3D Progress Update

I've been working on modelling the level in 3D Studio Max and exporting everything into the UDK. Yesterday I realised just how bad the alignment of some of the objects were, this was due to the method I used to create the models in Max; so last night, using the old level I created as a basic guide, I began creating a new level with much better grid alignments and so forth.

Sorry for not uploading any screenshots as of yet, I'm working to make it look better before I upload anything.

Please post reference images for the shops, bar and lounge, I know we have rough ideas but they are still to be outlined. Any sketches would be appreciated, I'll try to find some time to get some done myself as well.

Note to group: A meeting will be held on Monday.

Project Update

I thought I might just add a post saying where we are currently up to, Ben is working on getting some sketchup models he has been working on into 3ds max including stairs and so on.
Today Ben and I discussed walling off the interior and having the light come in from the roof. This will provide some direction for the lighting at the same time providing a limitation; an edge of level scenario that is realistic. We have yet to decide specifically what the roof will look like but we think that it will eventually take the form of our concept images.
I have been working on blocking out the level in unreal, getting to grips with it and making sure that things look as they should when running around inside the station.
We have ideas for interior objects, they have not yet been added to the greyboxing stage but should be over the next couple of days. More screenshots and renders will soon be up.

Renders and Screenshots

I've been working hard with max and unreal attempting to get our basic structure working, I feel we can do a little more with the area, like boxing off the wide open gap where the carpark lies so it all becomes enclosed with light flooding in through the blue roof and the train/tram entrances and exits. With the new wall we could add a couple of small curved floors which provide extra relaxation / shopping zones. Leaving it open to the world seems strange, but I'll let you judge for yourself with the renders :)

As I said, I have been working hard to import this thing into unreal and it is obvious that I am yet to figure a few things out like why the roof looks the way it does; but i'm confident I can figure it out. The light from above comes through the blue mesh and distributes the colour through the station and, in my opinion, looks great (at least it will do when I sort out the problems i'm having). By the way, that roof is temporary and does not reflect the final choice ;)



I'd like it if we could meet on monday, discuss any references and ideas (especially lighting because it looks a bit grim at the moment) and look at how we could best implement them.

Post Visit to Bizarre

Hey guys, meeting went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed presenting our ideas to the guys at Bizarre and they gave us some great feedback on them as well as the overall project as a whole!

I can see that Stewart has made himself a follower of our blog so I look forward to any input that he can put across for us!

Just thought I'd upload the printouts I took to the studios, so they're here for all you guys to review!

A meeting tomorrow would be great to get to grips with where we will be heading and what we need to do over the next few weeks :)

indesign

A few Images of Stations and esaclators

As i said to Ste, the theme for contemporary stations seems to be spectacular roof with the interior design quite simple to allow the roof to stand out. We can still use to feature escalators and mezzanine floors to enhance this leading to a cafe, shops ect and add some nice features to aid in game play.

My drawing skills suck

Ok, so I've been doodling quite a bit over the weekend. Went back to the station and tried to look at the building from more of an interior mindset, looking at it's qualities as well as it's flaws.

I think, given the freedom of the gaming environment, what would benefit the building whilst not necessarily feasible in the real world would be adding multiple floors to make use of the massive Z space that the building has.

Looking at suggestions adam made over the weekend as well as referencing from a few books i have lying around I've came up with some simple sketches of exploring this...

I haven't got access to a scanner now but I'll show you guys the sketches tomorrow morning.

I have however been working on a simple model because I find that I can (hopefully) quickly illustrate my ideas easier.

sketchup

Essentially, I love the old sand coloured brick that faces out over the station, and the arches so I tried to keep this intact. To my knowledge, the offices that make up most of the first and second floors of this section are derelict. I've explored the idea of extending out these floors to create extra walkable space within the void of the building. Not relevant at this stage, but an idea is that these derelict offices, now broken up more defintively could become shops/cafes/bars etc, or perhaps even reused as their original specs.

The idea is that ideally, the pitched roofs would be more or less completely glazed over to create an abundance of light, which will be needed through the addition of these extra floors. Provisional escalators have been added to show possible routes up to and down the floors but can be subject to change. The addition of "tunnels" to make travelling through the 2nd floor feasible is again a temporary idea but one I kept revisiting in my doodles.

The long pitched roof I can imagine being a long restaurant/bar complete with tables, chairs and whatnot that look over the station as well as the city. With two walkways that lead over the train tracks to the larger sections. Perhaps a chance to rappel down to a moving/static train?

the first floor also joins up with the platform that leads to the MEN, and hopefully this can serve as an additionaly function.


Lastly, I would like to iterate that I am far from precious of this idea, and it is still in its infancy so more aesthetic qualities that you guys would like to see would be greatly appreciated and needed! I would love for you guys to pick it apart completely, tell me about certain aspects you like or dislike, from both a design standpoint and a gaming one. Rework it or use it as a stepping stone. For example, do the roofs HAVE to be pitched or can we come up with something more Zaha Hadid-like? And would more interesting walkways be possible? using interesting staircases instead of simple escalators...

Cheers!

Ben

Concept Images

I've been working on some ideas and so I sketched up a couple of them, I also took them into photoshop and added a bit of colour so you can see what i'm thinking of in terms of lighting, space and general colour; i'd like to hear comments on these as to what you all prefer for a colour palette; what objects should be placed inside the space and preferences on lighting.

At the moment I'm still thinking that this could work nicely as a hotel or shopping centre; again, let me know what your opinions are.