(UE4) Sci-fi Colony Bunk Room

    Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay in posting... I've been really busy this past month and I've not had a great deal of time to work on this scene! I'm trying to prioritize things a little more now, in order to get this finished as soon as possible. I'm really enjoying working on this at the moment though, I don't feel burnt out at all. In fact, this is the longest I've ever worked on one project without getting burnt out which is a good sign! I think it's because I'm having a great time learning Unreal 4, which is really incredible to work with.


    So I've mainly been working on a few more props in my spare time, as well as finishing off the majority of the base environment. I feel that it just needs lot of dressing now to make it feel like a lived in space. I want to rip open some of these cupboards and just generally have more stuff scattered about. Also want to do something with the floor too. Maybe some leaking water would be cool, just because... PBR.


    Anyway, feel free to suggest any more ideas for props etc, and any other feedback. It's getting a bit closer to the end but there is still a lot more I want to do!


    [Blocked Image: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7557268/Unreal/SS2/Screens/screen_07_09_2014_a.jpg]


    [Blocked Image: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7557268/Unreal/SS2/Screens/screen_07_09_2014_b.jpg]


    [Blocked Image: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7557268/Unreal/SS2/Screens/screen_07_09_2014_c.jpg]


    [Blocked Image: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7557268/Unreal/SS2/Screens/screen_07_09_2014_d.jpg]

    It's cool that it's realistic, but I think the scene itself is extremely dull. It's like the least interesting part of an epic RPG or something. But if it helps you learn the editor ^^

    I guess what I'm saying is I'd like to see something a bit more ambitious/less confined conceptually, sort of like how Sampa was a big cityscape. Not because there's anything wrong with this scene per-se, it just doesn't hold much inherent interest. In terms of crit of the scene, some more blues or hard reds would definitely help liven it up, not to mention some signs of human life. Sorry if this came across as reductive in any way, you're obviously demonstrating a lot of technical skill here.

    That's a very charming comment Shawn!


    Honestly though I'm looking for any and all feedback, so please do share your thoughts on why you think it looks dull. I have a great deal of dressing left to do on this scene, it's still just the bare bones really, plus I have some exterior stuff I want to work on too, as well as getting lots of blueprint stuff in.


    I don't have a great deal of time to work on stuff at home really, this is why I chose a really contained environment.


    Edit - You used your super admin skills to beat my edit! So yeah, see above as to why I'm not doing something on the scale of Minos' city scene. I can always expand this into much more than just a simple bunk room, it's only one small part of a space station after all!

    Quote from PogoP

    That's a very charming comment Shawn!

    Honestly though I'm looking for any and all feedback, so please do share your thoughts on why you think it looks dull. I have a great deal of dressing left to do on this scene, it's still just the bare bones really, plus I have some exterior stuff I want to work on too, as well as getting lots of blueprint stuff in.

    I don't have a great deal of time to work on stuff at home really, this is why I chose a really contained environment.

    I mean obviously you're being ironic, but I think it's a pretty fair crit. What I'm seeing is a wood paneled bedroom in presumably a space station of some sort. I need a little bit more to grab onto, at least in my opinion. Wood panelling is an interesting choice, but right now there's not much story there. Is this set in like the Aliens universe? Am I supposed to be scared by the scene? Impressed by the level of detail? Should I eventually find it humorous if you add in more 1970s elements? None of that is clear to me, but those are the sorts of decisions that would help me find the scene intrinsically more interesting.

    You're doing a great job with the geometry, but I do think some ideas or more color or detail intensity is needed. Genuinely hope that helps.

    e: after really re-reading my original post it is too harshly worded. Sorry d00d. I stand by the crit but I hate when people aren't more careful about wording of crit, so my bad.

    Well damn you guys are harsh, I think it looks absolutely awesome Liam ! I love the first & the last shot ! That could be out of 2001 ! But I think you already feel the effects of making PBR mats, people got bored of realistic painting, there is no reason they won't get bored of realistic videogames either


    You indeed should think of a bit of background story (or a theme) to dress the scene up. Like - aliens have attacked -, - They did a party there -, - It's christmas !! - , - they had sex on that banket - (that would be cool), - the exit to space have been opened - etc or think about who is the person who lives there and who do she/he is and how the interior decoration should reflect that; and then make the dressing props and details in accordance to what you choosed


    Well at least what would be interesting i think, would be elements contrasting with the futuristic and plain interior of a space station like colorful and noisy pictures, garlands, maybe go even more 70s, curtains for the window, a clock (work well to set the scene in time), food, a poster of the tour of a band from 2087, impressionist paintings of the countryside, a smoky ashtray, a blunderbuss on a wall, old books or a medieval tapestry why not, making the two periods of time contrasting, or at least making things coming from earth contrast from being in space but go quite bold on that.


