what have I learned?

From the exploration of creating a scene within Unreal, I have learned a lot. From how to create a landscape using external software such as World Machine, to using alpha brushes and manually sculpting a terrain. I gained knowledge and experimented with landscape materials and the complex structure of the nodes. I used shortcuts from auto-material packs from Brushify, which simplified the process and saved a lot of time. Importing assets and customizing the parent material to match the scene, and adding animations to bring life to assets. I have learned the importance of lighting and how it affects the scene and the aesthetic, as well as the use of post-processing and ambient occlusion. I used post-processing settings such as bloom which creates a beautiful effect, which almost creates an enchanting effect.

I also learned how to create a cinematic sequence using cine cameras within Unreal and add camera movement.

what went well?

There are a lot of things I enjoyed with this project, one thing was experimenting with composition and bringing assets into a scene to make it look realistic and aesthetically appealing. I found the tutorials and speed level design videos on creating a scene very fascinating to watch, as it shows the process, as well as the potential output I could achieve, which are impressive. The project breakdowns, especially the mountain house article helped me understand why the planning process is so important and the impact of post-processing, composition, and lighting has on the output of an Unreal project.

what problems did I encounter?

There were a few problems I did encounter on this journey, such as creating a landscape. I needed to look into multiple methods of this process as I found it the most complex area of the project. From experimenting with these methods, I found myself drawn more to using alpha brushes and auto-landscape materials from Brushify, although this gave me less customization and flexibility with creating a landscape.

I also found problems with LOD’s and the foliage tool when it came to trying out the tutorial videos. The guided tutorials are most likely using powerful gaming PC’s, therefore their performance is better, as well as graphics and loading times. This was something I realized when coming to experiment for myself, as the assets took a while to load into the engine, and requires a lot of performance from my laptop. Therefore, a lot of patience is required for this project.

How will I continue to develop my skills and knowledge?

To develop my knowledge and skills within Unreal, I will continue to research and explore different methods of creating a scene, and experiment which works for me the most. I will also research other project breakdowns and case studies to further my understanding of a professional industry approach.

I will experiment with the Unreal engine to get a greater understanding of the software as a whole and expand my skills into creating a scene or environment. As well as exploring further into architecture and animation to make my creations more unique and personalized.