ARC Raiders: Wasteland Jordanian Desert - Cinematic Environment Study (UE5)

An unsolicited cinematic exploration inspired by the unique aesthetic of Embark Studios' ARC Raiders. My goal was to capture the game's sense of massive scale and post-apocalyptic atmospheric depth.

This 30-second sequence served as a comprehensive personal project to master a complex environmental pipeline within Unreal Engine 5, combining high-resolution terrain generation, advanced landscape material blending, and procedural asset creation.

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ENVIRONMENT & LANDSCAPE PIPELINE :
- Terrain Generation: Created high-resolution heightmaps and masks using Gaea, focusing on realistic geological formations and erosion patterns.

- Advanced Landscape Material: Developed a custom hybrid landscape material. It combines a procedural "Auto-Material" base for global coverage with manual layer painting for precise blending of decals, moss, and dirt.

- Set Dressing & Blending: Integrated Quixel Megascans, custom decals, and marketplace assets using foliage tools and edge blending techniques to seamlessly merge assets with the terrain.

CUSTOM TOOLS :
- Designed and built a custom procedural rock generator in Blender. This allowed for rapid creation of varied, high-quality rock assets with automatic UVs and optimized geometry, ensuring they were production-ready for the real-time engine.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & LIGHTING :
- Lighting Setup: Implemented a dynamic lighting pipeline using a custom HDRI setup, directional light, and volumetric fog to create dramatic atmospheric depth and mood.

- Virtual Cinematography: Utilized the Unreal Engine Sequencer to choreograph camera movements, focal lengths, and framing, defining the cinematic rhythm and focus points of the sequence.

Software used :
UE5.7 / Blender / Gaea / After Effect / Photoshop

Sources :
Music by Patrik Andren and Johan Söderqvist (Original Arc Raiders OST)
3D assets :
Bunker - Azad Balabanian (Sketchfab)
Refinery - VirtualPhoto3D (Sketchfab)
Matriarch model - TheOneRay (Printables)

Disclaimer: This is a personal, non-commercial concept project created for portfolio purposes only. I am not affiliated with or endorsed by Embark Studios. ARC Raiders is a registered trademark of Embark Studios.