{"id":629,"date":"2024-06-11T02:32:59","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T02:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abdoubouam.com\/?p=629"},"modified":"2024-06-11T02:32:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T02:32:59","slug":"devlog-week-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abdoubouam.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/11\/devlog-week-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Devlog Week 25"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here’s a brief summary of what I did this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3D models and materials<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I made a couple more models for the train station environment : metal fence gate\/door, elevator, ceiling light, ticket gate, and a normal metal door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
elevator 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
elevator 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
elevator 3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
elevator 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
ticket gate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
security grilles closed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
security grilles open<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
doors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
ceiling light<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I also made materials : a trimsheet for the train station floors, metal, tactile pavement, and concrete, and also a ceiling tiles material and a light through glass material, which is used in the ceiling light model. I also added an option to use the second UV channel to add a texture to the tiles material. In the example below it’s a drawing of an octopus, but it can use a trimsheet texture to control the colors of the tiles. I made sure it’s only applied to the non broken\/dirty parts of the tile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Train Station Trmsheet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
ceiling tles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>
Tiles with a custom UV#2 texture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Unreal Engine Level<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All my previous test renders were inside of Blender, but it was time to bring everything into Unreal Engine. I ended up making a script that automatically exports all selected objects into individual files, taking care of the necessary steps (reset all transforms, include all children in the same file, detect and handle collision meshes). I know there are dozens of blender addons already doing this, but I needed something specific to my needs, simple to use, and it didn’t take more than 30 minutes to make. Come to think of it, I think this is the reason why there are so many addons like this, everyone ends up with their own tools lol<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had many issues using Lightmass and GPULightmass for baking. Lightmass was slow and leaves ugly seams between objects, but GPULightmass wasn’t very stable. I don’t know exactly why it crashes, but I think I narrowed it down enough for it to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lighting and Art Style Test Renders<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here are some screenshots, testing art style and lighting. It’s mainly orange, because it’s the dominant color of dreams in the game. I thought I’ll have more difficult time getting decent result, since orange is rarely a color I use in my art, but it seems like it works really well. The screenshots are taken from a Steamdeck in the native resolution (ie. no upscaling), I’m getting good performance and lighting without having to make many compromises. The scene is still relatively empty, but I have a lot of leeway, I won’t have a lot of trouble keeping it running at 60 fps (or worst case scenario 30fps). Testing early is a good learning experience, it’s definitely better than going back and redoing work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made more adjustments to the dream pixel effect. I’m still not sure if I’m going to keep the pixelation\/ASCII effect, or make it gradually become much finer, but it’s a trivial thing to change and I’ll take care of it later when I have more dream scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In-game Screenshots<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a recording of the level prototype, showing mainly just the lighting, props, and the dream effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n