Introduction
Fact file: Third game in the Bioshock series, released in 2013 for PC and consoles. First-person shooter with RPG elements. Takes place in the airborne city of Columbia, 1912. Art style has steampunk influences.
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Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Duke and Dimwit’s Ice Cream shoppe Originally chose Fig. 1, as I liked the concept’s style and could identify how this asset could be approached in a modular fashion. After playing the game, I learnt the ‘Soldier’s Field’ district was based on this style. Here I found the ice cream shop which I feel has more character and conveys a story.
Soldier’s Field Amusement park , with military themes. Features museums, cafes, boardwalks and shops Designed to indoctrinate young children into the national service – lots of propaganda, e.g. Dimwit & Duke.
Introduction
Restricted colour palette. Lots of wooden elements. American elements (Red, White + Blue)
Use of symmetry and repetition.
Wall #e9b671
Floor #c1b295
Roof #3f3155
Wndow Tint #b2bfcc
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Introduction
Very tall bay windows, ice cream emits pale blue light.
Windows decorated with wooden airplanes and soldiers. Rough wooden texture on pillar bases.
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Trapezium shaped building, left and right sides visible from the front. Lots of use of emissive textures.
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#6071a5
#c1ebff
#8f7694 Colour profile of this level contains cool purple- and blue hues.
Good indication of scale, character is halfway up door.
Close up detail of the tower, reuses a lot of elements. e.g. square pillars, arch, window.
Repetition in the windows, equal spacing. Windows emit a pale yellow light.
Introduction
Planked Wall Base wood material + barely visible grain. Wear + damages only evident between planks. Orange paint overlay with some specularity.
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White wood Dark base wood + deep grain. Some, minimal edge damages. White paint overlay with some specularity.
HexAgonal Ro0f
Custom made alphas to fake modelled detail. ..continued on next page
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White wood
Planked Wall
Hexagonal Roof
Originally attempted to use a tiling hexagonal texture, but had issues trying to get it to match up around the seams. I decided to use a generator I found on Substance Share to create a better result in the time frame.
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Exterior
Ice Cream
Shield
Bay Window
Large Sign
Planter
Window
Door Sign
Gun Light
Door Box Window
Wall
Square Pillar
Roof Trim
Cylinder Pillar
Wall Trim
Cannon
Mid Trim
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Interior
Roof Decor Estimated around 17 unique assets in exterior scene.
Ice Cream
Drawers
Square Pillar
Shelves
Pillar Block
Candle
Wall Panel
Table
Bar
Boxes
Ice Cream Menu Fan Light
Chair Estimated around 11 unique assets in exterior scene.
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Cannon Wheel (262 tris)
Shield (94 tris)
Cylinder Pillar (598 tris)
Box Pillar (66 tris)
Door Window (1,076 tris)
Door Sign (1,720 tris)
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Bay Window (1198 tris)
Cannon (70 tris) Arch (396 tris)
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Door Box Window (252 tris)
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Ice Cream (5,362 tris)
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Bookcase (1838 tris)
Duke Dimwit (1,134 tris) Bench (544 tris)
Ice Cream Cone (92 tris)
Planter (364 tris)
Huge Sign (134 tris) Gun Holder (650 tris)
Gun Light (1,364 tris)
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Roof Twirl (780 tris)
Fence Post (84 tris)
Spire Window (154 tris)
Fence (104 tris)
Main Tower (8 tris)
Window (397 tris)
Middle Trim (114 tris)
Lantern (2,528 tris)
Fence Base (96 tris)
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Roof Spire (7,942 tris)
Tower Roof (164 tris)
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Roof (42 tris)
Tower Block (42 tris)
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Walls (24 tris)
Roof Dec (1,920 tris)
Roof Trim (144 tris) Tower Window Trim (112 tris)
Wall Trim (57 tris)
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Barrel Table (1,254 tris)
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Trim (202 tris)
Table (1,426 tris)
Wall Sconce (2,210 tris) Sink (4,584 tris)
Chair (1,048 tris)
Drawers (233 tris)
Ceiling Fan (2,224 tris)
Candle (926 tris) Decor Block (124 tris)
Bar (576 tris)
Lights (2,016 tris)
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During this module, I have learnt the correct process for creating an asset intended for Unreal Engine. It has also been a helpful opportunity to practice the PBR pipeline, and to become more familiar with software such as UE4, Substance Painter and Marmoset I have encountered a few issues during this assessment, and if I had more time to do so – these are some areas I have identified where I would like to improve. For example, I put a good amount of attention into the scaling of assets, but didn’t directly consider the scale of the textures used. A good example of this is the wood grain on the floor, this appears to be of a very low resolution and isn’t correctly scaled in comparison to other assets.
Planks seem huge in comparison to the grain present on the chairs and panelling.
Another area of improvement involves the quality of the lighting in the scene – due to time constraints I didn’t allocate the time to research how to correctly light my scene, and because of this; the scene is mostly lit via emissive textures and point lights. The lights in the concept art have warm yellow tones, and in comparison I feel my scene looks a little washed out.
Scene appears dark and flat, would benefit from light to highlight points of interest.
Much more vibrant, blue and yellow tones. Soft bloom around lights.
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There is also some Z-fighting in the interior, to resolve this the trim should have been modelled with modularity in mind to ensure it would tile correctly when copied around the walls. In some instances I struggled to visualise how some elements could be split up to be re-used elsewhere. In an effort to save time I created large blocks – such as the wall just to speed up the process a little. Panelling doesn’t ‘snap’ together well due to shaped edges, could make these planar to resolve this, or make better use of the pillars as natural seam coverings
When I originally researched this environment, I didn’t consider how I would approach creating the glass in the large windows in the scene, although I could create opacity within Substance Painter – I was unable to replicate this when plugging the nodes into Unreal. In hindsight, it could’ve been a better use of my time if I referred to some material tutorials for UE4 online. Lastly, there are some visible normal map baking issues on the edges of certain assets – such as the chair. Again, I feel that this is something I could’ve remedied if I allocated more time to do so, I would’ve resolved this issue by breaking apart the intersecting pieces of the mesh and renaming them before baking.
Issue more apparent on chamfered edges, could be resolved by splitting mesh prior to baking. Should also consider the flow of the grain when unwrapping woodtextured assets.
Scene would benefit from transparent windows, would allow natural light to be simulated In the interior and would result in a more realistic environment.
Introduction
Despite the issues I have encountered, I have enjoyed spending time on this piece of work. I feel that I have a better all-round understanding of the modelling process. It was also a good opportunity to practice my research skills, and found that the concept art and information located led to a better result. I also feel that now I am able to troubleshoot the issues I encounter with a lot more confidence, as I have a better understanding of the errors that I experience. This assessment has enabled me to identify areas of personal improvement, and in the next few days leading up to Journeyman I should consider practicing baking out more complicated assets, and researching how to approach lighting within UE4.
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