[Kranimal]

Figured I would make my own thread on this as I will be adding to it quite frequently so first I will explain what I am doing.

I am porting the models and textures and such over to ue4 to do wow machinima (and to also learn the UE4 engine and how it works). So far it is very barebones but I have a short video showing what I have done so far on a test map. Also showing and keeping a journal of sort I guess you could say on this forum and thread. If you happen to notice anything feedback is and always will be welcomed.

 

Now to the video, it is a short video but, there really is a TON of work behind what you are seeing in this video (at least it is for me as I am learning as I am going.) I give a short run around on a vehicle showing some of the foliage and texturing at this point, next video I will show off some of the characters, buildings and animations. The main thing I am proud of in this is that the texturing and landscape sculpting is all in a blueprint I created in the Unreal Engine. As you can see, it automatically paints the textures I have chosen based on the angle of the slope in the landscape. As an added bonus I set it up to apply the foliage to just the grass textures. I have applied any of the normal maps or anything to the textures yet (cause I have to make them first) so it isn't to detailed atm, but still not a bad start. Except for the water, and sky atm, everything you see in the video is textures and models from wow.

Enjoy =D

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[Kaev]

It's really awesome that it picks the textures depending on the slope, never thought of something like that before. Good work! Could you tell me which values did you use for which texture?

I'm missing the WoW feeling though. It's a bit too realistic, i like the comic look.

[Bardh]

I've seen WoW places made with Unreal before but they didn't use WoW models, I'm glad you're using WoW models like the trees from elwynn forest, I guess it will make it more similiar to actual game but with improved graphics. Just like Kaev said the original WoW is what we are all used to but I think that if you stick to using only wow models and textures it could turn out great!

 

[Kranimal]

Thanks for stopping in :). I know what you mean when it comes to the feel, but this also has a specific feel to it as well but in a different way =D. I use the original texture size when I import them, I scale them using the blueprints system. Actually it is setup so that what when you are far away you see one size but as you get closer it kind scales itself down into a smaller size for more detail using a (pixel depth) node if I named it correctly. I have to say the most time consuming part is actually converting the stuff, and its not hard, just a lot of stuff to do to get a specific look.

 

For instance, every single texture (and I mean EVERY ../cry) I load up into gimp and use a plugin called "Insane Bump" to make the Normal Map, Displacement Maps, Diffuse Maps, AO Maps and Specular Maps, which is what provides the depth and realism to the textures. So a single model that has 20 textures, now has 100, and that's just the textures. So it is time consuming lol........../cry, but still fun =D.

 

Now to get on with todays post and what I have been working on. I have been working on the landscape again and decided to try a couple of community made free plugins that other unreal users have made for UE4. Those people over there are great by the way, I have never seen such a strong and sharing community (besides here of course =D). I grabbed an auto texture painter for my landscape which basically does what I was doing before, just, Much better (you will see in the video). I grabbed an Ocean/Lake plugin, and I also learned a few things like how to add random wind to like grass and leaves and such. I also started to work with the sequencer a little bit and animation blend space and which you will see Sylvannas moving forward (I need to work on lighting soon also).

 

Anyway here is a short video and I hope you enjoy =D!! I love any type of feed back or thoughts. Also there is a part where the grass is partly in the ocean, that's cause I haven't done the sea bed yet so it won't stay that way. Just another test map =D

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[Kranimal]

Posting an update and another video, basically just trying to get use to the sequencer inside UE4, hella cool piece of software and so much you can do with it. This video shows off a very undetailed area, Sylv doing a wave and walking off and a model I exported using the wmo import/export script for blender that Skarn is currently working on and updating =D. Wanted to show off some more things to you guys so you can see a bit more compared to the previous videos. Will be more incoming, enjoy :).

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EDIT: I forgot to mention, except for the sky and ocean everything else is wow textures and models, even used wows textures for the fire I made

[Bardh]

This looks much better espacially with WoW music, I would love to see more of this, maybe make a forest or smth like this. Great work so far!

