Myths Reimagined - Real-Time Game Environment: Final Submissions

This is the Final Submissions thread for the category Myths Reimagined - Real-Time Game Environment .

You are allowed to submit multiple artworks, however, you can only win once. When you feel like you’ve pushed yourself as far as you can and there’s nothing else to do, post it here.

If you’re unsure about the rules, check out our Rule Thread

Final Submission

  • Please list the final polycount and how many textures you used including their resolution
  • 1 final shot of your environment in a real-time viewer/engine - 1920px+ on the longest edge.
  • Front, side and back views of your environment in a real-time viewer/engine - 1920px+ on the longest edge.
  • Wireframe shots and a texture overview + any additional shots you wish to include
  • Work in progress images to show your journey from start to finish
  • (Optional) Include the final environment in an online viewer for us to inspect, like Sketchfab or Marmoset Viewer.

We’re really excited to see what you come up with for your final entry :smiley:
Good luck!

3 Likes

Hi everyone! We’re nearing the halfway point of this challenge. We’re following your progress closely and it’s amazing so see your great ideas come to life :slight_smile: We can’t wait to see your final results!

Remember to submit your final images here on or before March 15th at midnight UTC.

2 Likes

Final Submission - Flying Dutchman ( Vliegende Hollander )

Welcome to my final submission post for the Myth Reimagined – Real Time Game Environment Challenge.

My myth is the legend of the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship said to haunt the seas. I brought this myth into the future by adding high-tech elements such as thrusters, an elevator, hologram sail, weapons, and a loading dock, while still keeping classic elements like torn sails, pirate flags, and a sea monster.

Legends say the Flying Dutchman can never return to land and is doomed to sail the oceans forever. Sailors who claim to have seen it describe a ghostly ship emerging from fog, its torn sails glowing faintly in the darkness. Many believe that seeing the ship is a bad omen, a warning of storms or disaster yet to come.
In this reimagined version, the curse has evolved — with powerful thrusters lifting the ghost ship into the air, not only the seas but also the skies are no longer safe.

Thanks to FlippedNormals for this fun challenge.

Renders:

Link to WIP thread :

Renders Engines

Blender : EEVEE and Unreal Engine

Tris/Poly count :

Inside Blender ( just modeling ) : 99.788 tris

Inside Unreal Engine ( including environment ) :

Default : 113.563

Ghost : 124.839

Textures :

2 textures 4096 x 4096

  • Albedo
  • Normal
  • Roughness
  • Metal
  • Emissive
  • Opacity

UV :

Wireframe & Ortho:

Link to sketchfab,

sketchfab

Unfortunately my free account wont let me upload the model including textures but you can still views it with wireframe mode and matcap.

Video presentations :

Default environment

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Lightning presentation to show what’s possible with the model like adding thrusters or additional lights.

Unreal animation Ghost scene

Sails and flag wind animations ( done with the two textures above ).

Rigged tentacles ( included in polygon count ).

Screencapture : Unreal Engine play

Additional detail renders:

9 Likes

Final Submission - ÆSIR BATTALION ( Vikings Gods )

Here my final submission post for the Myth Reimagined – Real Time Game Environment Challenge.

My myth is set after the famous Ragnarok. In this futuristic version, the surviving Norse deities sail through the skies using objects recovered from the battlefield. I wanted to create an original means of transportation that would not resemble the classic Viking ships.

The main structure is a traditional large Viking house “The Odin’s great hall” since one of the survivors is Baldur (his son). To provide the energy needed for movement, Thor’s hammer could not be missing, capable of changing its size at will and summoning storms. It was recovered by his two surviving sons, Magni and Modi.

Finally, thanks to the ingenious dwarves (adapted to modern times), the structure moves on the shoulders of the mighty Ymir…a mechanical reproduction of the ancient, and first, giant. Legends say that the first creatures were born from his armpits. Consequently, I chose that very spot to place the reactors.

