NPNT National Capital Model – Unreal

The National Capital Model – Unreal is a project in partnership with the National Capital Commission (NCC) funded by the SSHRC internship program: New Paradigm New Tools. The project sets out to digitally recreate Ottawa's physical environment within Unreal Engine 5.1 through of use of point cloud data, to both generate geometry and accurately model buildings, terrain, and city furniture. In addition, the National Capital Model aims to explore and develop functionality that allows for users to interact with the environment, visualize changes in the urban fabric of Ottawa, and gather data pertaining to urban infrastructure. The extensive use of point cloud data to model a site allows for a wholistic recreation of the environment while retaining façade elements, fixtures, or city furniture that is captured through terrestrial laser scanning. To mitigate the performance draw caused by high-detail and high polygon-count models, a set of techniques are carried out during the modelling process to optimize meshes prior to their appearance within Unreal Engine 5, such as element blocking, alpha masks, and mesh groups. Following the creation of the digital environment, a broad variety of materials are selected and applied to their respective meshes. By creating model specific alpha masks that designate the location of each material required, the visual composition of the environment stays true to life while allowing for a life-like appearance within the Engine, through the use of the high quality texture sets that each material.