Tiris Arquitectual Tileset Cathedral

As one of the environment artists working on our student-made game Tiris, my main responsibilities involved environment creation and in-engine implementation. One of my key tasks was co-developing our primary modular architectural tileset with Luis Arnosi — a collection of assets forming the foundation for all interior structures in Tiris.
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We began by establishing the core metrics and overall measurements for the tileset. Collaborating closely with the Design team, we created various blockout pieces and conducted tests, ultimately defining an 8×8 meter grid as the standard for all modular structures and spaces. A secondary 4×4 meter metric was used for more intricate areas or small height variations. Walls were based on an 8-meter height standard, with auxiliary 2-meter and 4-meter quarter- and half-height versions to support vertical variation. Stair elements followed these same measurements to ensure full compatibility. To diversify room silhouettes—especially noticeable with our top-down camera—we also introduced curved and rounded pieces instead of relying solely on 90° and 45° angles.
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The meshes were designed with V Rising and Diablo III & IV as our main stylistic and modeling references, while the artistic direction drew heavily from Valencian Gothic medieval architecture. The selection and variety of modular pieces were strongly inspired by top-down games like Diablo IV; we analyzed and categorized the essential components needed to build a flexible modular set within our time and resource constraints. This required adapting our concept art and architectural references to meet both environmental and gameplay needs.
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All models were created with Unreal Engine’s Nanite system in mind, using mid-poly geometry with enough detail for our camera perspective, letting us in many cases work without the normal map(consuming less storage resources in-game) . Higher poly density was concentrated on key silhouettes and prominent features such as columns, arches, doors, and major entrances. Flatter surfaces—floors and walls—were kept lower in polycount, with most of their detail conveyed through textures. We used smoothing groups and weighted normals to achieve the intended shading and self-shadowing without relying on baking.
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Textures were developed alongside the tileset pieces, ensuring that temporal WIP tileable materials and trim sheets matched the in-game models and measurements before finalizing assets and letting us iterate during the process. This approach allowed for constant testing and rapid feedback, helping us quickly identify issues or needed adjustments. After trying different textel density in-game, we decided to use 512 px textures targeting a density of 256 px/m, packed into Base Color, ARM, and Normal maps. Additional RGBA masks provided edge wear and variation, and an automatic vertical gradient was applied through our main Architecture Master Material. This allowed us to add all the detail needed that the camera view allowed to see, without consuming unnecessary resources and help the game optimization.

Modular Tileset used for the final boss room | Rendered in Unreal Engine | Dressing by Miguel Mateo Arce and lighting by Nico van den Brink

Modular Tileset used for the still building room at the start of the third level | Rendered in Unreal Engine | Dressing by Nico van den Brink and Fabricio Molinaro and lighting by Nico van den Brink

Modular Tileset used for building the Cathedral bridge entrance | Rendered in Unreal Engine | Dressing and Lighting by Luis Arnosi

Central vault under construction from the third level | Rendered in Unreal Engine | Dressing by Nico van den Brink and Shihao Wang and lighting by Nico van den Brink

Exterior Garden from the third level | Rendered in Unreal Engine | Dressing by Nico van den Brink and Fabricio Molinaro and lighting by Nico van den Brink

Modular cathedral columns | With 2 tileable textures, Nanite usage and a capsule collision. With 3 material IDs for masked shader | Rendered in Unreal Engine

16x8,5 and 16x1,8 cathedral archs | With tileable textures, Nanite usage and without collision | Rendered in Unreal Engine

2m height modular cathedral walls | With 2 tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box/simplified collision. With 3 material IDs for masked shader | Rendered in Unreal Engine

4m height modular cathedral walls | With 2 tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box/simplified collision . With 3 material IDs for masked shader | Rendered in Unreal Engine

8m height modular cathedral walls | With 2 tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box/simplified collision. With 3 material IDs for masked shader | Rendered in Unreal Engine

8m height modular cathedral walls prepared for adding extra height | With 2 tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box/simplified collision. With 2 material IDs for masked shader | Rendered in Unreal Engine

8m height modular cathedral walls | With 2 tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box collision. With 2/3 material IDs for masked shader | Rendered in Unreal Engine

8m height modular cathedral walls || With 2 tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box collision. With 3 material IDs for masked shader | Rendered in Unreal Engine

1m height modular cathedral railings | With tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box collision | Rendered in Unreal Engine

Modular cathedral railings | With tileable textures, Nanite usage and a box collision | Rendered in Unreal Engine

Original modeling of doors, windows and ground gate pieces of he game. Based on real life references from Valencian Gothic Archiecture | Renderes in 3Ds Max

Concept Art and References: Concept Art by Luis Arnosi, Ana Climent and Shihao Wang for Tiris, photogrrafic references made by Cremaet Studios from Valencian Gothic Architecture, and Diablo IV screenshots.