Archvis Home
Role
Modeling, Texturing, Scripting, Lighting
Project Status
Not Shipped
Software
Unreal Engine 4, Maya, Quixel
A modern home I built to test my understanding of the lighting system and some optimization techniques in Unreal Engine 4. In this project, the player can walk around the home in first person and change between day/night lighting.
Before
After
Process
I modeled the floor plan in Maya, separating each component of the house into different layers. This approach streamlined the assembly process in Unreal Engine and provided greater flexibility when working with materials.
I created two UV sets for each model: one for textures and one for lightmaps. Both were laid out separately to optimize UV usage while maintaining consistent texel densities, which I later fine-tuned in Unreal Engine.
I assigned material IDs to surfaces with shared properties, using color coding for two purposes: to easily identify which surfaces the materials affect and to ensure consistency in appearance across similar surfaces.
I created a Master Material in Unreal Engine, which served as the parent for all surfaces. This material tiles and randomizes UV coordinates to create a natural appearance in the scene. I exposed variables to allow for easy customization through Material Instances.
Modeling
UVs
Material IDs
Shaders
Interactions
I implemented several features to bring the home to life, including a time-of-day transition with corresponding ambience for day and night, interactable doors, and optimized reflections without using RTX.
I use a combination of reflection captures for distant reflections and planar reflections for close-ups. The planar reflections are activated when the player enters a trigger, applying detailed reflections to specific surfaces, saving performance while maintaining visual quality.
I use timelines to smoothly animate the opening of doors and windows. Doors rotate around a hinge with an adjustable angle and open in the direction the player is moving for a seamless experience. Windows slide from one position to another when the player enters a trigger.
I baked multiple lighting scenarios for different times of day, allowing players to toggle between them based on their preference. The nighttime version includes additional elements to enhance lighting and ambiance.
Toggling the time of day alters various aspects of the home, including audio and models. During the day, players hear birds and louder ambient sounds, while at night, crickets, enhanced pool sounds, and additional decorative lights illuminate the garden for a different atmosphere.
Optimized Reflections
Interactable Doors / Windows
Time of day
Ambiance
Purpose
Notes:
How materials and indirect lights affect each other and contribute to the overall look of the scene
How to create flexible, customizable and optimized materials that are randomized per tile
Level streaming and lighting scenarios workflow
how to optimize models, textures, lighting and reflections to run on lower end hardware
A personal case study to further understand lighting and materials. As well as a challenge to create a realistic and interactive scene that was optimized to run on lower end hardware.