Interactive Environments
Hull Docks 1900
Page 3
Week 14
I placed the groups models in the level and added water to the dock area, there was a few bugs which crashed the editor which made placing all the models in the engine a little bit harder. I then gave the world lighting from lamps I had created. This gave it more of a sense of reality.
I also continued modelling things to put into the level.
(mason building)
Week 13
During this week I started to model a few other buildings to quickly populate the level, I had to make sure the user couldn't leave the level or see where the skybox meets the ground.
(sugar mill)
I also modelled a few things that could be thrown about the level so that it brought the level more to life. I added a lantern that could be hung from various things. This would then create lighting in places other than outside, so that we could create lighting inside the houses.
(the chain texture is what I created earlier on at the start of the project, this would be see through in the engine)
Week 12
This week I focused on building the Warren in Hull, to do this I used google maps and got the correct shape of the building from an aerial view, I then used reference images to get the correct height and the correct amount of images.
I also tried modelling the maritime museum however I couldn't find any of the reference images I found so I had to guess whereabouts the windows where and how many there was... unfortunately, I made about 50% less windows than there are on the real building however for now it will deal as a placeholder until I get the rest of the models done.
I also modelled a little shed/shack thing that would be used for storing objects the dock workers would use around the docks such as planks of wood to get from shore to boat and even trolleys that could be used to carry objects around the dock area.
Week 11
Quite a productive week so far.
Created some tramlines however the poly count is slightly higher than expected for an asset that would be used throughout the entire level, so I am considering a box with ends that meet so I can connect them together, it adds to detail as the tramlines and even railways where a huge part of the Hull Docks, so adding them would be a great addition to the feel and really help to create the environment, but I may have to resort to a textured box, which won't look bad but would play a huge part in engine efficiency.
Started to create a wall and pillar that connect. The wall was used a lot in London as I have found from research, however in Hull there are some photographs I have found walls that look similar and I am pretty certain this is the same thing.
Then the texture without Alpha.
This is exported with a 1bit alpha to the Unreal Engine.
I also extended the bridge so it blends into the environment and recreated the UV and texture, reusing the previous textures and making the fencing either black or clear, no slight gradient, this is not supported by the 1 bit Alpha and created a blue kind of outline.
Untextured render of the Bridge:
512x512 UVW Texture for the bridge:
Bridge with texture - Without Alpha:
I also learnt that Unreal does not support a 768 x 768 texture, this is because it is not a direct power of 2 even though the option is given in 3DS Max, so from now on I will have to make sure I dont use this and decide which would be better for the model.
I also learnt that the precision on 3ds MAX was set to 1 and this was making the textures all offset in Unreal. Setting this to "4" solved this exporting problem.
Started assessing the old fonts used.
Key:
Red = Not similar/Barely similar
Orange = Has some similarities but noticeably different.
Green = Very similar/ Exact
The best font I have found is the "Sylfaen" font, I needed to stretch it out slightly and make the & Sign smaller but it is quite close to the final image. I think the S needs to be stretched out more than on the font and the letters of the M need to point outwards slightly more, but I think it is quite a close match compared to the other fonts.
After finding this out I could then start modelling and texturing a shop based on the font as I know how the font now looks.
Model with a wireframe:
The textured version:
UV Map:
The windows will probably be replaced with a transparent background when I export it to the Unreal Engine, however for now this texture will apply until we decide if inside the shop will at all be scene, this will be placed down the "Whitefriargate" area of the map and if we can find a nice wallpaper texture this might be seen on the interior walls.
However I aren't 100% happy with the texturing and will probably go over this again, it could be as it is a 256x256 texture and I don't feel like there is enough detail there, but it isn't going to be a centrepoint for the scene and I think 256x256 is an apppropriate size. This is definately something I want to come back to if I have the time.
Textured the bridge.
The UV Map for the bridge, I changed this slightly added a base colour to the poles as from reference it doesn't look like they have much if any detail on them.
I also changed the sidewalk texture to a better looking one and added some scratches that where maybe left by hand carts and things.
On top of this I have started to mess around with Unreal Engine 2 more and more and I have started with 3, I am getting more fluent with the interface especially when importing objects textures and applying them to the world.