Before I began construction of the rooms. I made sure that I had explored other shapes of rooms to see which worked best.

I sketched up a few designs that I could try out:

For the reconstructions below I plan on using the starter content as it will help save time in the long run as themes are just 3D visualisations. Below are a couple photos of floor plans that have just enough detail to make out the layout of each area without going into so much detail various areas whilst still not going into to much detail.

1

This first Design is a very simple layout with minimal rooms. That feature around a central table. This design could offer opportunities to go into a lot of depth as it isn’t a large space. I like the idea of having a corner desk as once it has been joined with all the extra assets it will be an area that people are drawn to.

2

Layout 2 appeals to me as it has two layers which give it a more dynamic and modern feeling. This layout also makes use of the corner window giving it a large space to look out the window. I plan on using the 2 levelled approach in my final design as I feel that it will make my project more visually appealing.

3

This design was a very experimental design as the main room is essentially a circle with the exception of the window and the kitchen area. I wasn’t a massive fan of this design but when I was sketching it up a didn’t want to draw up any conclusions until I had considered all my options.

4

This is my favourite design as it feels like it has the most going on with it. Whilst it is a lot bigger so it will require a considerable amount more work to make a space like that filled with detail. There are aspects of this design that I like. such as the table top and overhead shelving unit travelling along two walls. By doing this is will fill up a lot of space whilst adding lots of detail.

5

6

This design whilst being similar to design 2 has a lot of difference from the other mockups. It features on long window along one of the walls with the living, working and sleeping all in the same room. I do feel that this design doesn’t use space it is given to the best it could though. The two table objects in the centre could be repositioned to make more a central space.

A large factor in my work will be importing models once I have modelled and textured each individual models. I had difficulty in the past importing my models into Unreal Engine 4 as  I was importing them as .obj when they needed to be .fbx files. I was able to import some of my models into Unreal Engine and apply my textures to them so that look as they should.

 

The first thing I had to do was open Blender and export my models as .fbx files as this is the file type Unreal Engine uses.

I also had to open up substance painter and export my different texture sets as .jpeg.

The next stage was to bring them into the project content panel. So that they can be used within the game environment.

Once the models were in the environment I had to link up the different textures so that they match the model correctly. This involved using a Nodal based system and linking the relevant image to the relevant input.

Once this was done the model looked as they did within the Substance painter and are now ready for use within a game.

 

Video Showing 2 out of 3 models successfully imported into Unreal Engine

 

Just like the previous post about carrying out the experiment to build a basic scene in Unreal to improve my competency with the software. This was useful as I will be able to import my own models in now and get them textured properly

Alongside testing out different lighting I put together a mock room using the pre-loaded assets and materials. This was more a check that I could use unreal to put together a scene without difficulty. Even though as mentioned earlier I managed to put together an interesting room which also utilities lighting and shadows to achieve this.

The light source positioning I used above was created by accident. I meant to position the light above the table so that it glowed within the statue on the table. However, I accidentally moved the positioning beneath the table.  This created the interesting lighting/shadow pattern seen above. The result of this created a cinematic effect.

 

I was experimenting with different materials reflective properties. I used a marble like material for the ceiling which reflected the scene below. Once again  I found this an interesting way of lighting a scene as it gives an interesting dynamic.

 

I used a variety of different lights to achieve this still.  The fire gave a nice moving light and as mentioned earlier under the table reflected well off of the floor.

 

This was a good test for me to carry out as I am still new to using Unreal Engine 4 putting together this room only using the starter content allowed me to get to grips with using Unreal Engines asset navigation and transformation tools and how to build a basic scene using various materials and lights.

I decided to have a look into how I could create Volumetric light within Unreal Engine 4. The three mains types of dynamic lighting that I could discover is, setting up light rays or as some call them ‘God Rays’. Next up is the use of light emitting from particle effects to create light. Finally, I also looked into light diffusion into a dark room and seeing how the dispersion looks.

 

Below are a few images of the results I came up with. Considering that I am still very new to using Unreal software I would say I am reasonably happy with the results. There is still a large area for improvement too but these experiments are a good step in the right direction.

To create theses lighting effects I had to make a dark room to prevent lighting entering the room. The only hole was the window which I used for the Lights Rays.

Volumetric God Rays

I created these light rays by using a directional light with light shaft bloom and then playing around with the setting until I was happy with how it looked.  I found it difficult creating the lights shaft in a lit environment hence why I had to create a pitch black room with a small light.

Light Diffusion

This method of using light diffusion was quite simple to do and it had a very nice effect as I have full control over the colour, brightness, intensity and range of light diffusion. I plan on using this sort of light if I use computer screens or small lights part as part of a control panel

 

Particle effects

I tried out using the particle effects just to see what they were like. I don’t think I will use particle effects like fire in my final piece as it doesn’t fit the genre I have set to my work.

 

After conducting these test, I feel a lot more comfortable when it comes to using unreal to simulate light. For my apartment, I think that using point lights will be the best way to go as these mimic standard light bulbs. With the ability to fine tune the colour  it will allow me to go into greater detail in my project.

To help formulate my branding that I use alongside my work I created another Padlet to highlight this. It features mainly serif fonts as I feel this represents my genre better.

 

https://padlet.com/beneadams96/2d8fn1z6op1b