    But I do think it looks really really cool mate !

    I think you nailed the style completly, you just should add some life in the piece like the others said, put some random stickers on the wall, posters of the earth, family pictures and stuff like that, add some cardboard boxes with food in it, put a suit on the hooks... , just try to make a scene wich explain a story, and it will be really cool.

    In my humble opinion I think it's a perfectly executed scene which demonstrates a lot of skill. However, I think it suffers from a color issue. It's one of those you either love it or hate it kinda things. Adding props ain't going to fix that. So I would either stick with it or, if I felt inclined to cater the masses, I would drop the whole brown look and add some stronger colors like white/red, white/grey, etc. It would drastically change the scene's appearance but you would also lose it's original vision.


    Illustration for color suggestion:


    [Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/R4Bb95e.jpg]

    Hey all, thanks for the responses! I'm not fussed if stuff comes out as harsh, I'm honestly not taking it to heart and I really just want to hear what everybody thinks. I'm not neccessarily going to take on all feedback but I'm keeping a close eye on everything!


    The big thing left to do is obviously dressing, as I mentioned in my previous post. I want to do a lot of dressing now, in terms of modifying these base pieces (separating the drawers/cupboards so I can open/close them as I like in the Editor), making lots of smaller props and dressing the scene more, and also doing a big decal pass on everything. One other thing I haven't yet explored is vert colour too, I could experiment with adding more dirt/grime with vert colour. I'm going to do a first dressing pass first though to get a bit more storytelling in the scene. Imagine this current iteration as the factory-default bunk room, now comes the making it look more individual and lived in!


    I'm thinking of dressing this scene in 2 passes: Firstly, who lived here, and what was his role on the station? I'm going to think about what he was like as a person and what kind of items he would have had around... And then secondly, as I stated in a previous post, this station has been abandoned for 10 years and you're sent there to find out where everybody went... I'm imagining people evacuated to the planet surface in a hurry, so I'm going to make it a bit more ransacked and looted.


    @Koko - Great feedback man, thank you very much! I'm definitely going for a lot of the stuff you mentioned, I will add some of those to my props list! Love the idea of some horrible, trippy, floral curtains! Want to get a lot more organic stuff in if possible, for example doing some little plants etc. This scene for me isn't just a portfolio scene, it's gearing myself up for the nextgen of environment art with PBR and Unreal 4. I was thinking of doing lots of blueprint stuff but I think I'd rather learn a lot of that in a separate greybox project.


    Sprony - I hear you. It is very brown and white at the moment. I mean, just look at it in flat mode below, damn! One thing I'm going to look at, is getting a little more colour into the scene, but not part of the dressing pass. I was thinking of some pipes, but I don't want to just throw them in there for no reason. This is a bunk room not some kind of engineering corridor, so why would there be pipes? If I do place them I'll have to have a think about where. Possibly in the ceiling.


    However, I'm not going to be re-thinking the brown wood/off-white plastic, I'm quite attached to that now! Plus I think the scene has been kinda built around that motif now anyway.


    [Blocked Image: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7557268/Unreal/SS2/Screens/screen_08_09_2014_a.jpg]

    I like the color scheme and the wood. The only problem with it in my humble opinion is that ther's just too much of the wood eveyrwhere. Think it would look better if the plastic would dominate more.


    And maybe you could add another color tone to add more variation. Look at these ugly ass 70's patterns. That green would fit for example or some more yellows and oranges, tho the lighting already does a good job with that.


    [Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/ecnGdJg.png]


    [Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/rnUW1No.jpg]

    Haha I actually have that as a ref. I'm gonna explore more colours like that. I was thinking of adding in some padding originally but I didn't explore it too much as I didn't want to just do an Alien:Isolation fan scene


    Perhaps a big-ass rug on the floor would work, I actually did one of those for Alien!


    Oh and lava lamp is a definite!

    The kitchen area reminds me too much of a camper, somehow. I would assume it's a little bit less cozy and more industrial. Maybe it's the wood, don't know. Up to you what look you're going for obviously, just thought I'd share what I thought about when looking at it


    Those ´70 patterns are awesome, remind me a lot of my grandparents house

    Quote from PogoP

    I didn't want to just do an Alien:Isolation fan scene


    Too late jokes aside, totally agree with Steppenwolf. Push it further!!

Participate now!

Don’t have an account yet? Register yourself now and be a part of our community!

Register Yourself Login