Banner Testing

Playing around with some of Facebook's page tools and making a banner video for my page. Also been  exploring Facebook's 3D images and how it might work with Unreal 4,so far I've managed to create some test's using depth visualization and screenshots which work but need so experimenting to get them working correctly.

Mechanics Testing - Amityville '76

Amityville - Progress clips

Amityville '76

A completely unnecessary 6 hour Jurassic Park ASMR video.

Amityville - Sequencer Test #2

Another short test from the Amityville project. This was originally part of a much longer sequence,testing out various style and looks as well as hand animating the camera but decided to cut it together instead as a small teaser.

Random render of the day - Mech Spider

Came across this unfinished model / concept built for a tank style mechanical spider I previously posted a few still images of a while back. I think it was built for a rts / isometric style game and intended to be animated and rendered as frames but never completed this version,rendered out the turnaround / still whilst playing around in Marmoset toolbag.

Jurassic Park - Visitor Center

Additional .gif from the UE4 / Jurassic Park experiment using the sequencer.
Most of the materials used were fairly basic compared to Unreal's current capability's, the model was originally built with a sparing polycount due to the fact that it loaded seamlessly as part of  the whole map in Cryengine and not as a separate level.

Jurassic Park - Visitor Center 360°

A quick 360° test importing an old model of the Jurassic park visitor center rotunda into Unreal 4 and using 'Nvidia Ansel' to convert the scene into a 360 image. The original model didn't use baked lighting but I created some quick lightmaps for the Unreal version.

 

Stellar Tactics - Set out into the void!

I wrote a little about Stellar Tactics last year when I worked on some environments and modelling space stations for the Steam game. Since then the game has continued to develop on a massive scale...literally adding a sandbox universe to explore and a ton of new content,patches and more.

If you haven't heard of the game before it's a turn based /tactical sci-fi rts / rpg in which you can explore planets,space stations and outposts and is packed with customisation,combat and upgrades.

A few months back I worked on some new content for the game including putting together some new levels and working on some new ships to be added to the game in a future update.

The ships were built in Maya and textured in Substance painter and the aim was to keep them in the 3- 7,000 poly range with a little higher for some of the bigger cargo ships. Each of the ship has additional customisation with turret points and upgrades that can be added. I've been experimenting with 'Marmoset Toolbag' recently so put together some turntable renders and .Gifs of some of the models.

Stellar Tactics is currently in early access on Steam with frequent updates and active development,
for more information please check out the link below to the Steam store page.

DreambackVr - Indie horror

Another project I've been working on this year is an upcoming VR / Unreal 4 indie game called 'DreambackVR'. The horror game is set in sprawling mansion as you explore the haunted halls,solve puzzles and unlock hidden secrets.



I was responsible for building the the initial phase of environments,taking pre-existing assets and making a cohesive mansion,initial lighting set up,modelling and modifying props and materials. The mansion was built around a central courtyard with multiple levels and vantage points which meant adapting the modular parts to fit and re-texturing in Substance Painter.

Early version with some test lighting.

Corridor lighting test.

The house appears in two time periods during game play along with the exterior of the house and surrounding forest area. One of the central characters in the game is a doctor so I looked at references for old medical operating theatre's as well as influences of mystical / occult items relevant to the time period. The levels of the house also have servant quarters, storage and formal areas similar to what would appear in large mansion during the period.

One of the guest bedrooms.

 The game is currently still in development with plans to release with full VR support via Steam sometime in 2019, more about the project can be found at http://comeovergaming.com/video-games/dreambackvr

Collision Course - Humans, Dinosaurs and Droids.

Earlier this year I worked on expanding the environments for early access indie game Collision Course.

Built in Cryengine the open world game takes place after you crash land on a prehistoric world. Currently the game features a large open world with unscripted AI encounters,crafting/survival and environmental events.

My work was on the project was focused on an undeveloped section of the map,adding grasslands and plains,rivers and additional cliff areas and integrating it with the existing map. The games latest patch added a new AI herding system as well as Parasaurolophus and the plains were the perfect spot for some dinosaur sight seeing.

It had been a while since I used Cryengine but as far dense exterior environments and exterior lighting go the engines capability's are still pretty additive,after working mostly with Unreal 4 it was an interesting to compare them both.Collision Course is attempting to make the most of the engine with day cycles, lava and flowing rivers and seeing dinosaurs roaming is sure to bring back those Jurassic Park vibes.

For more information about the game,it's progress and to see out the trailer check out the link to the Steam page below.

Amityville - Sequencer Test 1#

Experimenting with Unreal 4's sequencer for fun and decided to animate a handheld style footage shot of my Amityville house model. The static and screen effects are both built in and some additional work in editing, I plan to make a more complete tour of the house at some point in a similar style.

Amityville '76 - Concept poster

Quick little challenge I worked on making a early 80's style poster sheet for my Amityville project.

I looked at the original theatrical posters for the first 2 Amityville movies for a bit of inspiration and the background is an in-game screenshot.

Amityville - Engine update

The past few months I've been working on a couple of different project and not had a huge amount of time to work on my own little side project but finally got a few hours to get back into it.

First priority was an engine update, made the jump from Unreal 4.17 - 4.19 with not too many issue's coming up (hopefully it fixed a few I had also). The environment itself is nearing completion of the first major stage, only one room totally empty so next step is details,props..and more props.

Amityville - Livingroom / Basement

Progress this week has been on dressing the living-room and basement laundry with props and modelling additional ones to add. I tracked down the make / model of the 'DeFeo' family's piano and modelled that as an addition and finally got around to filling all those painting frames.

Amityville - High Hopes

Working on filling out some areas of the environment this week,the garage / boat house have started to come together and also done some work on the infamous Amityville 'red room' which in reality is a cramped little space under the stairs.Also been working on the post processing effects for rendering the game with a 1970's camera look,not totally visible in the screenshots.It's an effect that will need some testing to hit the right look without being annoying visually I think.

Amityville - All Night Laundry

Exploring media player's in Unreal 4 this week combined with lighting and threw in some particles for fun. The t.v was inspired by "Poltergeist",playing out the end of the night with the national anthem and some stock footage I edited together (as well as in joke 'Indian head' image).

Elsewhere I've been modelling some props,big stuff like fridges/washers as well as random items throughout the house. The main areas getting some progress is the basement which was pretty well stocked for laundry day (based on photos I've came across). The area needs a pass of decals and clutter but is coming together.

Amityville Environment's

In my free time this week I've been working on improving and updating rooms in my Amityville house re-creation.

After looking at some 75-76 era photos I noticed some elements were slightly off in my models so added missing items and polished some existing areas like the bathroom and put more detail into window frames and baseboards.

The kitchen also had a revamp with new units added and set up the blueprints for interaction with cabinet doors / drawers.

Master bathroom,added in deco fixtures and updated textures.

Added proper fixtures to all the sash windows.

New cabinets that match the real house,just a few props / decorative items missing.

Amityville Investigation : Kitchen

Another quick .gif experiment (with cliched horror character appearance).Updated to Unreal 4.17 this week so been checking out volumetric's and making sure all my blueprints were still working.Made some progress updating various elements and experimenting a bit with materials.