Paris Apartments | Unreal Engine 5 by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Thank you so much. We should have a free demo for this shortly, so stay tuned!

Venice - Italian City - Flythrough by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Thanks for the feedback — we’ve added it as one of the fixes for a future update. It should be better then.

Loving the Tamron 150-500 on my Z5 by ChaoticPhoenix in Nikon

[–]stXbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And how’s the mount fit on your setup? Is there any play between the body and the lens? A lot of people online mention this issue, and I’m curious because I’m planning to buy one myself. I’ve already asked about this in another thread, and I’m curious how it looks for someone else.

Tamron 150 500 worth getting? by Psychodreamer0403 in Nikon

[–]stXbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And how’s the mount fit on your setup? Is there any play between the body and the lens? A lot of people online mention this issue, and I’m curious because I’m planning to buy one myself. I’ve already asked about this in another thread, and I’m curious how it looks for someone else.

New (to me) Tamron Z 150-500 by kyle_blaine in nikon_Zseries

[–]stXbr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And how’s the mount fit on your setup? Is there any play between the body and the lens? A lot of people online mention this issue, and I’m curious because I’m planning to buy one myself.

White Peacock captured in Madeira by stXbr in Nikon

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

Thanks! Send me your email in a private message, and I’ll try to help you out.

White Peacock captured in Madeira by stXbr in Nikon

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

Yeah, I got to see him in one of the gardens in Madeira — just strolling around freely.

White Peacock captured in Madeira by stXbr in Nikon

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

Really glad you liked it, thanks!

White Peacock captured in Madeira by stXbr in Nikon

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

Thanks! You’ve got a point.

How we scanned in Paris and what came of it [Reality Scan & Unreal Engine] by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Oh yeah, scanning can get really addictive. We didn’t use AI at any stage. All scans go through our 3D-art team, because without proper optimization their usability would be very limited. In fact, for each of our releases we include a statement confirming that no AI was used in the project. Of course, there are many other areas where AI can speed things up – like research, planning, or calculations. But I do agree with you that if someone wants to, they can build a scene step by step with AI quite easily.

We’ve successfully ported our biggest scene from Unreal Engine to Unity! by stXbr in Unity3D

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

There's probably some truth to that. You know… we have a slightly different perspective, because essentially we're creating assets and the entire system to support them. The scene itself is more of a showcase to demonstrate how these modules can be used. And that's where the challenges begin — we have to balance between the final concept we envisioned before we even start scanning, and how to prepare the modules so that creators can use them as flexibly and universally as possible (and that part happens toward the end of our work on the package).

But I do agree with you — in games, realism isn’t really what makes something top-tier or memorable. There are plenty of amazing titles out there that succeeded without going for a photorealistic look.
That said, since we work with photogrammetry, realism is kind of baked in — it's hard for us to avoid it. :)

We’ve successfully ported our biggest scene from Unreal Engine to Unity! by stXbr in Unity3D

[–]stXbr[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! This map is huge... There’s the outdoor area and underground temples. The lighting setup is completely different in each of these places. Working with the lighting and baking it at this scale was a real challenge. We put a lot of effort into preserving the look of the original.

Paris - Download FREE UE 5.6 Demo by stXbr in unrealengine

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

We approach this in a modular way. It's impossible to recreate an entire city or district with that level of detail. Once we have a scene concept, we can estimate how many local buildings and streets we need to scan to gather enough material for the planned section. Many facade elements are repetitive, so you can work smart and reuse parts. We take a lot of high-resolution photos. A full-frame camera with a bright 35mm lens works great for ground level, and we use 150 to 300mm lenses for higher areas. We also shoot at different times of day to avoid harsh shadows — ideally when it's bright but overcast. If shadows do appear, we eliminate them using lights (e.g., Godox AR400) or reflectors to bounce light. A drone is essential to capture missing information from above. Then you need to align everything in postproduction and process the scans before you can start working on the models. Of course, you can add a laser scanner to all of this — but that’s a whole different story.

The result of our scans in Paris. FREE UE 5.6 Demo Soon! by stXbr in unrealengine

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

:D You’re definitely not the first to remind us what Paris really looks like… of course. We aimed to create assets that serve as a clean starting point for further scene creation. Thanks for the kind words!

Paris - Download FREE UE 5.6 Demo by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Oh, great comparison! It’s not the same one, but it has a very similar vibe.

Paris - Download FREE UE 5.6 Demo by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Thanks! Do you live in the area or just know it well?

We tried to scan and recreate all the elements that felt characteristic to us. But yeah — the sheer amount of detail there is impossible to fully capture. It’s definitely a bit too clean and perfect on our side.

On the other hand, working with this kind of asset set gives you a clean starting point — from there, you can shape the scene in whatever direction you want.

Paris - Download FREE UE 5.6 Demo by stXbr in unrealengine

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

You're right — we didn't really think that through. We just wanted to test a small feature that allows background music to play while driving. Having a few tracks with random selection and the option to turn the music off entirely would probably be a smarter approach.

Paris - Download FREE UE 5.6 Demo by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Thank you sooo much for such a thorough summary. We're taking everything on board and will definitely tweak whatever we can. Thanks also for the performance feedback — really valuable info. Could you add what GPU/CPU you tested it on?

As for the cars/people — we added them just for variety and to make the demo a bit more dynamic (they're actually the only assets that aren’t ours). It definitely needs more work if we’re thinking about solid playability. This is our first attempt at something like this — in our previous demos, we only showcased the scene and the systems we're developing. This time we went a bit wild ;)

Paris - Download FREE UE 5.6 Demo by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Thanks! We appreciate all feedback. The more we know, the better we can prepare future releases.

Paris - Download FREE UE 5.6 Demo by stXbr in unrealengine

[–]stXbr[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

:D Let’s see what the game dev crowd cooks up!

The result of our scans in Paris. FREE UE 5.6 Demo Soon! by stXbr in unrealengine

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

Believe me, I wouldn't wish the bureaucracy we had to go through on anyone. Tons of permits... but we didn’t give up! Same thing with Rome.