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Hello,
4k Res of all preview attached.
So, the current still render count is above 1700 now and I assume I'll need around 100 renders more for the normal timeline.
So yeah, this will be a 2200+ Still image update.
In comparison, Chapter 3.5 had 1400 still render and much fewer Animation frames.
Even the big update Chapter 3 "only" had 1800 stills.
1. Wacom goal added.
I made a change to the next goal on Patreon. (1000 Subscriber goal).
I added the Wacom Cintiq Pro 24 Graphic Tablet to it.
Currently, I'm using the Wacom Intus Pro M to do my postwork + sculpting in Zbrush. This one sadly doesn't feature a screen and it's hard to work precisely. (Especially in ZBrush.)
The Cintiq Pro 24 costs about 2000€ and would speed up my Sculpting and Postwork a lot. (And obviously, it would also increase the quality thanks to its 24" screen and the precision that comes with it.)
But at the moment, I can't justify this purchase after my recent investments. So yeah, it will be saved for later.
2. Rework of Chapter 1
As you all know, I'm reworking Chapter 1 after every normal update release.
For those who don't remember or are new:
I release Chapter 4 and then spent two weeks on the rework of Chapter 1 and see how much I get done.
The plan is to get the game ready for a Chapter 5s Steam release.
So... Now I've got a little bit of a problem as the last part of Chapter 1 is the introduction to the college + Victoria. Which I rewrote quite drastically as the old introduction had no immersion whatsoever. Now there's much more life and 'Things to see in the BG'.
The problem is... I can't just stop in the middle of the college rework, as both versions are worlds apart.
Finishing this would also finish the Chapter 1 rework much earlier than I anticipated. (Chapter 4 instead of Chapter 5.)
I will offer a few different solutions and if you think you've got a better idea, please write a comment under this POST.
Everyone who's at least a Summer tier can vote.
3. The Phone
As mentioned a long time ago, I was working on a Phone for my games.
I stopped working on it a long time ago as I had other things to worry about. (The Ch3 mental fiasco, etc.)
But back then I didn't have my two coders (Eni and Cursen).
The phone is back on track and will be released with Chapter 4.5.
Why is a phone necessary?
Its social apps will increase the immersion significantly. You will be able to see what the others are up to and liking/commenting/posting can have effects on the game.
Example: Girl X you are dating might not like that you keep liking the posts of Girl Z. Or in the worst-case... Girl Z posted a picture of you and her.
We've got quite a few interesting things planned.
I scrapped the old Phone hull design and bought a licensed High-quality one. This is obviously just a work in progress and simple preview picture.
4. The new Environment + Previews
Last Dev Log I told you guys about a custom environment I had ordered. After I applied a few personal changes to it, I was able to now render it.
The environment is by far the biggest I have ever used... And most likely will ever use.
This environment replaces the "Outdoor Sport area" from Chapter 3.5.
View attachment 1706355
Back in those Chapter 3.5 Dev Logs, I mentioned how absolutely bad the environment looks and performs. I could put 3-5 chars on it and my 3090 was maxed out. It was unusable and was just a modified Baseball thingy I customized.
But now I've something really special.
View attachment 1706357
It features a life scale 400m running track, two Tennis courts, three Basketball courts, and spots for various other Olympic disciplines.
View attachment 1706358
The attention to detail this unique environment has is stunning.
The environment isn't finished yet, as we're currently working on an addon for this asset. (It adds smaller assets that you would see in such an area.)
With such a huge environment, I also did run into a few problems... And no, it's not the Vram.
The environment is perfectly optimized and eats less Vram than many One-Room assets I have.
But the viewport performance took a big hit as soon as I started adding more than 7 people. It's really laggy posing and moving around this place.
I bought a Plugin to help me with it... But I refunded it as it only added more headaches. (Found out Daz offers a 30-day Refund.)
View attachment 1706359
But I'm really happy about this environment and Wibble did an amazing job creating it.
View attachment 1706360
Now that I got the environment, I was able to go back and fill this hole, and I should be done with the scene in the next two SG workdays.
Which then marks the end of the normal timeline (Two cinematics left) and all stills that are left are in the cut tabletop session.
During the long load and saving times, Daz 4.20 introduced, I started working on some environments for Chapter 4.5.
Chapter 4.5 is really limited to a few places. (Thank god.)
In Chapter 4.5 I'm also introducing a new dynamic-still-render which will help captivate emotions a little better. But let's focus on Chapter 4.
Chapter 4 is going to be my biggest update in terms of renders, animations, and environments yet.
And I don't feel worn out or drained at all.
The changes I applied to my work/life balance were really worth it.
I think that was all I wanted to say... It takes quite a while to write these Dev Logs and put everything in the right order and I sometimes forget stuff.
And we'll see each other in the next Dev Log.
- Ocean
