Crenshaw takes a dip

ut_crenshaw had a main area, it was the courtyard/pool area in the middle of the level.  This was the focal point of the level, especially when it came to visuals.  When I reworked the level for the final time during the 3.x days, this was the area that got the most attention in my proof of concept art pass.

So this was the perfect place to start again with Unreal 4.  The first thing I did was recreate the rounded pool.  I looked for some real world reference, I didn’t have a lot to go on other then memory and old screenshots.

 

These was the closest reference shots to the original pool I could find.  I liked the design of the pool, and thought this is the one.  If necessary I can heavily modify it, but it was a good starting place.

This was my first attempt, and when I was finished UVing and texturing it, I threw it in unreal.  The problem I noticed right away was that I made it too low, poly.  It seems that old habits die hard.  So, I took another crack at it, and kicked the poly count up a notch, hey the old one can always be part of the LOD set right?

Here you can see that I greatly increased the polys on the sides of the pool, but not on the bottom or the concrete pavers sections at the top.  Next thing to do was to check it in game and make sure that its right.

The extra polys to the pool sides really did make it look much better.  So I decided to take a crack at adding back in the other necessary items like the diving board, lights, and drains.

So, for now, the pool is pretty much done.  We will be going back later and revisiting the textures to add in things like stains, grunge, and dirt.  But for now we will just move on and start working on the fence that surrounds the pool as that will be the most complex to make.  Everyone thinks that making a chain link fence is easy.  Make a few cylinders, and stretch a plane with a chain link texture alpha.  Well, not if you are looking to make something that looks a little closer to the real thing.

This will be a working gate that will open and close, so I had to make sure that the hinges were correctly placed, and that it makes sense to open and close.  Ok, the next thing I am going to tackle are all the props located in the pool area, such as pool cleaning supplies, some lounge tables, and chaise chairs, and heck maybe even an umbrella or two.