong.

    and maybe add a bit of sand particles if you can
    Edit i can see there is some sand particles but its barely visible maybe thats just my monitor.
  • Oniram
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    Oniram polycounter lvl 17
    very nice. i think that you should have somewhat of the color that beancube showed, but not as intense. as of now the lighting seems a bit too...non-desert like. in a sense, the overall environment needs a bit more oranges and yellows from the lighting.
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Thanks! I will try to change the color and lightning as soon as possible. Its hard to find a good balance when every computerscreen has different color reproduction.
    Yeah there are some sand particels in there but I think its a combination of the movie quality and that the rate of particles are a little bit to low.

    sltrOlsson, something more like this with the stones or should I skip the cracks?

    rubble_02_hi.jpg
  • marq4porsche
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    marq4porsche polycounter lvl 9
    Man that is looking really kickass now. I'm loving the color it has, it looks great. Maybe you can take those rocks and place them individually around your scene as well as having them in clumps. It'll give it some more realism. I was a bit meh on your palms before but I'm ok with them now. I still think the leaves can be a bit smaller and they should be thicker though. Overall though, it's looking much better.
  • sltrOlsson
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    sltrOlsson polycounter lvl 14
    I like the cracks. I say more edges :)

    Like this [The pics are pretty bad, but you get the idea. MUCH sharper edges :P]

    real-life-212.jpg

    080803+Eastern+Sierra+Nikon+134.JPG

    pick-ice-boulder.jpg
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Here's a little quick update. I think I will leave the stones from know and focus on some other things. Thans for the referece pictures. It helps a lot. Changed the mapcap material to something that did't blured out the highlights as much as the other one. Cheers! rubble_03_hi.jpg
  • Mind
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    Mind triangle
    stones update is very nice , i think you got it.
  • S_ource
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    S_ource polycounter lvl 9
    i agree about the wind unless you add som sand blowing with the wind.
  • chrisradsby
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    chrisradsby polycounter lvl 15
    I think the character is the weakest part of the scene, mainly because his lowerback should be leaning against the wall as well ^^ Looks awkward.

    Great work on everything else though man! :)
  • Turbosmooth Operator
    The only two suggestions I have deal with some props. The AO on the water buckets and the crates are much too strong, especially in regards to where the various wood planks meet.
  • karatekodden
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    karatekodden polycounter lvl 7
    Been a while since my last post but have still been working on the scene from time to time. This is the latast assets I did to the scene. A water tank. Screenshot from maya viewport.
    water_tank_maya_low.jpgwater_tank_maya_wireframe.jpg
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