Elden Ring Fan Makes Impressive SOTE-Inspired Level in Unreal Engine 5

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 4, 2024 247 Views 4 Min Read
Elden Ring Fan Makes Impressive SOTE-Inspired Level in Unreal Engine 5

Key Takeaways

  • Environmental artist Stephen Chin recently created an impressive Elden Ring-inspired level in Unreal Engine 5.
  • Called the Cerulean Sanctum, the map takes inspiration from Shadow of the Erdtree’s Cerulean Coast.
  • Chin said he made the Cerulean Sanctum as a portfolio piece since he’s been struggling to find work after his contract at one Xbox studio ended.



One dedicated Elden Ring fan has recently gone through the effort of using Unreal Engine 5 to make a level inspired by the Cerulean Coast. His impressive creation serves as an homage to the in-game region that awed many Elden Ring players.

The Cerulean Coast is a location that was introduced in Elden Ring‘s widely beloved Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, which hit the market back in June 2024. It can be found in the southwest corner of the Land of Shadow, sandwiched between Charo’s Hidden Grave to the north and Coffin Fissure to the south.

Elden Ring player completes Shadow of the Erdtree with 1 HP.

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Environmental artist Stephen Chin has recently used this memorable location as the basis for creating his own Elden Ring-inspired level. Called the Cerulean Sanctum, the map is dominated by shades of periwinkle, lavender, and blue, a combination that’s also an inherent part of the Cerulean Coast’s visual identity. Aside from the sanctum itself, the level also includes an imposing-looking castle. The fort is reminiscent of Gothic-style designs, featuring spired towers, large windows, and plenty of ornate detailing.



Elden Ring-Inspired Cerulean Sanctum Took Months To Create

Reflecting on this achievement, Chin revealed that the entire map took him “a couple of months” to create. He built a lot of the models from scratch as part of this effort. Aside from Epic’s Unreal Engine 5, Chin also leveraged Autodesk Maya and SpeedTree for some of the modeling. The mountains and terrain permeating the Cerulean Sanctum were done in QuadSpinner’s Gaea, whereas texture work and material design were accomplished with a combination of Adobe Substance 3D Painter, Quixel Mixer, and Photoshop, among other tools.


Discussing his creation on Reddit, Chin revealed that he made the Cerulean Coast for fun and to strengthen his portfolio. The environmental artist previously worked for Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios, first as an intern and later as a contractor, for about a year in total. However, Chin says he’s been struggling to find work after his contract ended in 2024. “Most studios would rather hire artists with 3-5+ years [of] experience,” he explained.

Chin is ostensibly not the only game developer frustrated with the current state of the job market. The industry, on the whole, has been laying off people en masse in recent years due to a combination of factors. Turn 10 Studios owner Microsoft has laid off over 2,500 employees in 2024 alone, and that figure doesn’t even account for staffers like Chin, whose contracts simply weren’t renewed.

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