I'm sharing with you some images a terrain I'm currently working on. It's bassed in the description of the Aiur Caverns of the Dark Templar Saga.
It's some kind of labyrinth made to work in a third person view, with reduced vissibility.
I want to know if you think that it feels like it's described in the mentioned book, and get some feedback about the lighting, doodads, and textures used. Bassically how would you improve it if it were yours.
I am not a good terrainer so my feedback counts more as the one of a regular player but that terrain is awesome, I love lighting on the crystals in top left and the light that comes from top of cave in bottom left picture. the only thing That stood out to me is I find the door in the 6th picture (mid-top right) to look a little weird but thats just my opinion.
The main thing that bugs me is the green on the door which I find dosnt go well with the blue of the walls but you can't really change that. I have an unrelated idea to try but it might not make it better, what if you reduced the z value to make the door at the same height as the walls, it might make it blend in better or maybe not.
Anyways good luck, hope to play your map one day ^^
The main thing I notice is that the lighting is all very flat and uniform. I feel like you could improve the atmosphere a lot with a darker base light, then use lighting regions to create larger pools of light around the various cystals and energy sources (or just scale up your omnis a tad, but lighting regions give you more control). Get some real contrast between the dark and lit areas.
Though if you darken the scene, you may also need to darken your lightshafts a bit to make them fit.
Also, tint your fog to match the environment. Right now it really sticks out.
I've taken your advice, darkened the main light and increased the intensity of all light doodads. Also I've added a trigger to reveal the map. Now the map looks better than before, but it has fps drops and is easier to find the way out. I've decided to switch the third person view with some fixed cameras, I'll look into that after finishing with the layout.
I can change the textures, but I'm still not sure of wich door you're talking about. Is it the main door at the center or are they the small doors that appear several times?
Now your lightshafts are really neon-bright. It feels more like a dance floor than a cave.
You might try decreasing their HDR multiplier and/or applying a darker custom tint. Ideally they should be visible, but not intrusive. And the whole scene is still generally very bright for an underground area.
As for the fog doodads, the new tint blends in too well with the ground. Something half way between the old and the new should look just about perfect.
The lighting is much improved, however the rest of the map is still very plain. You could improve that by doing some more work with your ground texture, such as putting some more rocky textures around the edges of cliffs and perhaps some other rocky patches. Just try to mix up the textures a bit. Also, you could try to add a bit more height variation to the map by adding small amounts of noise to the otherwise flat terrain. It doesn't need to be a big amount of variation, but a little bit can go a long way.
Finally, I, personally, think it could do with a lot more ground clutter. Scatter some rock doodads here and there, and maybe some plants. If you want to keep the amount of plant down for performance reasons, I would recommend placing them close to other doodads, as they will be more noticeable there.
The ground texture was a mix of 3 textures (dirt, rock and a shiny dirt). I wouldn't notice that the dirt was getting all the attention without you telling me. I've token your advice and added a lot of rocky textures, especially to the cliff edges.
I'm not a big fan of altering the terrain's height, because of the the cliffs and ramps deformations, but I've added that noise anyway. I don't know if I've exceeded with it.
I'll wait until finishing with the entire map layout and main doodads to see if I can place more. I'm a little bit scared about reaching the limit...
Hi!
I'm sharing with you some images a terrain I'm currently working on. It's bassed in the description of the Aiur Caverns of the Dark Templar Saga.
It's some kind of labyrinth made to work in a third person view, with reduced vissibility.
I want to know if you think that it feels like it's described in the mentioned book, and get some feedback about the lighting, doodads, and textures used. Bassically how would you improve it if it were yours.
Check out my kitbashes! Custom Campaign Initiative: Lots of great Custom Campaigns!! Check out and Support!!
I am not a good terrainer so my feedback counts more as the one of a regular player but that terrain is awesome, I love lighting on the crystals in top left and the light that comes from top of cave in bottom left picture. the only thing That stood out to me is I find the door in the 6th picture (mid-top right) to look a little weird but thats just my opinion.
Anyways great job its awesome.
@pokenoufl: Go
Thanks for your time!
Do you mean the door in the far right? It is supposed to be the entrance to the chamber. How would you recommend me to change it?
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The main thing that bugs me is the green on the door which I find dosnt go well with the blue of the walls but you can't really change that. I have an unrelated idea to try but it might not make it better, what if you reduced the z value to make the door at the same height as the walls, it might make it blend in better or maybe not.
Anyways good luck, hope to play your map one day ^^
@Cacho56: Go
The main thing I notice is that the lighting is all very flat and uniform. I feel like you could improve the atmosphere a lot with a darker base light, then use lighting regions to create larger pools of light around the various cystals and energy sources (or just scale up your omnis a tad, but lighting regions give you more control). Get some real contrast between the dark and lit areas.
Though if you darken the scene, you may also need to darken your lightshafts a bit to make them fit.
Also, tint your fog to match the environment. Right now it really sticks out.
@Telthalion: Go
Thanks!
I've taken your advice, darkened the main light and increased the intensity of all light doodads. Also I've added a trigger to reveal the map. Now the map looks better than before, but it has fps drops and is easier to find the way out. I've decided to switch the third person view with some fixed cameras, I'll look into that after finishing with the layout.
I'm still not convinced with the fog...
@pokenoufl: Go
I can change the textures, but I'm still not sure of wich door you're talking about. Is it the main door at the center or are they the small doors that appear several times?
Does anybody has something else to criticize?
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@Cacho56: Go
Now your lightshafts are really neon-bright. It feels more like a dance floor than a cave.
You might try decreasing their HDR multiplier and/or applying a darker custom tint. Ideally they should be visible, but not intrusive. And the whole scene is still generally very bright for an underground area.
As for the fog doodads, the new tint blends in too well with the ground. Something half way between the old and the new should look just about perfect.
@Telthalion: Go
Alright! I've reduced the intensity of the lights on the top, and made more whitish the fog.
Still, Aiur Caverns are described as well illuminated because of the khaydarin crystals in the walls, so I didn't darkened it too much.
Is not intended to watch at the roof during the game, so the lights on there don't need too much attention.
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Much better. :)
The lighting is much improved, however the rest of the map is still very plain. You could improve that by doing some more work with your ground texture, such as putting some more rocky textures around the edges of cliffs and perhaps some other rocky patches. Just try to mix up the textures a bit. Also, you could try to add a bit more height variation to the map by adding small amounts of noise to the otherwise flat terrain. It doesn't need to be a big amount of variation, but a little bit can go a long way.
Finally, I, personally, think it could do with a lot more ground clutter. Scatter some rock doodads here and there, and maybe some plants. If you want to keep the amount of plant down for performance reasons, I would recommend placing them close to other doodads, as they will be more noticeable there.
@Nebuli2: Go
The ground texture was a mix of 3 textures (dirt, rock and a shiny dirt). I wouldn't notice that the dirt was getting all the attention without you telling me. I've token your advice and added a lot of rocky textures, especially to the cliff edges.
I'm not a big fan of altering the terrain's height, because of the the cliffs and ramps deformations, but I've added that noise anyway. I don't know if I've exceeded with it.
I'll wait until finishing with the entire map layout and main doodads to see if I can place more. I'm a little bit scared about reaching the limit...
Check out my kitbashes! Custom Campaign Initiative: Lots of great Custom Campaigns!! Check out and Support!!