[Kranimal]

14 hours ago, Bardh said:

This looks much better espacially with WoW music, I would love to see more of this, maybe make a forest or smth like this. Great work so far!

Thanks :). I use the WMO Import/Export Script to load the .WMO files into blender. I then clean them up (get rid of the ghost material), and join all the groups together and then export it to .fbx so I can import it into UE4. For .M2 files I use the current WowModelViewer which can export to .fbx with animations for all the .m2 files and it imbeds the textures into the .fbx file as well so all I have to do is export it with WowModelViewer and then import it to UE4.

 

When it comes to the texture maps for all the textures I use Gimp with a nice plugin called "Insane Bump" which will make the Normal, Specular, Displacement, Diffuse, and AO maps for you based off the texture you have loaded into it at that time =D. As for using the UE4 engine, it really is VERY simple to use and understand, and if you don't understand something there are TONS, and I mean TONS, of tuts and how to documents and videos to show you how to do something. The blueprint system is godly, at least in my eyes :).

 

Really the only thing I am gonna have to make from scratch to use is the particle effects, such as fires, auras, spells or regular texture effects like you see on weapons and such. It really is a lot of fun doing this, even if I don't use an area I make for anything, it is still VERY fun to make it. If you really wanted to you could make your own single player version of wow inside UE4 without having to write a single line of code (just sayin, you could lol =D), or just make movies inside the engine as well :).

 

If you like to create stuff everything I mentioned above is free (except for wow) and including the UE4 engine. It really is quite easy and fun to use :).

[Uthil]

This is really someting out of mind. Amazing on how it behaves under UE4. Great job mate, i would love if in a possible way could happen WoW been recreated under UE4. The feeling is much different looking those videos. Try to re-create if you can a classic wow dungeon, i.e DM east, which is kinda small, since lightning effects are different, you have shadows, corridors etc. 

[Kranimal]

Sorry about the wait for more shots and vids, I decided it would be better to speed up my work flow. Before the way I was handling doing the importing and textures was not very good. I would import the textures at the same time that I was importing the model, which became messy fast, as some of the textures I was getting many copies of the same ones on import. So, with that being said I decided to do the Normal, Specular, and displacement maps for all the textures in 1 go. Get all the textures all nice and organized and imported so I don't have multiple copies of the same ones.

 

That way all I have to do is import the models I want to use, and already have all the textures there for the materials. This should make it so I am spending more time building scenes instead of spending a good chunk of time converting stuff over, really needed to cut back on the converting time. Once that is done I will have more stuff to show =D.

[XodusArt2]

Ah hey, considered doing the trees in Speedtree, keeping the same style ofc? 

 

I did some of this stuff awhile back, but went for a more realistic approach, but still kept it looking Warcraft-y.

It's all in the light, the post processing, and the material shaders.

Consider some references; Stormwind in the VR trailer for the movie

Goldshire in the movie

Detailed art pieces.

[Kranimal]

2 hours ago, XodusArt2 said:

Ah hey, considered doing the trees in Speedtree, keeping the same style ofc? 

 

I did some of this stuff awhile back, but went for a more realistic approach, but still kept it looking Warcraft-y.

It's all in the light, the post processing, and the material shaders.

Consider some references; Stormwind in the VR trailer for the movie

Goldshire in the movie

Detailed art pieces.

I actually thought about using outside resources for the foliage and such but decided to stick with blizzards models, trying to stick with what the game provides. (mainly cause I want to see what it would look like with the original models being enhanced with all the UE4 stuff). So besides the ocean and sky everything is blizzard (the sky and ocean is actually a community plugin that the community developed and released for free on the UE forums). That and the skybox is a pain to mess with lol

 

The lighting is something I have yet to delve to deep into yet, that one seems like it is gonna be quite overwhelming lol =D

[XodusArt2]

Ah so you're keeping the cartoony lowpoly look then?