Unreal Complete Scene – Old West Environment by Michael Gerard

In this course, I will guide you step-by-step on how to create a stunning western environment from scratch.

We will cover everything from creating vegetation in SpeedTree 9.4 to the final composition in Unreal Engine 5.1 (with updates for UE 5.2 when available). You’ll learn how to create textures using Quixel Mixer, design terrains for background dressing with Gaea (optional), and develop all the shaders needed to achieve maximum quality. We will conclude the course with 4K renders using the Movie Render Queue. Buildings and props are sourced from the Old West Learning project. For textures, we use assets provided in partnership with ScansLibrary.

What You Will Learn:

In SpeedTree 9.4:

• Create several next-gen leafy trees with hybrid logic (structure using Nanite and foliage with common LODs/Imposters).
• Develop 3D branches to use as texture assets.
• Create an atlas to combine multiple parts into a single texture.
• Design ground foliage models optimized for real-time rendering.

In Unreal Engine 5:

• Build complex shaders for trunks, foliage, terrains, Megascans assets, and water.
• Develop advanced terrain shaders with distance-blended textures, Parallax Occlusion Mapping, RVT, automatic logic, and masked foliage spawns.
• Complete the composition using procedural placement, lighting, VFX, and more.
• Render high-quality 4K images using the Movie Render Queue.

In Quixel Mixer:

• Create multiple advanced textures, including those with animated puddles for use in UE5.
• Export correctly packed textures for real-time use.

In Gaea:

• Design terrains to enhance the background of the scene.
• Export masks for detailed texturing in UE5.

In Photoshop:

• Replace colors of some textures.
• Enhance overall texture quality.
• Combine and refine masks.

What You Will Get: (Updated Weekly)

• Approximately 49 hours of step-by-step video tutorials.

Software Used:

• SpeedTree 9.3 and 9.4 (starting from Chapter 4).
• Unreal Engine 5.1 (switching to UE 5.2 in Chapter 5.5).
• Photo/Image Editing Software (Photoshop, GIMP, etc.).
• Quixel Mixer 2022.

Level: Suitable for anyone looking to learn, improve, or refine their skills in environment creation.

Join this course to elevate your environment design skills and create immersive western scenes in Unreal Engine 5!