A City in the Skies: A 3D environment in Unreal Engine 4

Abstract

The introduction to the world of 3D can and will be in most cases daunting. While 2D representation of our thoughts comes innate in youth, our tools to represent the world are vague and imprecise. For example, a toddler’s way to tell their parents about their surroundings can be, at best, a mixture of lines and babbling. For us, humans, that is enough to convey a feeling, a sensation. But there are those whose aim is to better express that view of the world, from these many humanities branch and grow. Perhaps a few words are enough to express the feeling of a room. Or maybe an excellent drawing can picture to perfection how beautiful an scenery is. Thus, it is only natural to want to further showcase how a situation, an experience is. Something not stuck in time nor in point of view. Where you could be able to move freely and use your own pace. That is how 3D captivated me. And that is how this project began. This project is developed on - what I believe - are the industry standards of the moment. Unreal Engine 4, which, up until recently, was the latest version available, as a 3D engine. The choosing of Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) over Unity was based merely on looks, but this topic will be further expanded later in this document. For texturing, the Adobe Suite was the logical option. Substance Designer for the development of procedural textures and Substance Painter for its application on the models. Lastly, Blender as the 3D modelling tool of choice. This can be a rather controversial election but Blender has proven very useful and diverse tool, and this is a way of me betting on the software. The end result of this project is to create a 3D environment of a city that is floating in the sky. The ambiance will be set on what a future society would picture the 21st century to be. That means a mixture between occidental and oriental architecture.