UK Open World Canal Simulator Enhancements

I'm looking for a skilled environment developer to enhance our UK Open World Canal Simulator created in Unreal 5.4. We already have a proof of concept, a driveable boat with basic features, and a functional lock operation. The landscape is set up but needs extensive development and dressing. Key Requirements: - Development of all three aspects of the environment: natural elements (trees, water, terrain), man-made structures (buildings, bridges), and interactive elements (animals, NPCs). - All man-made structures should mirror their real-life counterparts, favouring accuracy where appropiate. - A strong emphasis on developing the waterways and riversides is important. - Integration of dynamic weather systems and seasonal changes to enhance realism. - Authentic soundscapes including natural sounds, water movement, and operational sounds of the boat and locks. - Detailed and region-specific flora and fauna to enhance natural elements. - Improved water physics for realistic boat movement and interaction with the environment. Ideal candidates should have: - Extensive experience with Unreal Engine 5.4. - A keen eye for detail and a passion for creating immersive environments. - Ability to replicate large real world landscapes and environments accurately. - Skills in creating engaging interactive elements. Natural elements should be developed with high detail, including diverse tree species, realistic water effects, and varied terrain textures. Only the environment immediately around the canal / river needs to be high detail. The detail will reduce further away from this area. Non-gameplay elements should balance realism and performance, ensuring detailed environments without compromising game performance. So far we have accomplished; - a 20km x 20km game world depicting a real world location. - LiDAR landscape terrain - Basic terrain material set-up with weightmaps - A basic but driveable boat with acceptable physics - Basic water shader and implementation - Fully functional lock with animations but the textures and variations need to be developed - A basic mooring system with ropes - Refuelling - Water and waste water management on the boat - Basic UI elements In the short term we would like to develop; - The landscape to build the distant, mid-ground and close up scenery - The canal system to include dynamic generation of mooring locations, vegetation and integration with the landscape - Road network around the playable area - Housing assets typical for the UK - Industry assets typical for the UK - Improved lock functionality - Full UI elements In the long term we would like to develop; - AI boats and basic characters - A season and weather system - Day / night cycle (night is less important but evenings and mornings are important) - Storyline - Further boats and a mechanics system for maintenance and repair We are a small established game studio and have worked on real-world simulation products before for other games companies. We are seeking help with our own project. The game is for PC (console possible but not absolutely required)