VN Ren'Py Light of My Life [Ch. 8 v0.8.1] [Naughty Road]

[clowns234]

Besides the custom tweaks and the posing, another important aspect of making a good looking render is the way of how you light the model and the scene. I've seen a lot of devs who only use on-axis frontal lighting, resulting in flat looking faces with ugly highlights and pinpoint catchlights smack in the middle of the eyes. Even the inside of the models mouth is lit. This is the equivalent of talking a picture with a pop-up flash. You can get away with it if your name is Terry Richardson, but most of the time this does not result in a flattering picture.
Other devs go even further and render scenes which seem to have been created inside a light box. No direction of the light, no light falloff on the background, no contrast, no depth.
Naughtyroad and a few others on the other hand, manage to light their scenes in a way that is both realistic and enhances the mood. It is also flattering for the models, making them look more attractive. As an amateur photographer, I tend to notice such things.

I have learned enough about lighting in Dev Studio to know that I know little about lightning in Daz Studio. Although, I did do this one:

 

[Miðgarðsormr]

All of you are doing amazing shit with daz and other things. Meanwhile i sit here and tried that myself in the past and after a few DAYS. Entire DAYS. The best i could come up with was someone who looked like a mix of Mr. Potato and clay figures you used to make when you are a little kid.

God i have no talent fo that.

But on the bright side my daugther is going to school now for coding. Which means i will learn it as well. Which also means..... I WILL BE CODING THE LIVING SHIT OUF OF SOMETHING! Maybe i can support naughtyroad with some coding in the future. Or i hire my daughter to do so MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Edit: I have to inform the thread that i can not afford my daughter according to her salary expectations and my income.

 

[Rintal]

Yeah, it pays to take a look at actual photography techniques when you want to get going with DAZ, because it tries to simulate how actual light works, so the principles apply to it practically one-on-one. Basically, when I got started and noticed my renders were not coming like I would like them, I read up on the three-point lighting system and took it from there, picking up tricks along the way ever since.
And of course, you need to think about your set when you come up with a lighting plan, or better, you need to start with the set as the lighting follows from it, and then figure out how to get that to look good on the model.

The other flaws you describe, there's good technical explanations for some, for instance a rookie artist not realizing or caring that the DAZ camera comes with a built-in headlight that needs to be disabled. For the light box effect, I assume it's overly relying on ghost lights and/or out-of-the-box products that don't adapt well to different sets.

Yeah, three-point light is the alphabet of rendering, but it doesn't always work well. For example, in a studio scene, in a portrait, this is a good technique. Also in the sprites you use.
But for scenes with surroundings, it is better to use natural lights (sun, lamps), at least with 15-20 diffuse samples and a properly tuned global light. Then the picture will be as natural as possible.
Besides, sometimes you have to combine these techniques. But that's a different story.

 

[Belfaborac]

Sorry about that. I have no idea how tweaking various aspects of the face did that. I made too many changes at once without checking to see what the rendered result was.

Her new visage is definitely less disturbing.
View attachment 1398982

Much, much better.

Also, I may have slightly exaggerated the harm inflicted by the original, as working my way down into a nice bottle is rarely such an unpleasant chore.

 

[PBS666]

Yeah, it pays to take a look at actual photography techniques when you want to get going with DAZ, because it tries to simulate how actual light works, so the principles apply to it practically one-on-one.

Absolutely. Nowadays there even exists a 3d software package called Setalight. It allows you to build a virtual studio with daz-like models, different lights and modifiers and a virtual camera, so you can experiment with different lighting setups and the effect they have on your picture. Daz3d for photographers if you like.

 

[hoborg]

a mix of Mr. Potato and clay figures you used to make when you are a little kid.

Well, maybe thats someones kink.
Knowing this forum...

 

[Miðgarðsormr]

Well, maybe thats someones kink.
Knowing this forum...

So what you are saying is that i could be a millionaire?

 

[yoyomistro]

Damn, got dragged off to far flung places again by my relatives again and missed another week of posts, including some dev-on-dev violence it seems. I think I'm safe to no-life it 'til Thanksgiving though, no troll shall evade my disapproving head shake and condescending smirks between now and then.

