Spook’s Progress Posting #49 – Bright Light City? [Fan Poll] (Patreon)

Gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire? Could it be, beWildernauts? We’ll see! Muhaha. Welcome back to the wrap up of another week, this time coming with a little extra in the preview section, so be sure to check that out. First though, it’s been another swash of days gone by and with it some sweet new news for Noemi when it comes to progressing, so let’s get to it.

All’s been pretty well this week, even with the heat still high and things settling in the background. We’ve made steps forward, specifically:

Goal: 24-28 New CGs, to finish out Scene 1 and get us a jump into Scene 2.

Accomplished: 30 New CGs! All have been posed, but not all rendered and Post-Prod, we got 19 more of those. Instead of the rest I added 15 new Scene 1 CG’s texts to the engine readied state (but again not yet tested).

Back to a 30+ week pace again, just about, but about! Horray! I’m pretty happy with that, indeed. Still building up a head of steam and moving forward. Before I address the rest, it’s best we take a look at the bars and enjoy our first look at getting over the hump and being more than halfway there!

Woo, it’s all on the back half from here! Closer to the new that the old.

The unusual thing about town this time is it’s often the case that the Rendering and Post-Pro bars stick close to the CG Creation, but not this week. That’s actually by design, so have no fear. I actually have something I’d like your fans’ input on before I go rendering some of the spiciest stuff I’ve had the joy of making as of yet. See below for that.

Now that the Public Teaser is out, I’m happy to report that this next version will be clocking in at the 162 CG mark, give or take any small cuts or additions in the back half. There are about 75 CGs left make, so it’s looking like 3 more weeks to get the art done, then the usual 7-10 days after to wrap the texts and code backend side of things. That’s the state of play for now, so hang in there and let’s count down those weeks.

[From This Point On, Beware of Potential SPOILERS]

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Now, now, now! We’ve got something a little different here this week. Let’s make a big decision together, fans.

Before beWilder, I did some schooling in how to make games, which is were I learned to code up the game engine NTR is in and more. I did some modules on art and 3DS Max, which is a different level of art than Daz is, and even then I knew that lighting was a bit beyond my beginner-intermediary boundary skills. It still is, my Achilles heel. So far I’ve been relying on already dialled in settings from previous scenes that either Unshi or set designers made, but it’s up to me which I use and today I’m extending that to you all!

Scene 2 in the next version involves Noe’s apartment at night, and so I started us off with a low lighting that befit a couple coming home from a night out and going right to bed. It’s low and with an ambiance, which I figured suited the mood I wanted, so I ran with it. However, in retrospect, I’m not sure it’s the best of choices. I first chose to go with what suited the writer and storyteller in me, but I’m also the artist now and the artist works with details… Details that need to be seen. I’ve also recently been given feedback from a fan asking if I could make scenes brighter, and in this case I actually can, a lot… So I wonder which is the best for the scene? I don’t really know.

That’s where you come in, beWildernauts! Why struggle over the content and maybe end up re-rendering things later when I can ask your collective opinions? So, y’all… Here’s the same image from Scene 2 in 2 lighting styles. You pick which you like best so I can take that into account. Here we go.

This is the lower, warmer lighting I went with originally. It fits the mood better I find, but there’s a lot that gets caught in the shadows, especially on the near side of the camera.

Same again, but in the full lighting. No room for lost details, but also lacking in some of the intimate feels, do you think? I mean, it is possible they’d turn them all on upon coming home, right?

So then, which do you prefer? We’ll have the camera and the action, no doubt, I just need y’alls say in how best to do the lights, so let me know. I’ll keep this poll up for a week and we’ll check in on what the tallies say in Post #50 (We’ve almost made it to 50!) and what decision can be drawn. Cheers to all for the input!

The Week Ahead

On to the future, eh? This week coming is mostly normal, but there is a uniqueness to deal with too. I’ve mentioned it was recently my Dad’s death day, but it was also his birthday in the last few weeks too. He made it to 76, just about. For his birthday, I made plans with him (before he was diagnosed as sick too) to take him out to a show on this Wednesday, and being they were our last plans I still want to go through with them even though he’s not here anymore. That means Wednesday’s not going to get much done, and Friday will be turned from Post-Pro day to an art day to make up for the loss midweek. This works out well anyhow because it’ll give us the room to run our lighting poll this week without causing potential redo work, so all the piece fall in place. I’m still going to aim for 25-26 CG, enough to finish Scene 2 off and more, plus enough to keep us on a 3-week schedule to finish off the art. So that’s the plan for the week to come.

So that was the week that was #49! Over the hill and ready to start the long slide into home. Plus it’s been another chance for me to get a grappling with art parts that are otherwise outside my usual focus, so let’s learn a little as you have your say in the votes. Until we see report #50 land…

Be in the lime light and beWilder!