MGS2 Tanker Lounge in UE4 - General

Hey guys, So I've been working on this scene in UE4 of the Tanker Lounge area from MGS2: [video=youtube;N3Lrck-eNMs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3Lrck-eNMs[/video] While a little bit rough in some areas (because University deadlines yadda yadda), I'm quite pleased with certain areas of it and something I may re-visit to just add that extra polish too. I have another year left at University (plus the remainder of this one till May) in which I hope to re-visit another envrionment and jazz it up in UE4. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave them below, always noting stuff down for next projects and such. Some extra shots too: [t]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYdgM_3WMAMg4Sz.jpg:large[/t] [t]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYeu_aJW8AQc0p9.jpg:large[/t] [t]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYevuVJWYAErqo3.jpg:large[/t] Also dead excited as Konami retweeted my work, Drew from Giant Bomb (Metal Gear Scanlon) replied to my work saying he liked it and David FREAKING Hayter liked my stuff on Twitter!

DOES IT HAVE THE MELTING ICECUBES!?

That looks fucking awesome, dude.

It looks a bit too shiny

i have little criticism about the environment itself, but I want to offer the following on the production of the video, which can use some work (which is just as important as the environment itself, especially for a portfolio!) to help it feel a bit more professional. some of the camera movements you're using are not ideal for showing off setting, and are unnecessarily quick and snappy. establishing shots are slow, sluggish, sometimes completely still - letting the eye focus on the details of the environment. the point of it is to relax and let the viewer soak it in. moving too much too quickly distracts from that. if you were to move less, people would be able to focus on your work more. 0:26 is a perfect example. you start with a dutch tilt and very quickly swoop around that room pivoting around the coffee table and immediately cut more than 180 degrees backward to the wall BEHIND that (the TV wall). the subsequent shot is weak as well, as the camera pivots focusing on completely uninteresting wall geometry (the spin of the camera drives the eye to the base of the pillar sticking out of the wall) before ending at 0:35 at the same place as the first shot ended. [B]note that 0:28 and 0:35 are the same shot.[/B] the following shot is good. the transition between the shot that ends at 0:44 and the shot that begins at 0:45 is excellent, as both shots heavily feature the tables and draw the eye. however, one thing to note (that could have been improved) is that both shots feature movement in the same direction - from the tv area to the bar area. while the transition and the focus is good, by moving back to the same starting position it's a little grating because it feels like you're retreading the same ground. i would also suggest that you make the birds eye shot facing the table surfaces more visually interesting. put something on those tables, something small that tells a story on each individual table! poker chips and cards, maybe an ashtray all on one table, with folders files and briefs on the next. show the life on the boat. when you're showing off an environment you want the viewer to be able to soak in what's around them, to vibe with it and understand what that environment is about. your first shot leading from the door into the main room is effective, so is the second shot that focuses on the television. each of those shots tell a quick story. the dutch tilt of the first shot emphasizes the separation between that hallway and the tv area. knowing what metal gear is (as a concept) you can easily see someone sneaking and hugging that dividing wall. the second shot that focuses on the television as it points towards it gives a great overview of the couches and sitting area. you immediately understand what that part of the room is for. 0:56 is an excellent shot, and you intuitively recognize that as you've chosen it as one of your stills. the reason that shot is so strong is that you've taken back the camera with a wider view. most other shots you have in this are pretty tight, focused and zoomed. this is ineffective for establishing shots. the slower shots that have one central subject[B] completely in frame[/B] with room around it to spare - the bar for instance - are stronger because the eye has one place to look. it shows off your capabilities as a modeler, as well. so i know this post is long. i am sorry. but the production of your videos is critical because that's how you're [I]showing[/I] your work. it needs to be top notch, emphasize your strengths, and minimize your weaknesses. it needs to tell a story in a quick and relateable way, and you've captured that with a few shots - the intro shot, the shot of the glass on the bar looking towards the TV (1:30), the shot of the bar (0:56), the shot leading out the door at the end, etc. each of these tells a story in their construction. your modelling work is great, and the next part will be presenting it in a really sellable way that will make what you've done more eyecatching. i would strongly, strongly recommend doing a small amount of study in a film theory course, read up on mise-en-scene, learn [I]how[/I] and [I]why[/I] you should be using certain camera movements, zooms, and angles. once you master those even mediocre work can look great, and your work can look superb.

the stair banister looks a bit fucked up

Considering your deadline, this is actually very "metal gear" solid.

Nice work! Would be interesting to see what will come out of this after your university stuff is out of the way. One piece of criticism: Due to the better graphics the Lounge starts to look way too nice, like for a Cruise Ship instead of a Lounge in an "Oil Tanker" if you know what I mean. EDIT: Hm looking back at the original material. That allready was quite the nice (low res) Lounge for a tanker.

