Finishing Touches

Today I have added the finishing touches to my UDK level. The deadline has been passed, however, after recieving some feedback from my Tutor I am to improve on certain areas of my level.

He mentioned that I need to add/change the following:

• There were a few missing materials in my level that the player could see.
• Although there was a nice amount of detail to my level I needed to add more decals to make certain blank areas more pleasing to look at.
• The matinee sequence for one of my doors wasn't quite working properly as it wasn't opening correctly when the player moved towards it after it had just opened.
• I needed to add more light to the level so that there are more shaded areas giving the level a nicer feel.
• The barrels in my level were static meshes instead of rigid bodies ie. They don't move when a player shoots them.

I have changed the following:

• Changed the barrels so that when the player shoots them they fall over through UDKs physics.
• I added more detail to the bland areas of my level by placing decals another student had created onto walls and floors.
• I had a look into the problem with the door to my greenhouse but for some reason the problem didn't occur when I was testing.
• I added a few more assets to my level to make it look more pleasing.

Here are some screenshots of a few of the areas I have changed.

UDK Map Final

The UDK Level is now complete as it was scheduled to. Things I have added for polish are things such as.

• Added a post-processing volume to create the green haze effect on the overgrown area of the level.
  


• Added a sky light to give the level more of an atmosphere/feel.



• Added new assets to the level to fill in certain spaces and to help add to the atmosphere.



• Fixed any problems with the level such as models not touching the floor and lighting issues.
  


• Added sliding doors to the greenhouse using kismet and matinee.
  


• Added backdrops to the level - Cityscapes that give off a yellow light.

Here are a few screenshots to show the final outcome of my level.

Despite the date I posted this blog I managed to complete my level before the deadline 13th May, this gave me a bit of time to add more polish and to add more detail to certain areas of the level.

Huge progress in UDK Level

It is coming to the end of our deadline for the UDK Maps to be completed. Today I have made huge progress to finishing the map and plan to get it finished on time for next week.

I had a few problems involving my map not opening correctly and some of the packages weren't working for unknown reasons, I backed up all my work and today have managed to re-create and improve from my original map using the same assets I had before but instead, they are in better places and the map has much more of a mood.

Here is a screenshot of the current map I am working on.




As you can see it has much more of an atmosphere and a mood.

I have done this by adding the following -

• Added a large amount of foliage to create more of a mood in the level, it is meant to be an overgrown rooftop and this is one way I could show it.



• Added particle systems to my level, this also adds more of an atmosphere to the level, I have added bugs flying around aswell as falling leaves from the trees.



• I have changed materials to suit the levels theme alot more.
  


• I have changed the position of the greenhouse to help make the flow of the level better.



• A sniper point has been added, however players will not be able to see from high heights due to the fact that I have added trees - this is intentional, I don't want camping or long shot kills in my level due to me wanting it to be a close range, fast combat level.

Here is a screenshot from the sniper point - as you can see it is covered by trees.

I have also created a second feel to the level, as said in the previous design document I wanted to create a level where the trees and plants were overgrown due to having toxic barrels around - Instead I have changed this.

Instead of toxic barrels making plants overgrow I have made it so it kills them. The map is sectioned into two areas - the overgrown area and the toxic area. Screenshots of the overgrown area are above and here is a screenshot of the toxic area (Work in progress).



Due to having a problem with my memory stick I have had to change my schedule plan - Here are the things that I have changed.

Concept art is already complete.

Artwork has been on-going througout the project and will end on the deadline.

Design was finalised.

White boxed level was complete on time.

The creation of assets from myself and other classmates was completed on the schedules deadline.

Creation of a small area of my level was complete as you can see in previous blog posts.

Finding and creation of textures was also complete on schedule deadline as they were finished back when I was creating the assets for my level.

The particle systems had to wait - I wanted to create the feel of my level first, and then add more detail such as particle systems.

Re-shaping and re-polishing, this could well include the problem I had from my memory stick, the date had to be put back to 6th May. I have completed this today.

I have inserted all the particle systems that I want in my UDK level.

Create lighting systems in UDK to set more of a mood - I have not yet done this, I will put the date back to 9th May to give me chance to finish due to the problems with UDK.

Adding final polish will be finished on the day before deadline.

I feel this will be an appropriate amount of time to finish the map.




EDIT - Due to having problems with my memory stick I wasn't able to blog in time to show the progress from my last blog, so I'm adding some now. Here is a screenshot showing the progress between March 25th to May 6th.






I made a fair amount of progress to the level, in the screenshot you can see that I've added steps and a metal floor panel to create paths from one rooftop to the other, this will create more of a flow to the level and is a nice way to connect the level together.

Some of the things added in this version of my UDK level are as follows.

• Added bridges to connect the rooftops together and to make the level flow easier.


