Your Own Isolation Horror Game could Start Life using this Kit.
Ever since I first ran around in the Citadel in Mass Effect, I have been absolutely fascinated with how different developers do different science fiction environment design. You have the High Science Fiction of Mass Effect, the grittier more “realistic” low of the Dead Space universe. And then you run into games that meld the two. Ones like Deus Ex or Prey are good examples of that.
This pack is more reminiscent of a higher sci fi look and feel, so channel your inner Shepherd and get ready to put together some awesome scenes with this Modular SciFi Starter Bundle.
So this pack is free, it is part of the curated UE4 2019 collection and that means you get $60 of value for the low low cost of zero dollars. Hard to beat.
The folder hierarchy feels like it is a mess, it is named well so you can find your way around easy enough but it just feels overly dense and harder to navigate. Thankfully that is about the only negative mark I have against it.
The scene is impressive from the outside in. I especially enjoy the setting, like its the safest place and has the best access to water in the area for this little shelter. Very reminiscent of the latest Subnautica DLC.
It is interesting to see how the effects are placed here, seems intuitive but it can be easy to get lost in a project and not realize that effects only need to be where people will see them.
The snow flurries and wind effect you can see outside these windows really sells the scene.
The meshes are beautiful, some of them seem a bit more high poly then needed but the scene itself does not seem to be impacted by this at all. That said there is a lot that could have been done with normals and more unique UVs. Understandably they did NOT do this to help keep the meshes fully modular, utilizing a lot of the material instances from UE4 so that you can switch out materials as you need.
I think that works fine for this pack, just may not be the way you would do it for a more streamlined or unique project. This would work especially well with some master materials and a bunch of modular instance materials as they have it in the pack now.
The map is a treasure trove for well made “filler” props. Things like consoles, boxes, shelves etc. These are all things that while not hard to make, can add up whenever you are trying to design and art up your levels. For free, these assets are definitely making their way into games and scenes all over the place.
All in all, a great pack and definitely worth the download. If all you download it for is to see a nice scene and level design than you have gotten a ton out of it. Go and grab it today, dive in and see what you can build!
This developer also has a ton of great looking assets on the marketplace you should check out!
Some Pros to force your hand
Some cons to take away.
Marketplace Link:
