I’ve used the MASH network to create the grass blade (Art MZ, 2022). I did this due to not relying on any foliage asset packs and increasing originality of the project.
By adding a random node, I was able to manipulate the position of the grass and get a clean result with some minor tweaking to the node for a better result.
I saved the mesh as an FBX and imported the foliage into Unreal, disabling its collision in the process. The grass is lacking colour and the wind effect, so I wanted to capitalize on it next.
I followed MattsCreative’s method of applying the wind to the foliage (2014) so the mesh wouldn’t be static and look out of place. After that, I dragged it into the foliage paint tool to see if it worked before adding more around the landscape.
For the trees, I have used another software called TreeIt (Tree It, n.d; Laley, 2022) and created one for each of the outdoor environments to reflect the landscapes. The first one is a normal-looking tree that will fit the tundra landscape.
I have added the same wind effect to the leaves for them to sway in the wind and added the asset as a foliage to place around the map.
Next up, I have created a tropical-esque tree specifically for the island environment and made sure to select the right textures for the stem, branches, and leaves to feel immersive to the players.
I replicated the same wind process with the masked leaf textures and merging the tree parts into one actor.
I made sure to check around the island landscape again just to enhance a few things, mainly placing the rocks down in a few areas to give the environment more character.
I extended the tundra landscape, painting the landscape more and improve it by using the same terrain tools.
I also used vertex painting by using some two-tone mesh painting on the rock meshes (Laley, 2017). I made sure to set up the material correctly and place the rocks appropriately around the landscape.
References:
Art MZ (2022) MASH Grass 3D modeling (Autodesk Maya tutorial) [Video] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0TQkOQpG8Q&t=235s [Accessed 30th March 2023]
Laley, R. (2017) Unreal Engine 4 Tutorial – Vertex Painting [Video] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRLG9Mgm5Kk [Accessed 8th February 2023]
Laley, R. (2022) Creating Trees with TreeIt and Unreal Engine 5 [Video] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0JngqPjuRg&t=1155s [Accessed 29th April 2023]
MattsCreative (2014) How to add wind to foliage unreal engine 4 [Video] Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2sx6JPdlmw [Accessed 30th March 2023]
Tree It (n.d) [Software] Available online: http://www.evolved-software.com/treeit/treeit [Accessed March 16th 2023]