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The Village Sample Island in Fortnite Gets a Mining Area!
The Fortnite Team
Hey creators!
We’ve updated the Village sample island (island code: 8374-6783-8370) with multiplayer support for up to four players concurrently and a new mining area! Check it out today for inspiration on cool new ways to build environments in UEFN.
The Village is a playable demo that we’re constantly evolving to showcase new UEFN tools. It’s where we originally demonstrated the new camera types for creating top-down gameplay, sidescrollers, and other game perspectives, alongside the map customization feature.
The mining area provides an opportunity to explore a new range of camera features and different strategies for authoring an interior space. For example, some sections of the mine showcase an isometric view (a way of depicting 3D objects in two dimensions.) We also explored how a sidescroller section can be authored with the help of 2D elements. Combined with a different art style with its own lighting implications, there’s a lot to dig into!
For the sidescroller, we were trying to see how we could mix 2D and 3D elements to create a really evocative space. Here are some of our initial concepts (the first of which is pretty spooky too!):
We finally settled on a winning concept, which you can see below:
And you can see how this developed into the final in-game look:
Taking inspiration from many games we know and love, we decided to create near foreground elements as 2D cards, our playable space as regular 3D elements, and the background elements as 2D cards again. The 2D cards were made up of opaque and lit materials so we could add lights to shape the space as needed.
This was key to enable the 3D and 2D elements to work well together. These images illustrate the various 2D and 3D elements.
Next up is the mines’ Lizard Fight, a scripted event designed to provide players with a small challenge before they reach the exit. The main tech goal was to demonstrate how third-person control mode can be leveraged for action combat gameplay. Since Village is meant to be a fun and relaxing experience, we gave the lizards a low amount of hit points to ensure the fight wouldn’t be too challenging.
This event serves as a conclusion to the chicken chase throughout the mines. If players attempt to continue past the lizards, they’ll find a locked gate and that very chicken behind it! Upon defeating the lizards, the chicken recognizes the player’s strength and unlocks the gate, allowing passage.
Other bits considered:
Let us know if you spot the frog and owl when you venture into Village—they’re shy and easy to miss!
We also used vertex animated textures (VATs) to bring our bats and pigeons to life as Niagara VFX. This means the animation is calculated more efficiently, especially on lower-end platforms. You can use this technique to bring more life to your own islands! Learn more about Vertex Animation if you wanna try it out.
Here’s a short video of the pigeons in action:
Last but not least, don’t forget to visit the town and pet our friend… he loves a gentle pat on the head.
From all of us on the Village team, thank you so much for visiting our island. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on all the content we release!
We’ve updated the Village sample island (island code: 8374-6783-8370) with multiplayer support for up to four players concurrently and a new mining area! Check it out today for inspiration on cool new ways to build environments in UEFN.
The Village is a playable demo that we’re constantly evolving to showcase new UEFN tools. It’s where we originally demonstrated the new camera types for creating top-down gameplay, sidescrollers, and other game perspectives, alongside the map customization feature.
The mining area provides an opportunity to explore a new range of camera features and different strategies for authoring an interior space. For example, some sections of the mine showcase an isometric view (a way of depicting 3D objects in two dimensions.) We also explored how a sidescroller section can be authored with the help of 2D elements. Combined with a different art style with its own lighting implications, there’s a lot to dig into!
Into the Village Mines
The Village Mines is a new underground area divided into four separate sections. We wanted to have fun with the mines, so the entrance section introduces us to a more spooky vibe before we arrive at the sidescroller section.For the sidescroller, we were trying to see how we could mix 2D and 3D elements to create a really evocative space. Here are some of our initial concepts (the first of which is pretty spooky too!):
We finally settled on a winning concept, which you can see below:
And you can see how this developed into the final in-game look:
Taking inspiration from many games we know and love, we decided to create near foreground elements as 2D cards, our playable space as regular 3D elements, and the background elements as 2D cards again. The 2D cards were made up of opaque and lit materials so we could add lights to shape the space as needed.
This was key to enable the 3D and 2D elements to work well together. These images illustrate the various 2D and 3D elements.
Next up is the mines’ Lizard Fight, a scripted event designed to provide players with a small challenge before they reach the exit. The main tech goal was to demonstrate how third-person control mode can be leveraged for action combat gameplay. Since Village is meant to be a fun and relaxing experience, we gave the lizards a low amount of hit points to ensure the fight wouldn’t be too challenging.
This event serves as a conclusion to the chicken chase throughout the mines. If players attempt to continue past the lizards, they’ll find a locked gate and that very chicken behind it! Upon defeating the lizards, the chicken recognizes the player’s strength and unlocks the gate, allowing passage.
Other bits considered:
- The number of lizards spawned dynamically changes based on the number of players.
- The lighting behind the gate is intentionally placed to cast a shadow of the gate opening after defeating all the lizards.
Not Done Yet! Village Creatures
We also added a few new creatures to Village. Here are some of our original concepts for the owl, frog, and squirrel:Let us know if you spot the frog and owl when you venture into Village—they’re shy and easy to miss!
We also used vertex animated textures (VATs) to bring our bats and pigeons to life as Niagara VFX. This means the animation is calculated more efficiently, especially on lower-end platforms. You can use this technique to bring more life to your own islands! Learn more about Vertex Animation if you wanna try it out.
Here’s a short video of the pigeons in action:
Last but not least, don’t forget to visit the town and pet our friend… he loves a gentle pat on the head.
From all of us on the Village team, thank you so much for visiting our island. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on all the content we release!