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Pioneer Spotlight: Crompton Moor

Not too long ago, we invited talented and thoughtful world builders to create what we called pioneer domains.

We created the Pioneer Domains program to get to know the needs and wants of experienced world-builders and artists in a hands-on environment, and to provide solutions and guidance to creative folks who are new to our uniquely powerful VR platform. In addition to learning first hand the needs of content creators, these creations provide new visitors with intriguing and original places to explore!

As our pioneer domains are completed, we’ll be announcing each right here in the blog. Today, we present the work of a seasoned High Fidelity builder and alpha user, whose build gives a great taste what can happen when you pair creative artistry with the power of High Fidelity VR. Let us take a look at…

Crompton Moor by Judas

The design of Crompton Moor is based on real structures near the artist’s countryside home

One might say that Crompton Moor has an aspect of autobiography, representing a meaningful place to the artist, as it is his interpretation of the English countryside in which he actually lives. The main buildings in the central area, such as the church structure and surrounding paved and walled areas, as well as adjacent abandoned hunks of industrial machinery, are in fact reproductions of real structures near his home. 

Crompton Moor, a place in the Countryside that was modeled in High Fidelity
The artist built the church, courtyard and wall using actual locations around his house for reference!


For his own sake, Iet’s hope the real location gets some sunlight, and is not quite as wet, dark or cold in the artist’s countryside home as it is in Crompton Moor.

Crompton Moor, a 3D domain modeled in High Fidelity.
Crompton Moor takes you to a foggy and eerie English-style low-lying wetland.


The moors of the British Isles are notorious for their cold, low-hanging fog, and Crompton Moor is no exception. High Fidelity doesn’t have fog built into the rendering system, so I was surprised when I noticed the fog on the moor. To my delight, Judas dialed in the parameters on a couple of subtle, scaled up particle systems to create a convincing fog effect, with a slow and haunting movement of the translucent mist. This fog effect dovetails nicely with the flickering streetlights that help you find your way.

A peek into a house in Crompton Moor, a 3D world modeled on High Fidelity's open source platform.
Although Crompton Moor has a kind of loneliness to it, the farmhouse possesses a strange warmth.


Architect Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe is credited with saying God is in the Details, which succinctly summarizes that details matter. In the case of Crompton Moor, you can find plenty of detail. Take a close look at the materials and textures on things like the furniture in the farmhouse, and you’ll see how the artist used High Fidelity’s PBR system to create weathered and worn fabric, and scuffed, cracked and peeling surfaces.

A portrait in Crompton Moor, a 3D domain in High Fidelity's VR platform.

Old photographs, antique decor, even an old telephone known to ring intermittently can be found in this abandoned farm house. Along with the peeling paint and faded surfaces, rusted old industrial machinery sitting out in the fields, and decaying old stone buildings, these tell a story of a village that once was a home to many and was lost to time and entropy. It isn’t easy for an artist to illustrate the beauty in decay, but Judas achieves that with Crompton Moor.

Would you like to see Crompton Moor for yourself? Put on some galoshes, a thick wool coat, and grab a warm scarf first. Download and install High Fidelity if you haven’t already, and then click here to explore this domain: hifi://cromptonmoor. Or, once in High Fidelity, enter cromptonmoor in your nav bar.

Keep dry and come back soon to learn ‘moor’ about the other exciting pioneer domains!

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Published by Caitlyn Meeks December 2, 2016
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