Sci-Fi Base
The trailer for Manufactura K4s Sci-Fi Base looks really impressive. The reviews are a bit disparate, mostly 5 stars praising it, but some 1 stars claiming that it’s unusable. I’ve tried it Linux using Unity 2019.4.40f and the standard RP, and on Windows using Unity 2021.3.6f with both standard and HDRP, and I haven’t experienced any problems.
Demo Scenes
There are 3 scenes in the project, or 6 given that each scene exists for both standard- and HDRP.
The first scene I had a look at was the Scene_Standard. It’s massive to the point where it almost felt too big. But I had great fun exploring it.
Then there’s the Scene2_Standard which features a smaller structure. Maybe some kind of outpost. It has a lot of features and I found it to be a great starting point for exploring how the models are designed and intended to be used.
Finally there’s a overview scene where you simply get an overview of all models included.
First impression of the demo scenes is that it’s all very ambitious and nicely put together. The package even includes a script for rotating the fans, and particle effects for the generators, just as displayed in the trailer.
Built-In Render Pipeline
For the scenes to be displayed as intended with the standard render pipeline Unitys PostProcessing package should be installed. Post processing makes a huge difference for the appearance and if you fail to enable it will appear rather dull.
This is what it looks like with the built in render pipeline. And while there’s nothing wrong with it, it look a bit pale compared to the HDRP version below.
High Definition Render Pipeline
HDRP version. It’s amazing to the point where I get goosebumps by looking at it!
Universal Render Pipeline
While not officially supported I had no problems converting the built in materials to URP.
It the moment I haven’t had time to look into adding post processing to the URP scene so it feels unfair to compare the results. It looks very similar to how the built in pipeline looks if you disable post processing. So I think there’s potential to get some good results.
Summary
The package includes lots of models that you can combine into a Sci-Fi base. They’re all exterior, and I think that’s quite clear from the package description. Just be aware that you need to get the interiors from somewhere else. If you know of any matching asset for internal props please let me know by leaving a comment.
Currently I’ve only looked at the demo scenes and I think this looks like a very good asset. I will use it as a base for a third person base defense game, and will update this article as I’ve spent some more time using i it.
Available at the asset store for $69.99 it is a pricey package, but it’s also a large one. If you need it I believe it to be money well spent.
