This project involved the process of devising a plan to digest the LiDAR data given by the Hawkesbury Institute of Environments into a games engine to engage users. Experimenting with different methods of visualisation and implementing appropriate interactivity methods was needed to ensure that the goals of the system are reached.
Development had begun in Unity, however after comparing it against Unreal Engine, it was clear that development should continue in Unreal due to its superior visual features and easy to learn blueprint system.
The simulation has been developed with longevity in mind to ensure that future development can easily be continued. Interaction was identified as a major priority which is why support was built for controllers and VR (which was originally out of scope). Foundations for later planned features such as guided tours have been set up to ensure it will be easy to continue development.
The project is runnable on a variety of hardware. The client was successfully able to run and demonstrate the program to peers and associates where ultimately the decision had been made to continue with development as the developed simulation was able to successfully achieve more than was initially expected by the client.