here is an update of what i have been working on for the past 2 weeks.

Its been a while since i posted anything, so naturally i did quite a bit of work. i will definately post my progress more regulary. but this is how my level looks at the moment. i havnt added proper lights yet hence why it looks rather dark.

 this is the tunnel that the tram will go and come through. its not finished yet as i still need to add lights and add textures on to it

 here is the elevator where the player can get to different levels

the bar and the counter have been what i have been working on recently . i just need to texture the bar now 

these are very early pics of what i did before our first presentation. a lot has changed now.

Here is my moodboard. inspiration and ideas for my level.

This is the layout of my level. The player would start in the ticket area in the 1st floor and would eventually make hes way to to tram area situated on ground floor. 

FMP Brief

I have come up with a brief for my FMP.

FMP Brief

I am going to design a playable level based on a tram station where I would model the entire station in a 3d package. The level would consist of a tram where it would have its own rails and tracks which is going to be on the ground floor this would be the platform where the customers would wait for their trams or trains. The player would not be able to enter the tram but it would move once in a while.

The second level would be an area where the customers would go and buy their tickets, check the time for departures and get all general rail enquiries from. I would also have shops in that area for the customers; this is where they would get their local refreshments from. Travelling from the ground floor to the first floor would be accessible by an escalator, stairs and a lift. It would be entirely up to the player.

The station is based near where I live which is Birmingham. This will allow me to get first hand reference and allow me to visit the area as I please. There are certain areas that I like and do not like in the station itself, I am planning to get rid of some of the environments and replace them. This would allow me to use my own initiative and make a level that is unique to me. The first floor would be considerably smaller than the ground floor as I would not have enough time to model the whole station which is why I have decided to scale it down considerably.

Packages

3d max

UDK

ZBrush

Photoshop

Technical budget

I have decided to set myself a budget of 120 000 tris this is mainly because I am going to have a lot assets in my level. I am hoping to use less than this. Majority of the assets are going to be high poly. This is why I have set a pretty high tri count. Most of the tris are going to be on the first floor where there would be a lot of minor assets. The ground floor would be the main attraction so plenty of tris on that area aswell.

Assets

Ground floor:
Tram/train
Tracks
Waiting area
Benches
Stairs
Elevator
Escalators
Billboards
Posters

Rails

Cables

First floor:
Counter
Ticket machine
Shops
Barriers
Doors
Billboards
Posters

Colour theme
My general colour theme would identical to the station itself, however I am planning to use my own imagination and come up with my own layout.

Layout
The player would start on the first floor and would make his way down to the ground floor. The player would have options on how to get to the ground floor. Whether it be escalators, stairs or a lift.

Time keeping

1 week on planning and concepts
1 week block out
1 week modelling assets
1 week modelling assets

1 month of modelling assets

1 week terrain modelling of ground floor in UDK
1 week of terrain modelling of first floor in UDK
1 week of putting all assets in UDK
1 week of kismet/matinee

1 week of getting feedback from tutors/students and implementing them in to my work
1 week of fine tuning

1 week of any other requirements

1 week of design document 

Rooftop Project

So our first project was the rooftop, where we had make an environment of our choice. The environment needed to be situated on a rooftop, hence why the project is called the rooftop project. I am happy with the final outcome it turned out the way I had expected, but there are always room for improvements. Such as adding more meshes in to the scene, also trying to incorporate the use of kismet. I should have made the level bigger in terms of scale, however since my theme was a private home, I could get away with the scale. 

I need to improve on my time management, I need to set specific times for myself and I need to meet to those deadlines, as I am finding that i am taking a lot longer on things than I should have.

In general I am pleased with the rooftop, it turned out the way i had hoped and I am a lot more comfortable in using UDK.