Rising Tides is an environmental simulation that transports you 30 years into the future. A VR first experience, focused on the coast of Morecambe Bay, using local water level rise predictions to demonstrate to local students what might happen to their coastline.
Challenge
LMC came to us with a problem. They felt that the climate change agenda focused too much on the US and African countries. They wanted to change this and show local students that it would happen here in the UK as well. They were working with the TLC grant scheme, and they were able to fund this project and the purchase of a collection of VR headsets and an Igloo.
Solution
Our first point of call was to use our knowledge of Unreal Engine and photogrammetry to rebuild the environment in a game engine to simulate everything. We scanned two key sites, the Stone Jetty and Happy Mount Park, and used satellite data to fill in the gaps.We also created an original score and foley for the project, working with Josh Howarth and Tom Nalior, Lancashire-based audio professionals. We hired Narrator John from the local RSPB to come onto the project and give his insight into the animal population.
Technical Challenges
We came across some interesting challenges when creating this experience.
First, we had issues importing large data models from reality capture to Unreal.
Second, we had issues outputting 360 videos from a plugin, causing errors with other Unreal plugins.
Third, we had render issues due to the project size, which we solved by working with SCAN's virtual GPUs.
Result
We produced a four-and-a-half-minute short film as a result of the project, which was shown to thousands of local students and teachers in the area. On the Igloo, the project is breathtaking in how real the environment looks and shows the issues of rising water levels and the damage they will cause to all of us.
.svg)