I would like to thank in advance anyone who takes a look at my work, and of course I thank FlippedNormals for creating the opportunity for me to participate in my first contest :slight_smile:

RENDERS:

Workflow:

  • PureRef + Pinterest ==> Essentials for my inspiration

  • Blender ==> Modeling - Retopology - Uv’s

  • Photoshop ==> Alphas

  • Substance Painter ==> Baking - Texturing

  • ZBrush ==> Sculpting High Poly- Quick retopology

  • UE5 ==> Final render- Vfx

Polycount: Total of 148,434.

  • VFX: With the remaining 2,000 triangles, I added two effects in Niagara using a Sprite Wrangle. Finally, all the cables have animated neon running through them, created by animating the material. For the giant lightning bolt, instead, I simply used an image on a masked material.

I don’t know why, but the count has decreased here on Unreal. I’m sure I selected everything correctly with the exeption of light cameras. For the stormy sky I used the default skydom by changing some parameters without adding anything

(same Fx was used for the giant propulsor)

  • Small adjustment of materials to avoid making the tiling too evident

  • Uv’s & Textures: Ther’s a lot. All of it are 2k or below.
  1. Baldur’s home (the largest)

Once again, I’d like to thank the amazing FlippedNormals community and all the artists out there. See you! :wink:

7 Likes

The Frozen River Styx - Final Submission

This environment is my reinterpretation of the myth of the River Styx, imagined as a mysterious passage through deep space. Instead of a river in the underworld, the scene shows a frozen cosmic current where spacecraft drift slowly toward an ancient gateway that appears to lead to another world.

At the centre of the environment stands a large gate filled with moving clouds, suggesting a portal or passage beyond the visible universe. Frozen ships lie suspended within the icy river as if caught mid-journey. One spacecraft has its engines ignited, attempting to resist the current and escape the pull of the river, adding a moment of tension to the otherwise silent scene.

Around the environment, ancient columns and large stones are trapped in ice, hinting that this place has existed for ages and that many travellers - or perhaps entire civilizations - have passed through it.

The scene was created and rendered in Unreal Engine, focusing on atmosphere and environmental storytelling. I wanted to evoke a feeling of silence, mystery, and transition, as if this place represents a boundary between worlds.

The project follows the challenge requirements using two 4K texture sets. The total scene contains 107.4K triangles, and 82.2K triangles without cameras and movie sequence elements.

This challenge was a great experience for me because I am relatively new to 3D, coming from a background in photography. Creating this environment allowed me to explore real-time workflows, materials, lighting, and optimization in Unreal Engine.

I’m very grateful for the friendly feedback and encouragement from the community during the WIP thread - it made the whole process very enjoyable and educational.

Below are the final Unreal Engine renders, along with the required orthographic views, wireframes, and texture overview.

WIP Thread

Google Drive Link For Video Presentation

Google Drive Link For Video Presentation FullHD

Real Time Video from Unreal Engine

Softwares used.

Modelling: Maya;
Texturing: Substance Designer, Substance Painter, Photoshop;
Rendering: Unreal Engine.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my work!

Two 4K texture sets overview:

Overview of all textures included in 4k texture sets:

Unlit

Lit

Views without Local Fog Volume and Niagara System:

Views with Local Fog Volume and Niagara System:

Orthographic views:

Wireframe shots:

Polycount stats 107.4K

82.2K without cameras and movie sequence elements

Niagara System Particle Emitter

I used Maya for modeling and Substance Painter for texturing. During production I created a number of additional assets, but later simplified the set while refining the composition.

Originally the scene included 7 tall columns and 3 short ones, but after reviewing the layout I decided to streamline the environment. The final scene uses 4 tall column variations and 2 short ones, which keeps the environment less cluttered while still maintaining visual variety.

I

6 Likes

Myth Reimainged - Valhalla

Final Environment Shot:

Front and Back View:

Right:

Left:

Texture Breakdown:

BaseColor

Roughness

Metallic

Optimisation Viewmode:

QuadDraw

Shader Complexity

Detailed Lighting:

Polycount:

Textures: 29 1k Textures used.

