Wow, probably the coolest use of PCGs yet...buildings! And you can combine as many as you want? Even the interior of the building collides seamlessly with this method. Check out the details below.
Starting with simplicity in mind, I wanted to achieve a rectangular yet clean look. It needed to be symmetrical due to the math involved and having the pieces modularly line up and snap together.
I went with a toned down off-white color palette with some plants hanging and awnings covering select residential suites for variety.
Source: https://www.nyctourism.com/hotels/33-hotel-new-york-city-seaport/
Source: https://www.businesstravelnews.com/Hotels/Paris/Hotel-Bachaumont-p51287394
To setup the building PCG, I had to to start by retrieving the volume size and using it as a base for where to place the walls. I'd then get the difference amount between the select wall and the volume and then add a wall. For the ceiling and floor, it was the same process except using Z information instead.
The building would not have looked complete without two important things: a doorway way and some AC units on top of the roof. For this, I needed to get a separate volume and use it to determine where to remove information on the current mesh it's overlapping with and replace with the new actor. For the AC units, I simply spawned these by sampling the roof information and rotating them in a direction that made sense.
To add additional variety to the building I wanted to add certain rooms with lights on, select window sills with plants and even have some residents with special awings. I was getting some European vibes for some reason while making this.
As always, if everything goes right - the final build should look something similar to this. Fairly simple graph!
Overall I learned that I'll need precise measurements moving forward or the pieces won't look right when put together. PCGs of this nature require careful consideration and some math skills!
Environment Set Dressing: https://www.fab.com/listings/1e9f098e-5157-4cbf-b8a0-803eda37474b
Misc: Unreal Starter Content Bundle