UE4: Swallowed by The Desert
This is an environment based on the ghost town of Kolmanskop. An abandoned mining town in the Namib desert where all of the buildings are filled with sand. I thought it would be a very interesting and unique location to recreate in Unreal Engine 4. My workflow consisted of starting with a clean, intact hallway before slowly building up the sand and damage over time. This method helped to create a believable scene as the decay and sand build up feels more natural. This environment was featured on 80 Level where I provided an extended breakdown. Check it out here: https://80.lv/articles/building-a-desert-scene-with-modular-kit-trim-sheets/
Music Credits: Tanaris soundtrack from World of Warcraft.
This environment was featured on 80 Level where I provided an extended breakdown. Check it out here: https://80.lv/articles/building-a-desert-scene-with-modular-kit-trim-sheets/
Before blocking out the scene, I spent some time gathering reference shots from around Kolmanskop. I paid close attention to how the sand accumulated around each room.
The initial blockout was done inside 3ds Max before being brought into Unreal.
The environment was constructed using a variety of modular meshes. I used decals, vertex painting and different variations of each mesh to help break up repetition. I utilized the Quixel Megascans library for the tiling materials.
Timeline from the greybox stage to final. With each iteration I made sure to slowly build up more sand around where it made sense.
The rug and curtain props were created inside Marvelous Designer. I exported a piece of the environment from Unreal to use as a frame for the simulation. This allowed me to create interesting shapes by simulating cloth onto the actual level geometry.
Once I was done simulating, I used ZBrush to retopologize the cloth and turn it into a game ready mesh.