Ruined Cathedrals

In Progress

A scene that displays my lighting skills and set dressing. This page keeps track of my progress throughout this project.

Project Notice

This page tracks my progress on the Ruined Cathedrals scene. Other students can follow along the same process I use (reference → blockout → materials → assets → lighting), the same way I follow along with theirs. Content is updated as the project develops.

Last updated: Feb 2025

Engine

Unreal Engine 5.6.1

Team

Solo

Role

Environmental / Lighting Artist

Duration

4 months

Art Style

Realistic

Project Overview

This project is a playable level built with textures and assets that were originally made for cinematic scenes—high UV density, high lightmap resolution, and high-resolution textures. If I dropped everything in as-is and hit play, FPS would be below 60. The goal is to optimize so the level still looks the same but runs smoothly as a playable experience.

I will focus on material/texture optimization, lighting, volumetric and exponential fog, and LODs so the ruined cathedral and surrounding forest hold their look while staying performant.

Role: Environmental / Lighting Artist. Tools: Unreal Engine 5.6.1 (for now).

What this project demonstrates

  • Lighting and mood (interior vs exterior, god rays, volumetric fog)
  • Material and texture optimization (resolution, channels, performance)
  • Set dressing and environmental storytelling
  • Blockout-to-final pipeline in Unreal Engine 5
  • Lumen and Nanite for realistic GI and high-detail static meshes

Reference Sheet

Run-down, abandoned cathedral with strong lighting contrast, volumetric fog, and god rays filtering through openings. The level will be built for gameplay, allowing players to move between interior and exterior spaces while keeping this aesthetic.

Reference image: lighting and interior debris
Reference 01

Lighting and interior debris.

Reference image: exterior scale and foggy breakdown
Reference 02

Exterior (fog and breakdown).

Reference image: interior silhouette and god rays
Reference 03

Interior silhouette with god rays.

Blockout Process

Notes

I blocked out the level I'm going to make: a quick, simple playable space. The layout has forest on each side, a big cathedral in the middle, and the player starts outside and walks in. The images below show the blockout stages and how the flow from exterior to interior is set up.

Blockout stages showing layout evolution and playable flow (exterior start → cathedral interior).

Blockout stage 1 layout
Blockout 01

Interior.

Blockout stage 2 layout
Blockout 02

Exterior (player start).

Blockout stage 3 layout
Blockout 03

Roofing layout.

Base Material References

Original texture and stats compared to optimized versions. This showcases material optimization and set-dressing choices for the cathedral.

Base Color Building Base

Original
Texture Base color texture
Stats Base color stats
Optimized
Texture
Stats

Optimization: Resolution reduction and format choices to be documented when the optimized pass is complete.

Normal Building Base

Original
Texture Normal texture
Stats Normal texture stats
Optimized
Texture
Stats

Optimization: Normal map compression and detail preservation to be documented when the optimized pass is complete.

ORM Building Base

Original
Texture ORM texture
Stats ORM texture stats
Optimized
Texture
Stats

Optimization: ORM packing and channel usage to be documented when the optimized pass is complete.

Assets

Original vs optimized assets. Placeholders below; add images as the project progresses.

Asset comparison

Original
Asset
Stats
Optimized
Asset
Stats

Optimization: LOD strategy, draw calls, and mesh consolidation to be documented when optimized assets are in place.

Planned Next Steps

Next steps focus on making the level playable while preserving the visual target.

  • Finalize the blockout and player pathing.
  • Build modular assets and refine materials.
  • Establish lighting, volumetric fog, and god rays.
  • Optimize textures, LODs, and lighting for stable FPS.
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