Block Out Level - Week 6
In UE4, I have blocked out the level that I want to build.
I started with creating a landscape - I gave it a slight incline but left it mostly flat. The layout of the buildings are slightly based on Liverpool, with some improvisation. The road I blocked out was based on Bold Street, Liverpool - a long street on a slight slope, with shops on either side of the road. Then I blocked out where I would like to put a big train station.
The way I have blocked out buildings is how I am going to have the roads branch off. I also created a square of buildings that will have a fountain and some benches in the centre.
I expanded the landscape and added some basic tall buildings around the outside of the scene, to create more of a city feel and to give the impression that there is more city in the distance.
Blocking out is a useful practice as it gives you a visual representation of what the scene might look like and it is better for working out how things will look from different angles and for working out spacing and scale.
The only problem I have is I find it difficult to work out what scale buildings should be compared to the playable character. I feel like I can confidently balance the scale of buildings against each other, but when compared to the character, they can look too big or too small. However, as this is the blocking stage - everything I have put down here is an estimated size - I can change things around when I add the proper models in if I want to later.