Day: April 28, 2019

Substance Designer latest updates!

I’m planning to use Substance Designer a lot in this project, so it’s an important software for me. This latest update changes and fixes many of the previous problems which makes me even more happy to use it.

Thee official software logo

The 2018.3.4 version is out since the fall 2018, and bring the manor updates and features. The most important one include a new PBR rendering node, which increase a photorealizm in a single map. This seem to be a huge improvement.

The improvements also include the gathered feedback from the users as the developers now let them access the Node List just by pressing TAB or SPACEBAR. This proves how important the feedback is for the company and how important it is to actually share our experience with them.

“As we continue to add new features and improvements to Substance Designer, we rely more and more on our community to help us identify the areas that are costing designers time, with their help, we’ve made some changes that will improve their overall workflow, and in the process, we also managed to prepare Substance Designer for the future.”

Deguy S. (2018)

The update itself is free for the subscribers, but the actual subscription is quite expensive. However, the student version is free, so I’m really happy to experiment with it and use it in this project. This should improve my texture quality and the overall look of my level. Although I haven’t used it before, I’ve learned the basics from my university colleagues.

REFERENCE LIST:

3D Artist team, (2018), Substance Designer fall update, 3D Artist [magazine]. Issue 128, p. 90

Allegorithmic team, (2018), SUBSTANCE DESIGNER – RELEASE NOTES ,
Allegorithmic, [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.allegorithmic.com/products/substance-designer/release-note (Accessed: 22 April 2019)

Starting to block out!

This stage is always exciting and brings lots of the level to live. It always starts to looks like a production has become and the work starts to get in shape.

I’ve started with blocking out a terrain. This took me a longest amount of time, as I wanted it to be almost finished for the final production. I’m not sure is that the right attitude, but I don’t want to redo it in the future.

The terrain blockout in UE4

I’ve created one general material to fill my blockout with, but I’ve decided to make another one just for the river to stand out more. Eventually I’ve used it for several assets to simulate the difference within materials (mostly glass). I think it was a really good choice, as it bring out the shapes of the blockout even more.

The main river area
The lab facility exterior block out

Although the blockout is really simple and have many unfinished geometry, the map starts to fill up nicely. The entire area is quite big, so I may think about making it slightly smaller in few areas, but in general, it looks like a natural size.

The starting point area (fallen tree, quad and fence) blockout

The blockout isn’t yet finished, but I will try my best to finish it on time. I would like to record a promotional video based on that, so I need some time in advance to do that.

I’ve decided to do not put any of the plant assets that I’ve made so far. I still treat them only as optional objects and I’ll still have to rethink using them in the final work. As I mentioned before, I will be probably more happy to use the flowers, to bring some colours to the scene.