Castle Valley Collection #1 Desert Photogrammetry
First, this is a large, cohesive set where all the scans work together-- A rare find when it comes to scanned assets. Next, most photogrammetry is very raw and high-poly, or has messy, decimated topology and UVs. This set has been carefully converted to high quality geometry with a lower polycount so you can use lots of assets in one scene. Another thing is that the shadows have been properly removed-- A step many people skip when posting scanned assets.
he color, normal, and displacement textures are 4K PNG files. The occlusion textures are smaller. Some formations share the same material, depending on size etc. Some objects were meant to be seen up close in the foreground, and some are assumed to be more distant, so pixel density varies in a logical way.
The average formation is 8-12K triangles, with the more complex, featured items being up to 20K and the simple or smaller rocks being 3K or less. The average scene might be 1 million triangles and will still allow your viewport to run at a decent framerate.
These assets were designed specifically to be used by engines like Eevee, which has a lot in common with modern game engines. While Eevee isn't as worried about real-time rendering, its still nice to have a viewport that doesn't bog down. Most photogrammetry has millions of triangles per asset, while this set has roughly 5,000 to 25,000 triangles per asset.
Yes, though it can take a bit more setup. Path-tracing renderers like Cycles can have lighting trouble with lower polygon models (even the default sphere primitive in Blender) at the edge of the shadow side. Its called the "terminator problem" and you can adjust for that. Generally this set looks great in Cycles, but if you want to use these assets up close, you'll want to turn them into high-poly meshes via subdivision-surface modifiers and then switch the shader to use displacement. The materials for this are provided.
Over 100 quality scans! Here's a breakdown-
- 31 Huge cliffs, spires, cap blocks, corners etc.
- 4 Ledges (higher detail for closer viewing)
- 13 Obstacles (detailed centerpiece formations)
- 11 Boulders (large with great erosion details)
- 15 Plates (large slabs with many uses)
- 9 Ground Panels (complex, rocky surfaces)
- 15 Rocks (can be scaled up and still look perfect)
- 4 Rock Piles (many scanned rocks in one mesh)
- 7 Tiling Terrain Materials
- Bonus: 3 Plant Models (juniper, sage, and brush)
The original scans were millions of triangles, of course. The assets you'll be getting are hand-made retopology (the best kind) with manually cut UV seams (the best way) which then has the color and surface topology baked to the lower poly mesh. A lot of effort went into keeping the geometry detailed where it matters. For cycles, you can essentially change them back to high poly scans again (but with nicer topology) by using subdivision and displacement maps!
It turns out that large male goats make the best pack animals for hikers. They can carry 40-50lbs and handle any terrain a human can, unlike a horse or mule. Llamas are too cantankerous and require a lead rope (Goats follow like dogs), and goats can travel in smaller vehicles (No trailer needed). Vehicles are restricted to roads in this area, so if you want to get to the good stuff, you'll be walking! The goats carry the supplies.
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