Environments 2

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Assignments

EXAM

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GOAL

Creating a complete environment, taking into account performance and optimization.

Assessment

Overall beauty of the scene. Making a good-looking environment within a time constraint.

Composition. Being able to lead the eye to a focal point, so that the viewer does not get lost in the scene. You use clear guiding techniques to tell the player where he has to go next.

Lighting. Correct usage of the real time lighting techniques discussed in class, with an emphasis on performance.

Technical Quality. Show that you understand the ins and outs of Unreal Engine and are not afraid to try out more advanced techniques. Show this by making more complex shaders, better optimized assets, or working around specific problems with specific solutions. Show that Unreal is a tool you master and not an obstacle you need to overcome.

Optimization. In your video, answer the question “what did you do to optimize your scene?” Show me things like material instances, LODs, correct usage of lighting, using instancing for lots of repeated meshes, use of smart/complex materials etc. There are many tips and tricks online, look them up!

This assignment counts for 55% of the total grade.

We do not assess

Modelling. That was covered in GAP. That doesn’t mean optimization and the things you saw in GAP don’t matter.

What do we expect

An Unreal Engine scene built around a single point of view of a human standing and looking around. You build a scene in which you can look around, as if you were playing through a level, suddenly stop, and look around. You make 180 degrees of environment, meaning there needs to be something in every direction you look, except behind you. If you want to be able to walk around, that is also allowed, but it is not a requirement.

Workflow

Start with a clear blockout, so you have an idea of scale.

When you have your blockout do a first pass of your lighting.

Start doing greyboxes for the props you’re going to make.

Populate the scene with your greyboxes.

Reiterate on your lighting.

Make all your props that you have to make yourself. Save time by using trim textures, tiling textures, and modular pieces.

Populate your scene with additional assets to finish up.

Reiterate on your lighting.

Put life in your scene with particles, blueprints, sound, and animations.

Tips

Keep an eye on your time left. Don’t waste it. A large competence in this assignment is making a scene in a limited amount of time. Learn to work fast and learn to take shortcuts.

Lighting is SUPER SUPER SUPER important. Don’t neglect this. Even if your props are meh, you can get a good scene with some nice lighting.

If you’re going stylized, do some research on your style.

Check reference!

Also, lighting is important.

Practical

You hand in:

A .zip called LD_F_2DAEXX_Last_Name_First_Name.zip.

For example: LD_F_2DAE02_Van_Damme_Jean_Claude.zip.

This .zip contains:

Your beauty shot(s) in .png format with the name LD_F_2DAEXX_Last_Name_First_Name_XX

A OneDrive link called LD_F_2DAEXX_Last_Name_First_Name_Projectlink to a folder with your unreal project, with the folder called LD_F_2DAEXX_Last_Name_First_Name_Unreal

A link to your Artstation post called LD_F_2DAEXX_Last_Name_First_Name_Artstation

A “reference” folder with reference pictures or your Refboard.

A video in .mp4 format with the name LD_F_2DAEXX_Last_Name_First_Name_Showcase showcasing the scene and its dynamic elements. Look around in your scene and show off what you’re proud of. This video should convince me of the graphical quality of your scene. You can push this with extra dolly/pan shots or other camera movements. Go wild!

A 3-5 minute (can be longer, I'm not strict on length, but keep it concise) video in .mp4 format with the name LD_F_2DAEXX_Last_Name_First_Name_Presentation where you talk and explain the following. You're basically giving a breakdown to me, explaining the technical side. This video should convince me of the technical and artistic quality of your scene. Put it a bit of effort into this, consider this the technical part of an oral exam.

How the scene is built up. Give an overview. Talk about your process.

How the lighting works in your scene. Give a breakdown of the lights and how they function. Explain why you used the lights that you used.

Tell me what you did for the composition in your scene. Explain how you are guiding the player.

Show me the dynamic elements in your scene and how they work. Did you add sounds? Particles? Animations? Interesting shaders?

Explain what you did to optimize your scene so it runs smoothly. What techniques or settings did you use? How many draw calls do you have?

Say what you would improve in your scene. Give some constructive feedback to yourself.

Also use this video to also show off what you are proud of. Maybe you put a lot of work in a certain aspect, and it came out really nice. Take some time to boast! :)

If you have ANY questions, or just want feedback, reach out to me through discord or mail.

Deadline 19th of June at 22:00.

Good luck!

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POSSIBLE TOPICS (To help you get inspired)

Archviz: Realistic (or stylized).

Vista, big landscape/environment: Can be realistic or stylized.

Environment with a character/creature in the scene: Can be realistic or stylized. Keep scene small and more simple so the scope stays reasonable, being able to finish the character.

Procedural environment: Work with Houdini. → Procedural environment Keep it realistic → otherwise scope gets too big.

Giant creatures: For example students that want to go more organic/dynamic. They can make giant creatures as an environment. For example. The inside of the belly of a giant whale → You can see some bone structure, blood vessels, slime, etc..

(Hyper)realistic: They want to create environments like in the games: The Last of Us, The Division, Rainbow Six Siege, etc.. These focus on realism.

Not all environment teachers can help with Houdini or character/creature related topics. We are able to help with Unreal Engine, Substance Painter, Maya mainly.

3 BIG PARAMETERS to keep in mind: - Technical challenging enough - Scope is doable within time frame - Optimized

Differentiate yourself from Artstation art, and make art tailored towards games/archviz. (→ Not ONLY a pretty environment) Make good looking environments that are optimized.

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