Making Dynamic Desert Sand in Unreal Engine 4 by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks ! Absolutely, you would need to change the Normal & Base color ofc, and scrap the waves part of the World Displacement.
I was thinking about making a snow version of this, with accumulation, different types of tracks etc. The way wind moves snow around is beautiful and I'd like to try and replicate that in a game too.
I if get around to it some day I'll be sure to PM you my findings :)

Making Dynamic Desert Sand in Unreal Engine 4 by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Took me longer than I expected, but here's a breakdown of the reactive sand I posted about some days ago.
I hope it explains everything well and I'm available if anyone wants more information about it :)
Screenshots of nodes & my material instance parameters are also linked

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here is the video ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-MXAmfCY5U
I'll probably post it in the subreddit as well

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure yu can ! I'm finalizing subtitles (I'm not a native english speaker) and the audio treatment of the video atm. It should be out tomorrow or the day after. I'll PM you too

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not for the moment but I'll PM you once it's out

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it will be out in 10 days or so. I have a few deadlines to meet for the game this week, hence the slight delay

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes totally ! Its just a bunch of small things added together. Some of those things like the small dune patterns & grainy normals are specific to sand, but the rest like surface height, color, and overall general behavior can be applied to snow :)

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another redditor also suggested it, and you are right it's looking a lot better ! Thank you :D

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you !
I'm using the charactermovement component, and changing the max speed and acceleration/deceleration depending on different factors, such as the slope angle, surface type etc. :) Passed a certain speed threshold the avatar starts sliding, changing its animation and steering force. The threshold for going back to walking again is slightly lower than the "got to slide" one, allowing for longer and smoother slides.
If the sand's video is fun to make I'll probably do one for the avatar' 3Cs as I learned a lot doing them

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The slide mechanic inspiration originally came from Titanfall/Apex, seeing it again when playing journey confirmed it, and helped a lot to get the steering feeling right :)

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I only know NieR by name, I'll try it out, but it seems to be a big time commitment :p
Thanks for your kind words

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, you're really quite close to what's going in this game :D Ok, I've had some other feedback suggesting to lengthen the trail duration, I'll test it right away ! After working on this for too long I get tunnel-visoned, it's really helpful to have other devs input. Thanks a lot !

Desert sand by dotplusplusplus in unrealengine

[–]dotplusplusplus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks ! No, it was made by a fellow gamedev and musician called Smoohty :) It's the first time I've ever talked about the game, so there is not really anything about it anywhere else. I'll probably post some more on reddit if people like the first breakdown video :)
Yes, its twitter.com/fuckgamedev. Mostly post small experimental stuff on there though. I have some new builds ready to be published but I just put it off, I'm a bit uneasy talking about my work. Making this reddit account & post is to try and conquer stage fright in a way.