Level Update

I've been experimenting lately with lightmapping meshes. By default, Unreal has every static mesh defaulted to override to a lightmap resolution of zero -- which isn't good for shadows cast by other meshes. I've been trying to push the lightmap value at a pretty high amount (usually 128-256 for each mesh), and leave meshes that are farther away or not seen by the player with no lightmapping. A good rule of thumb I've developed is to use a higher resolution on horizontal surfaces that will be walked on by the player and have more shadows and lights hitting them overall. For vertical surfaces, such as walls, I try to use a lower lightmap value (the exception to this is if there is a hanging wall light that is casting a dominant shadow).
Another fun aspect I've begun today is adding sound. I actually knew very little about sound for my last level, but managed to mix and match different ones in certain areas to get the right feel. Now, I'm more comfortable mixing custom sounds with the sound editor that have a much better result. For instance, I made a randomly generated thunder sound that randomly pairs with another thunder sound -- so there is always two thunder noises at once. This adds a lot more depth and the randomness is for realism. Once I add a new element it always inspires me to add another, so I will most likely have flashing lights to simulate lightning that will be synchronized with each thunder noise.
There was a sound that I've been meaning to add for a while and finally got to it today: the sweep of air and rumbling engine of a passing car. I have observed cars during the rain before, and they make a loud hissing noise from the tire tread quickly spraying water particles everywhere into a fine mist. I wasn't able to do this with a KActor, as there doesn't seem to be anyway to attach a sound to a dynamic object and have it movable. For this, the interp Actor, a.k.a "Mover" was perfect. The player now has a sound clue as to when a car is coming down the road and won't feel as cheated when one hits them from behind. I am also thinking of adding a trigger to honk at the player while they are in the street. Now I have to focus on adding a little more light to spice things up in darker areas, fill any gaps I probably have overlooked with static mesh, add decals for variation on larger surfaces, and add small amount of particle emitters (in which I presently have the least knowledge of).
I have marked item pickups with notes and am not too concerned with them at the moment. I have a pretty clear idea in my head where each will work best, and as the level has been changing gradually as I began to add more detail, logically it would be best to hold off on any placements at this time. Player flow and aesthetics are my main focuses at the moment. The level should be done in a week from now :).