Progress Shots in thread : Myths Reimagined - CyberPunk Hall of Valhalla - #4 by ToastandBeanz

6 Likes

Final Submission - Myths Reimagined: Boitatá

Hello! The myth I chose to recreate was Boitatá, a fire snake who protects the forest from humans destroying it.

I brought it to sci-fi transforming it into a train, which crosses a slum area full of buildings, and in this situation, it starts creating flowers around the trails because of the heat, wind and moisture caused by the train passing-by.

The myth in this world would be a tale created to recontextualize the struggles around (to look at the bright part where they see a very rare sight of nature which no longer exists), as well to warn the kids about the dangers of the railway.

Final renders:

WIP thread:
https://challenges.flippednormals.com/t/myths-reimagined-lism-progress/2520

Softwares used:

Blender - Modeling

Substance Designer and Krita - Trim sheets

Unreal Engine - Rendering

Final tri count: 140.880

Textures: 2 map sets of 4k trim sheets.

Wireframe, side views and unlit:

Wireframe

Front view

Left view

Right view

Back view

Unlit

Light Only

Process:

Thanks!

7 Likes

Hello,

here is a cyber reimagination of Limbo underworld. Ancient tower inspired by Piranesi drawings and Isle of Dead painting. Souls of people who didn’t make it into a heaven/hell are kept beyond force field in gloomy cybernetic world.

Textures are packed in RGB, originally adjusted in Substance Painter, Engine Unreal 5.6

Polycount proof

Progress here:

Scene in Blender.

Enjoy!

6 Likes

Hello this is the final scene of Sealed God. Inspired by Nordic myth and sf games like dead space.
I made my own concept while this challenge. I wanted to capture the power of god and the horror of it. I used few substance source textures.

Final render shot:

polygon I used : 89,147

Softwares used:

3ds max - Modeling
Substance Designer and Substance Painter
Unreal Engine - Rendering

I used unique textures and RGB textures to add more details. I used all 2k maps to make same texel density.

wireframe

Other side views

some tile textures I used / and I used nanite tessellation to get some depth in the scene

some sculpting I did

6 Likes

Here is my final submission. As explained in my WIP thread this is a reinterpretation of the Osiris myth in which Osiris is sealed in a coffin by his traitorous brother Set and thrown into the Nile to drown. In one version of this myth the coffin washes ashore in ancient Lebanon, where the life giving powers of the entombed god cause the reeds of the coastline to grow wild, and a mighty cedar tree engulfs the coffin.

In my version, the coffin remained hidden for millennia, until being discovered by a team of future scientists. They discovered that when opened the box overflowed endlessly with a strange luminous fluid that appeared to supercharge plant growth. They quickly constructed a lab to study this phenomenon. Only afterwards did they realize that much of their machinery bore a strange resemblance to the ancient architecture that was once built to please such gods. It seems even a dead god retains enough if his divinity to influence the minds of mortal men.

I built the hard surface assets in Maya, while the papyrus reeds in the tanks were done in Speed Tree. All textures were made in Substance Designer, and the final scene was assembled in Godot 4.

==In engine images==

Working with Godot provided some fun learning opportunities, as i have only recently began learning the software. It is not the powerhouse that Unreal is, so there is much you cant take for granted. I think i ended up with a blend of fallout 3 and Unreal Tournament 3 visual styles, which i think is fun. (shiny metals and big shapes from UT3, glowing green goop from fallout). I’m excited to dive deeper into what Godot has to offer. I was very cautious about polycount at first, and wound up coming in at roughly 50k when i first got the scene assembled. This allowed me to add some extra details and upgrade to a higher poly version of the reeds. while still coming in at roughly 120k.