What im missing guys? some random 18 wheeler took our neighborhood phone lines for a ride to wtf knows and just today got that solved...

That's a hilarious image... hopefully no one was hurt but I'm just imagining Mr. Bean tearing down a street assassinating every telephone pole in his path.

Uh uh we definately need some of those. Lots of those. And sierrabot's fan arts. Lot's of them.



Oh humble chairs of the world. I apologize for comparing you to absolute idiots with the IQ of a toast.....
Oh humble toasts of the world. I apologize for comparing you to the absolute idiots with the IQ of a potato.......
Oh humble potatoes of the world. I apologize for comparing you to the absolute idiots with the IQ of a bacteria......

Ah ffs. I am sorry ok. I will stop comparing absolute idiots with any day things lying around. But sweet jesus some people are freaking dumb.

This is what i always think when someone complains about how the girls look. Cause fucking hell get out of your rooms for once. Real women do not look like supermodels. And even supermodels do not look like that. It is all Photoshop and Instagram Filters etc. This artifical perception of women is getting on my nerves.

Don't get mad at me pls for using the "Me" as an insult. You just gave me the idea. So kudos to you ^^

"Uh why women ugly. Why women not look like supermodel and want my dick? And why women IRL not talking with me or having sex with me. Why i always must use own hand. Me got tiny brain. Me stupid. But me feel good when complaining about free shit on internet. Me want free hooker. Why no free hookers? Me horny. Me dumb. Me want kids. Me reproducing with a horse to make centaur. Me strong. Horse strong. Me will have amazing centaur. Why police here? Why me arrest for sleeping with animal? Why me in court? Why me in mental hospital. Me not crazy. Dude who think he is napoleon is crazy. Me not crazy. Oh chess figures. Yummy. Me always eat when hungry. Crunchy but good. Not so good when coming out but still tasty for now.
Me make new friend. Is called. Book. Strange things inside. Called letters. Me learning to read now. Book funny. Me learning to read going well. Me already can read title of book."

Book title: "Why you should not reproduce to produce more idiots like yourself."
Me liking book very much. Making good arguments. I think me idiot. But not sure. Me will read more and let ppl know in future. Me found out that me not very smart. Me tiny penis as well. But not to worry. Me now have girlfriend. Her name Boris. Me like her very much. Not so much her beard. But me not picky. Me will write diary now. Will share with Boris. Me happy. Me think life is good.

I wish the generations of today could wake up and not live in this artifical perception of everyone and everything being perfect looking. Once you get real love or a real relationship you see alot of imperfections and those imperfections is what makes a person unique. Or Perfect for someone. Real feelings, Real Emotions, Real moments. Thats exactly what this game is offering. If you look for a fast fap go and watch some porn. This game aint for you. If you want some real shit and some reality this is the game you are looking for.

PS: Sorry for my rant but the dude that got deleted got my blood not only pumping but i was already on the verge of going verbally ballistic .

Sorry, your hypothetical idiot developed a mild sense of self-awareness, too implausible . 9/10 for lack of realism .

And tbh, I'm sort of dreading the appearance of the first fan-render of a horse-donged Macy violating Futa-Denise's back door.

Stop. I can only get so erect.

Sorry about that. I have no idea how tweaking various aspects of the face did that. I made too many changes at once without checking to see what the rendered result was.

Her new visage is definitely less disturbing.
View attachment 1398982

Nice, good work man, can't wait till you pump something shareable out. My goal this month is 50-100 pages of work on my SFW projects, seeing your output is inspiring .

 

[Penfold Mole]

Yeah, it pays to take a look at actual photography techniques when you want to get going with DAZ, because it tries to simulate how actual light works, so the principles apply to it practically one-on-one. Basically, when I got started and noticed my renders were not coming like I would like them, I read up on the three-point lighting system and took it from there, picking up tricks along the way ever since.
And of course, you need to think about your set when you come up with a lighting plan, or better, you need to start with the set as the lighting follows from it, and then figure out how to get that to look good on the model.