Looks rad, the camera movements in some of the shots is way too wild and fast tho. Also what the fuck is up with the stairs? they look like they fell out of alice in wonderland, crazy misshapen and wonky. I don't think they looked like that in the actual game [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/phaLg9r.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/2qp6bLW.jpg[/IMG] but this is the only glaring issue I can see - I would have fixed it up prior to putting it online, it kind of puts a damper on everything else once you see it in context. Fix that and you're golden [editline]12th January 2016[/editline] just noticed the stairs are also uneven. fix that too and you're platinum

[QUOTE=TheSoupNazi;49511165]DOES IT HAVE THE MELTING ICECUBES!?[/QUOTE] Unfortunately not haha, I did however have the bucket modelled ready to go in, just need baking and texturing along with ice cube models too. Like I said, if I re-visit this again (or another MGS project) at Uni again I'll have a bit more attention. But deadlines and such, this has been like one of my four projects at Uni atm, a lot of work meaning I cant focus on the stuff I love the most (this stuff). Also I planned on adding the weapon pickup behind the bar and the ration in front of the television too. Yeh the upstairs stuff was a bit rushed haha, I had my main focus on the living space area, didn't pay much attention to the upstairs stuff but deadlines got closer so focus had to be more concentrated unfortunately! I'm just happy with the response and with the screens I've gathered plus elements of that final video. Thanks for all the comments guys (inc. BrickInTheHead's post, really really good stuff for me to bare in mind next time round regarding the filming and matinee stuff) Keep them coming along with any crit <3

More creative stuff like this makes me wish my CS course focused on it a bit more. If i were building this my next step would be to make it more interactive, add the destructible bar etc. I had a lot of fun messing with that in MGS2.

Why is your sunlight going through your floor? (why is the sun even shining from that angle at all) Cover your map in black boxes to block the sunlight leaks, as unreal doesn't cast shadows as 2-sided. (unless you force it to, which can become expensive) EDIT: Dai stole my post so I'm stealing his picture [t]http://i.imgur.com/V4hqOX8.png[/t]

it appears you have an exterior lightsource shining upward through the floor, casting harsh light on objects and wonky shadows onto walls. REALLY sticks out in this area with the couch [img]http://i.imgur.com/V4hqOX8.png[/img] sometimes light can leak through if geometry is single-sided, though it's been a while since I've dealt with it. making materials double sided could fix it, or maybe there's an option on the geometry itself regarding shadowcasting

[QUOTE=EvilPengy;49514189]Unfortunately not haha, I did however have the bucket modelled ready to go in, just need baking and texturing along with ice cube models too. Like I said, if I re-visit this again (or another MGS project) at Uni again I'll have a bit more attention. But deadlines and such, this has been like one of my four projects at Uni atm, a lot of work meaning I cant focus on the stuff I love the most (this stuff). Also I planned on adding the weapon pickup behind the bar and the ration in front of the television too. Yeh the upstairs stuff was a bit rushed haha, I had my main focus on the living space area, didn't pay much attention to the upstairs stuff but deadlines got closer so focus had to be more concentrated unfortunately! I'm just happy with the response and with the screens I've gathered plus elements of that final video. Thanks for all the comments guys (inc. BrickInTheHead's post, really really good stuff for me to bare in mind next time round regarding the filming and matinee stuff) Keep them coming along with any crit <3[/QUOTE] i'm glad if anything i wrote up is of any help to you in the future! keep up the good work, you're clearly doing quite well already. the only other thing i'd say (that you probably already know) but a neat exercise for developing an environment (or in the world of film, a set) is to put in a few "scenes" into the environment, including people, props, etc. create stories in your head that you recreate in your set/environment, like i suggested with the poker chips. you can tell a few very deliberate stories by doing something like leaving a lit cigarette in an ash tray, or if that cigarette is squashed into the tray / the table. you can illustrate a story by having two sets of poker hands face down and two others face up (folding/remaining players), or have all the chips on one quarter of the table, etc. push it further by putting a blood stain in one chair, and spent shell casings in the chair opposite. poker standoff gone bad. just any number of small little variations can influence the way people see your environment and get their own imaginative juices flowing. that sort of stuff would help people looking at your environments envision their own stories and make your environments more desirable.

[QUOTE=dai;49514837]it appears you have an exterior lightsource shining upward through the floor, casting harsh light on objects and wonky shadows onto walls. REALLY sticks out in this area with the couch [img]http://i.imgur.com/V4hqOX8.png[/img] sometimes light can leak through if geometry is single-sided, though it's been a while since I've dealt with it. making materials double sided could fix it, or maybe there's an option on the geometry itself regarding shadowcasting[/QUOTE] Yeh I have no clue what was happening there, only thing I can think of is the light through the windows (the light source is pointing inwards through the window) could be causing that, if not, no clue

[QUOTE=EvilPengy;49521523]Yeh I have no clue what was happening there, only thing I can think of is the light through the windows (the light source is pointing inwards through the window) could be causing that, if not, no clue[/QUOTE] [img]http://i.imgur.com/LfE0W9j.png[/img] these shadows are being cast upward at that angle through the floor. Easiest solution is to make a BSP box and stretch it the entire length underneath your scene, should block off that light leak I think