Final Shot:

Front, side, and back orthogonal views

Wireframe with final polycount of 121866

==Materials==

When I began the project i was unclear on the exact parameters of the texture limitations, so i chose to follow the strictest interpretation of the rules i could think of to ensure i hit the mark. Most of the scene is only two trim sheets, one for the Coffin centerpiece, and one for the metal that makes up the grow tank hardware. The coffin trim sheet contains several different patterns i pulled from real Egyptian coffins in the Met archives, while the gradients in the center are for the reed stalks and leaves. For the flowers i used the same trim and hue shifted the base color in engine. The metal trim contains a cable, a couple greebles, and plain metal both painted and unpainted. The bottom of the sheet is for all my emissive pieces. Late in the contest i learned that tileable textures were acceptable so i made a simple concrete for the floor, and a more manufactured sciency material for the walls. The glass is an in engine shader with a simple roughness noise applied. Ive also attached the substance graphs do further dispel the specter of gen ai. First is for the coffin, second for the metal.

==Final Thoughts==

I had quite a bit of fun with this project. I started late and had a vacation in the middle so i really had to push to get over the finish line. While i ended up working under stricter parameters than was required, the constraints forced me to be thoughtful and considerate about how i could achieve something interesting with minimal resources. I still have ideas for the scene and might revisit once i am freed from the constraints of the contest. Below is the link to my wip thread. Thank you for your consideration!

6 Likes

(My little experiment is done, my inner perfectionist is down for the count! xD)

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Myth about the Excalibur

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Artisan: Joanna Hinc

Link to WIP thread: Myths Reimagined - Excalibur Back Alley - #12 by JoannaHinc0Art

Thay say that this part of the city was built over some ancient, magical spot, but there is a handful of people who still remember this.

So, there used to be a lake here, which was drained, but even after all this time, water still seeps to the surface… much to the constant annoyance of the owner of a small bar, who has to keep the water pump running non-stop.

(there is Barman-Customer dialog in my WIP thread)

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(render without my logo can be found at the very end)

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Software:
• Maya – modelling, retopo, UVs, composing
• zBrush – sculpting, retopo
• Substance Painter / Designer – texturing
• Unreal Engine 5.3.2 – rendering

Total Tri-count: 57 138

Textures:
• Two sets - 4096x4096

Views, Wireframe and Passes:

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The Journey:

• Modelling

• UVs

• Texturing (and sculpted stone)

• Rendering

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More detailed journey can be found in my WIP thread - Excalibur

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Thank you for your attention, that’s all :wink:

Thank you also for all your likes and encouragement… Five days isn’t enough to achieve any awesome results, but it was an interesting adventure :slight_smile:

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Links if you want to connect :slight_smile: :

Artstation - https://www.artstation.com/joannahinc0art

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahinc0art/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joannahinc0art/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@JoannaHinc0Art

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6 Likes

Hi everyone!!! This is my final Submission for Pandora’s Box. I unfortunately wasnt able to complete it to the level i would like to have, but I wanted to still submit what i had!

Myth Reimagined: Pandora’s Box.

Pandora’s Box is contained within a purposely abandoned space vessel. The “evil” released is a bio-weapon/alien plague-like substance that’s deadly to both humankind and hybrid mech-like beings, but paradoxically restores and allows other forms of life, like plants and animals, to flourish again (after being pushed to the brink by humanity for centuries). This vessel’s path has been set directly for Earth… but by who?

Final Renders:

Tech Specs:

  • Tri Count: 62,459
  • Texture Count:
    • 6x 2k textures

Angle Shots:

WIP Thread Link: Myths Reimagined - Pandora's Box

Sorry i ran out of time to do proper texture line up but here are my textures! all 2k apart form the earth which is a 4k x 2k:


Quick edit post-submission because i realised i didnt get to say a sign off before the cut off time (hope this is okay!) :folded_hands: :

Thank you Flipped Normals! :raising_hands: It was such an unbeleivably fun experience to participate in one of the challenges for the first time, and getting to connect with a few more fellow industry people along the journey was such a lovely bonus too! Also wanted to shout out some thanks to everyone who took the time to chat with me, or simply popped by to check out my progress ~ i appreciate you :yellow_heart: :pinched_fingers:

I’m so amazed at all the crazy cool submissions in both the environment and character categories, well done on making this some really tough picking for the judges! Good luck everyone and i cant wait to be a part of the next one!!! keep making art! :sparkles:

8 Likes