The other flaws you describe, there's good technical explanations for some, for instance a rookie artist not realizing or caring that the DAZ camera comes with a built-in headlight that needs to be disabled. For the light box effect, I assume it's overly relying on ghost lights and/or out-of-the-box products that don't adapt well to different sets.

Besides the realistic lighting, realistic camera settings are also available in DAZ, equivalent to aperture size and zoom, so a realistic field of depth comes into play and even an

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is available (for $9.98 at this moment), making it possible to use the DAZ camera as a real world camera. So someone who has at least some experience in photography can get very realistic and artistic results if he has enough time to fiddle around with all the settings of lighting and the camera.

 

[Deleted member 3768214]

.

 

[qljrnt6jc4eh2]

Has this game been updated recently? I just loved it, I hope it's not abandoned.

I just read throuugh the dev's last statement on his patron page and couldn't really understand whether the overdue update is around the corner or not..

 

[naughtyroad]

I just read throuugh the dev's last statement on his patron page and couldn't really understand whether the overdue update is around the corner or not..

That's why the dev has a progress info thingy that's updated weekly on his public discord and on patreon and subscribestar (links in OP), and and is usually up within a day in this thread. Just go back to around last Thursday or so, you'll find it.

Also, I think you mixed up "eagerly awaited" with "overdue". Merriam-Webster defines the latter as "delayed beyond an appointed time", but at no time was a release date appointed or implied. It is due when it's done, and right now, it's not done, so just hang in there.

For anyone else interested, the post in question is public,

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, and

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.

 

[yoyomistro]

That's why the dev has a progress info thingy that's updated weekly on his public discord and on patreon and subscribestar (links in OP), and and is usually up within a day in this thread. Just go back to around last Thursday or so, you'll find it.

Also, I think you mixed up "eagerly awaited" with "overdue". Merriam-Webster defines the latter as "delayed beyond an appointed time", but at no time was a release date appointed or implied. It is due when it's done, and right now, it's not done, so just hang in there.

For anyone else interested, the post in question is public,

You must be registered to see the links

, and

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.

Ah, Merriam-Webster.

 

[Belfaborac]

For anyone else interested, the post in question is public,

You must be registered to see the links

, and

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.

In response to the post, which I hadn't read (I just play the games, I never, ever, read about them), I'd like to say that I love the big updates. I'm not aware of any games which I feel to be excellent and which also releases frequent, short updates and I suspect there may be a correlation in there somewhere.... I do find one or two such games quite enjoyable regardless, but in their cases I just wait for 3-4-5 updates before downloading, so as to avoid the annoyance of a 3-5 minute play-though.

So please - keep doing what you do, in just the way that you've been doing it so far!

 

[Wonko_the_Sane*]

So please - keep doing what you do, in just the way that you've been doing it so far!

Having just read the Patreon post, I was about to say exactly the same thing!

 

[Major Wanker]

Honestly compared to other devs you are doing alright naughtyroad Honestly fuck the idiots bashing you. Theres not alot of devs who actively communicate with the community nor is there many devs that actually prove how much time they are spending on the game. This is your game your vision your passion do it how you want. The game is fantastic in every way imo. I don't support to get updates faster i support because honestly your reliable open and honest. Keep up the great work don't change a thing.

 

[HoboCop86]

 

[whoopsie42]

Yeah, ignore those fools.

“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
- George Carlin

 

[Terminator_26F]

The human species is generally divided into two groups: the idiots, who are not in the process of extinction, on the contrary, and the others who must fight to exist despite the pressure of the previous group. Obviously, the trolls who persecute you are part of the first group and you (and I, of course!) are part of the second group. We have to resist with all our might and ignore the bullshit of the first group. You are not alone ...

 

[xskwerl]

After seeing some of the marvels created here, I thought about making my own VN. But, after seeing the cost in both money and time, it's given me pause. Not to mention the horrors I could inflict upon the world and the amount of brain bleach I'd need to scrub my memories.