UT3 - DM-Cove

    I'm not sure i've posted any work since i got here (except for a little UT3 test island in the WIP thread)..so i'm starting this thread to track progress of my first stab at a UT3 level. This will also be the first time i've modelled almost the entire level, as ive only come into using modelling recently at university, so am still learning a lot as i go about that, texturing and the UT3 engine. One thing you'll notice by looking at the pics below is that i've tried to create something in my own style, rather than conforming to the typical sci-fi setting of the Unreal engine. Therefore i've set it in a little pirate town (the actual town section is still being created however, it'll be up on the cliff behind the house in shot 1) complete with palm trees, ruins and whatnot. The purpose of creating this map is for my final year university project and for a portfolio piece, and whilst the pics below are definately WIP i expect to have the whole thing finished before the end of March (i have other work to do too :roll: )

    By the way if Hourences is around i'd like to thank him for his help so far on the official Unreal boards and a couple times via e-mail

    http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8344 ... y9sas8.jpg

    http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/455/ ... y7sbv9.jpg

    http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/8283 ... y8std7.jpg

    But how so? Are they too low poly/badly textured? If it's anything to do with the type of buildings they are then it was my intention to have them looking like that, its the style of buildings from the time period

    yeah it's definitely the style. you would never see houses like that on sandy ground. partly because there isn't foundation enough to support those sorts of buildings, and partly because they would take too long to make. if they were really pirates i reckon they'd at most use pure wooden houses because of the much less foundation they require, or, and this is more probable, simple bungalows.

    Well, whilst i'm not disagreeing with you, i did my reasearch before hand and found reference images from multiple games that i based my ideas on, a few of which are below:

    http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/8541/12nd4.png

    http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/406/32kn1.png

    http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4946/aopuz0.jpg

    http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/6402 ... ea2na1.jpg

    All of which have houses such as mine built on sandy and grassy ground. I did place the houses on the grassy sections of land if you look at the pictures, i thought this would be alright though obviously i'm no architect...i might add a bit of dirt to the sand and around the buildings, maybe some rock, to kind of beef up the ground a bit and make it look more supportive. As for the type and look of the buildings, well i'm sticking to that for now as those are the most common building types to come up in my search for reference.

    Thanks for the C&C btw

    Not a bad start. I think the style of architecture is appropriate for the period and feasible in that environment. I also agree with Sentura, pirates are more likely to live in a dilapidated shanty town comprising of wooden hovels, possibly even renovated boat hulls if your going for a fantasy style.

    Something else I'd suggest is possibly checking out real life historical/architectural references in conjuction with games.

    if you still wanted to keep the same style of buildings like that other game had you should probably put one of those rock foundations under that front building like all the other ones in the ref shots have and some of yours have.

    look pretty nice and I agree on the caves!

    That one hill in the background looked kinda funky but I bet you'll fix that if you havent already.

    great job so far.

    I do have a cave already, if you look to the left on the 2nd shot theres a cave running under the ruins in the distance, i put an underground prison section there. The level is intended to be small and mostly visual though, so there won't be an entire network of caves or anything I will add to the building bases with some rock foundations as well as suggested a few times. Which hill are you referring to by the way as being funky Meo? I guess the rock formations out at sea are a bit pointy tho i did just use rocks from Unreal :\ I could create my own though, which i probably will.

    Also M8nkey I didnt just look at games for reference, i looked at films and real life as well, though whereas its easy to find real life reference for things such as cannons and shipwrecks, its a lot harder to find accurate pictures of buildings from the time period (something to do with lack of cameras i guess) that arent part of film sets or anything, so for the most part i turned to games for the buildings. Obviously if anyone does manage to find some decent pirate building reference photos i'd be more than happy to take them off your hands.

    Thanks guys!

    yeah I was talking about the hill in the 3rd shot which is oddly pointy.

    as for reference "photos" they'd more likely be drawings either of the time or drawings made today from information we know.

    Neither of which i was able to find, quite frustrating really, as i said though if anyone happens to come across anything useful post it up here and i'd be very grateful I'll have a look at that mountain meo, like i said its one of Epic's meshes so i guess it's meant to be like that, i'l see if i can find a smoother one or make my own.

    Are you trying to imply i didn't research If i came across modern day images like that i most likely disregarded them, not so much use to me as they are bound to have been done up/renovated since the time period so it's not an accurate representation. Also there are variances in style in pirate housing, there are the type i did, the wooden variety you are showing me and another kind:

    [Blocked Image: http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5307/47917420060510screen007va7.jpg]

    I chose to stick to one theme however for obvious reasons. I did already plan to make wooden buildings however, such as this one i found from the pirates of the caribbean movie set which i have modelled but not yet textured:

    [Blocked Image: http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4060/140655673978e62f29c6ti4.jpg]

    ah that last house looks really cool!

    Are you puttin some in there like that one? With that nice overhang filled with nautical supplies.. that kind of lighting may be something to think about if ya haven't already as well.

    can't wait to see some cool pirate stuff paul.

    Cheers Meo, yep as i said i've modelled that building above it just needs texturing, and ive got about 5 more like it to model as well. The town above the beach is going to have a little marketplace area too, all of which i still have to make. As for the lighting, well ive been fiddling with that endlessly, i started at daytime with bright greens everywhere, then changed to sunset for a while (see my sig), then went back to daytime but more realistic, with greens toned down and slight colour correction. Im happy with it the way it is for now though no doubt things will change before i release it, they always do

    The lighting on the static meshes seem odd. I think that a lot of it is the lighting. I mean, it looks pretty nice, but there are some other issues with the looks. All the trees seem to be bending which makes it feel repetitive and the buildings all seem a little too white. Try adding more noise and a cloud effect to the textures. The pools don't seem to be affected by lighting... The building also don't look very tropical.

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