Biome Project： Conifer Forest

Biome Project: Conifer Forest 

This is an abandoned warehouse surrounded by a conifer forest. As my first fully completed environment piece, I attempted the process of creating plant models from scratch for the first time in this work. I also dabbled in crafting terrain materials using Substance Designer and writing terrain materials in the Unreal Engine. It was a very interesting learning journey. 

At the same time, because all models and materials within this scene were created by me from scratch, coupled with game mechanics blueprints not showcased here, as well as elements such as the game's intro, outro, UI, animations, and so forth, this also represents the largest workload I've undertaken to date.

00_Blockout

During the Blockout stage, I experimented with some new techniques, such as PCG (Procedural Content Generation). 

To quickly achieve results and facilitate modifications, after blocking out the shape of the warehouse, I swiftly created some trees and plants using Speedtree and scattered them in the scene using a PCG tool. For a convenient, modifiable dirt path, I combined Spline and PCG to create a blueprint that allowed me to dynamically clear specific areas of vegetation by moving points. Additionally, the asphalt road at the entrance was also created using splines at this stage. These methods helped me quickly establish the rough layout and game map within a short timeframe.

01_Landscape Material

While completing the large-scale construction, I also focused on handling terrain materials. 

I initially created five basic materials in Substance Designer, then further refined them in Unreal Engine with some simple adjustments to create a total of eight materials. Additionally, I incorporated other materials such as pine needle textures (derived from my own photographs) and puddle materials (adjusted colors and roughness, etc.). 

In the end, I obtained approximately 10 types of materials, which were seamlessly blended together based on height using blueprint scripting.

The Blueprint system in Unreal Engine is truly a convenient tool. Not only did I use it to write my terrain materials, but I also implemented a small feature with it: dynamic tiling adjustment based on distance for UV mapping. This ensures that when observed from a great distance, the terrain does not exhibit excessive repetition.

02_Foliage

The creation of plant models is another aspect I focused on handling. In this project, it was my first time collecting plant materials, taking photographs, processing them into usable textures (Basecolor+Alpha, AO+Roughness), and then creating polygonal models with appropriate vertex counts and correct normals in Maya. 

Throughout this process, I learned many lessons I had never considered before: for instance, using a white paper backdrop when taking photos yields the best results, whereas using rough black fabric can create uneven highlights, making it challenging to clean up in Photoshop; after obtaining clean leaf images with no background, it's important to remember to add protective edges to prevent the background color from showing through, achieved by duplicating and blurring the layer multiple times to create a clean protective edge...etc.

Showcase

Finally, here is the showcase of this scene! 

Although I had to rush the development of my warehouse due to performance constraints in the game blueprint section and the strict requirement to maintain the game running at over 80FPS, overall, I believe this was a highly valuable learning journey. Through this experience, I will be more conscious and rational in allocating resources for future projects.

Thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoy this piece. 

In my spare time, I will continue to create more gaming environment works. See you in my next project!