Final Map fabrication

Continuing on from our first submission of the final draft our team has worked on achieving goals set out from our week 5 schedules. We have managed to create an Environment that compliments the Hydropolis in many ways. For our Final fabrication we have created part of the Dubai Coast that is next to the Hydropolis in the real world. We used Google earth to create a 1:1 scale of the map. Because our focus for this project was to make our environment as realistic as possible, creating the Dubai coast with its surrounding vegetation, roads and buildings was necessary. With the environment modelled to scale we were able to now create the Hydropolis to its actual scale compared to our draft where it was a rough estimate. The underwater environment containing reefs, rocks and fish was created again to align with the new terrain and map.

The underwater structure has now been created as 4 levels instead of 2. The underwater structure has been redesigned to look more realistic. Window frames, interior walls and furnishings were created to help enhance the look of the rooms. The underwater structures are now all connected with hallways where you can look out into the water, much like an aquarium. We have also created rooms that allow access to the water while being underwater. These rooms are for scuba-diving and snorkelling access. The webbed shell structure was modelled using generative components and edited using 3ds max. The shell is now one complete structure and houses the stadium, reception area and shops. Access to these underwater rooms is through an elevator that gives entry to the four levels.

An underground train system has also been modelled within Crysis as the main transport route from the mainland of Dubai to the Hydropolis Island. The train was modelled within 3ds max, but then exported into Crysis. We made the train move between the two stations by using a flow graph system within Crysis. There is a reception building with a surrounding parking station that has been modelled up in Crysis that serves as the main entry point to the underground train. Access again is through the lift area that also houses stairs. Once users have taken the train to the Hydropolis, they then enter the lift which then travels up to the surface to arrive at the reception area within the webbed shell.

Because of the realistic looking day-night settings within Crysis we wanted to test how night would look, especially with the underwater environment. We created a spotlight lighting system centered along the exterior structure of the underwater rooms. These spotlights concentrate on the underwater environment including the sea life and helped bring it out during the night since it gets quite dark down there. To add to the ambience of Hydropolis we have also incorporated sound to heighten the realism. Crysis naturally has a nice underwater sound but we added a little bit more such as elevator and sliding door noises.

Texturing has played an important part in making this map realistic as well. We have emphasized more detailing in the texturing for the underwater environment as this was our number one priority. Texturing has been applied to the underwater structure and also the furnishings. The map environment has also been textured to look as realistic as possible.

Through collaborating as a group with our team members we feel we have achieved our goals for this final fabrication. The main design intent for our fabrication was to create a realistic looking underwater environment that would serve as the main focus for the underwater structure in Hydropolis. We have added entourage such as cars and people to help give the Hydropolis a sense of scale and also provide further realism. A.I has been added to the entourage to simulate what a typical day would be like at the. By comparing our Final map to actual renders and created compilations of the real Hydropolis we feel the results resemble the original design quite closely. Although some modifications and changes to the structure had to be done to make everything work using the Crysis engine. We have found that underwater structures were never meant to be a building element within Crysis. After messaging users on the forum within www.crymod.com underwater structures is possible only because of a glitch using visareas and portals which was never meant to be used for complete structures but a partial structure such as the submarine model used in Crysis. However users on the forums have quoted that proper implementation of complete underwater structures is something that the design team at crytek might implement into future game engines.

Below are some screenshots from our final fabrication.

Final Map Fabrication Hydropolis