• Added some simple lighting to gain a feel to the level.


• Added a small building to the bottom right of the level, used to fill the level with more assets and to gain more of a feel.


• Changed some of the materials to suit a rooftop more.

This work was done between the 25th to the 6th May.

UDK Map Progress

Today I have managed to get more of a feel in my level by adding more materials and creating alot more assets and using other peoples assets from the shared drive.



Some of the new things added into my UDK level are as follows -

• A tree in the centre of the level to pull the level together a bit better and to also use for some nice shading in the level.



• Materials on the walls so that the player is aware that they are playing on top of a rooftop.



• New materials on the outer walls to create borders to the level.



• Included more assets such as flower beds and hollow tree trunks.



• Included more foliage into the level.

From my schedule I have made sure to complete a corner of the level to set the mood I want to consist throughout the entire map. The schedule says that I need this to be done by the 18th March however I only managed to complete it now due to making more assets for my level. This isn't a problem as it was quick and easy to complete anyway due to just having to insert the assets to the level.

Next week I will begin to add some lighting into the level aswell as some particle systems whilst adding in more assets to fill the level and to help gain more of an atmosphere/feel.

UDK Progress

Today I have continued the creation of assets in Maya and then importing them using ActorX Plug-in for use in UDK. In specific, I have mnanaged to create my own Greenhouse, I needed to create this specifically for me as it needed to fit around a part of my level.

In addition, I have begun to create the theme I am aiming for by adding the custom models I had imported and also adding other things such as materials a sky dome and some static meshes built into UDK. I have placed the Rocky Stream I created last week into UDK and used some of UDK static mesh water features to add the effect of water running over it.

The project schedule says that I should be continuing to create assets for my level and creating/adding textures to the models, I have continued and stuck by the schedule. Next week I will be creating more assets to my level and play testing a few times to test that the game plays nicely.

Here is a screenshot showing the progress of my level.

Assets

I have started to create assets for my level by gathering wanted textures and getting them prepared for the import to UDK. In my project schedule it is said that I start the creation of my levels assets from the 4th February to the 1st April. I have managed to start creating a little earlier due to finishing the pre-production of my level before the completion date.

I have started by creating simple assets that will create the theme for my level. I have created a rocky stream, plant pot and a wooden plank with roots around. I feel that these features will help capture the theme of my level.

Some of the techniques used in my models are...

• Bump Mapping - I have added bump mapped textures to my models to add more detail to the model and to suite the look and feel of UDK. I have done this by creating normal maps for all the textures I have used.


• Specular Maps - I have also added specular maps to my models to add just the slight amount more detail, this is to ensure the end quality of my level is high.

I use Autodesk Maya for all of the models that I have created and use PhotoShop for the texturing. I sometimes use CGTextures in case I need a quick generic texture for my models. Once textured and created to my liking I then use ActorX to export my model from Maya format to UDK format. When inside UDK I import the model and the textures and create a new material linking diffuse and normal to create my detail.

I have created some UDK packages, one which is man made assets and others which are natural assets in my level. So far in natural I have made, a tree stump, vines and flowers. For the man made section of my level I have created bars for the fences around my level and a greenhouse in which players use for safe havens.

I am creating the assets now due to having set the deadline in my schedule for the 1st April, I am hoping to finish them all before that date however.

Pre-Production Process

We were required to create a map made in UDK based on a modern New York rooftop, it could be as imaginative as can be but it had to be a Deathmatch based level with New York references.
My main idea for a level is the Overgrown Rooftop. However, my original idea was to create a snowy rooftop. It was decided that the snowy rooftop was a bad idea due to This is a map that has lots of greenhouses on top of and lots of foliage that has overgrown throughout the years. In order to achieve the theme I am after lots of organic objects and alot of natural colours.

I have managed to create concept art and collect different reference images to help me mold my idea for an overgrown rooftop in New York. In my project schedule I have stated that all concept art and pre-production would be complete by the 28th January 2011, I have managed to complete this before that time and have moved onto the creation of my assets.

In the project schedule I have said that concept art for the overgrown level would be complete by 14th January, however I have decided that the creation of concept art will be on-going as I progress through the production of my level to help create new interesting ideas. I also stated that the design would be finalised by the 14th January aswell, this has been complete and I have handed in the design documents stating the details of my level.

The project schedule also notes that I would have my white boxed level complete by the 28th January. I have completed white boxing my level and started to mold the basic shape of my level, it has changed from the design notes due to the idea changing as I was making the level however it still has a centre point in the middle of the level with a large tree.

In order to capture the theme of my level I have created a corner showing the assets and colours I would like to continue throughout the rest of the map.

Next week I will continue in creating my map assets like it says in my project schedule. I will have completed all assets needed for my level by the 1st April aswell as textures and the finding of needed models from sites such as TurboSquid.