“Windmills compete as Environment Artist Luan Vetoreti joins us this week to showcase his process creating a planetary point of interest in this Gamedev special of Star Citizen Live.”
In this episode of Star Citizen Live, the host, Jared Huckaby, is joined by Luan Bettedea, an environmental artist from the UK studio. The focus of the episode is on points of interest, which range from small derelicts to large space stations. These points of interest provide players with areas to explore and can be tied to mission parameters. Luan demonstrates how these locations are built, showcasing the use of assets, decals, lighting, and effects. He also explains the process of marking up the terrain and uses alignment tags to ensure assets align properly.
The conversation shifts to the use of prefabs, which are predefined collections of items and entities. Luan provides insight into how prefabs are used to build locations and highlights the need for artist validation to maintain a handcrafted experience. They discuss the coordination of assets, the challenge of preventing grass from clipping through objects, and the use of placement tools to align objects with the terrain. Luan showcases the creation of a small town-like settlement, combining different assets and structures to create a cohesive environment.
Throughout the episode, they engage in light-hearted banter, referencing movies like Highlander and joking about the placement of windmills and other objects. They also address questions from the chat, focusing on art-related topics rather than gameplay implications. Towards the end of the episode, Luan showcases a fictional food court area, demonstrating the creation of a lively and unique location. The episode concludes with a fun aerial view of the environment followed by closing remarks from Jared.