VN Ren'Py The Island [v0.3.8] [MichaelFenix]

[MichaelFenix]

So a quick update on things, The re-work of old stuff seems to be going pretty well so far. Have cleaned up a LOT of renders from version 1 through 6. Some scenes have been kinda reworked or extended. also, quite a few animations have been reworked as well. Still have plenty I want to re-do before moving forward with the story.

The main reason for this post today however is to get some feedback on the second biggest complaint, Lighting at night. So did some toying around with stuff, learned of some things good 'ol Daz can do, and gave them a whirl.

I have a scene here from 2 angles each with a different type of lighting. 1 and 2 are lit by only the moon, a really big friggin moon at an intensity of 1. Images 3 and 4 are lit just by starlight at an intensity of 5. Granted they are outdoor scenes that have not posed as much of a problem as indoor scenes but figured it would be a good starting point to resolve the issue overall hopefully.

Feel free to share any thought's on these either by comment or DM. Thanks.

 

[SeveredRealms]

So a quick update on things, The re-work of old stuff seems to be going pretty well so far. Have cleaned up a LOT of renders from version 1 through 6. Some scenes have been kinda reworked or extended. also, quite a few animations have been reworked as well. Still have plenty I want to re-do before moving forward with the story.

The main reason for this post today however is to get some feedback on the second biggest complaint, Lighting at night. So did some toying around with stuff, learned of some things good 'ol Daz can do, and gave them a whirl.

I have a scene here from 2 angles each with a different type of lighting. 1 and 2 are lit by only the moon, a really big friggin moon at an intensity of 1. Images 3 and 4 are lit just by starlight at an intensity of 5. Granted they are outdoor scenes that have not posed as much of a problem as indoor scenes but figured it would be a good starting point to resolve the issue overall hopefully.

Feel free to share any thought's on these either by comment or DM. Thanks.

i like all but the 3rd one in. the 4th one has more light and detail but the evening and star effects in the background look ok as well. At least we can see them now. unlike the ones from before. i struggled with lighting as well and have a lot of night scenes at the start of my game so I know it can be tough to get it right.

 

[Gallant Trombe]

So a quick update on things, The re-work of old stuff seems to be going pretty well so far. Have cleaned up a LOT of renders from version 1 through 6. Some scenes have been kinda reworked or extended. also, quite a few animations have been reworked as well. Still have plenty I want to re-do before moving forward with the story.

The main reason for this post today however is to get some feedback on the second biggest complaint, Lighting at night. So did some toying around with stuff, learned of some things good 'ol Daz can do, and gave them a whirl.

I have a scene here from 2 angles each with a different type of lighting. 1 and 2 are lit by only the moon, a really big friggin moon at an intensity of 1. Images 3 and 4 are lit just by starlight at an intensity of 5. Granted they are outdoor scenes that have not posed as much of a problem as indoor scenes but figured it would be a good starting point to resolve the issue overall hopefully.

Feel free to share any thought's on these either by comment or DM. Thanks.

Honestly, still way too dark. This is actually a really easy fix though. Forget messing with intensities or using different lighting setups. Leave the intensity of HDRIs at default 1.0 and 2.0 for maps. Just turn up the ISO to 600. The DAZ default of 100 is only good for exactly noon sun lights and isn't behind the subject. The same applies to indoor as well. If you don't want to mess with your existing lighting setup, just up the ISO to 600-800.

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[SeveredRealms]

The problem then is now it is not looking like nighttime anymore. if he is going for a later evening scenes doing that makes it look like early evening/ late afternoon. Another dev is dealing with people complaining about his night time scenes as well but they cant wrap their head around the fact its supposed to be night time so no it wont be bright.

 

[Gallant Trombe]

The problem then is now it is not looking like nighttime anymore. if he is going for a later evening scenes doing that makes it look like early evening/ late afternoon. Another dev is dealing with people complaining about his night time scenes as well but they cant wrap their head around the fact its supposed to be night time so no it wont be bright.

Yes, but that's the problem with choosing the right night sky and use practical lights, I could only edit the image so much. If it is supposed to be night, there wouldn't be much sunlight, then you need practical lights to light the scene. A yacht for example would have deck lights during those hours. In which case, the light would be coming from behind the camera onto the subjects, not behind the subjects like it is now. This is actually how a night scene should be shot.

If he wants to use only natural lights during dusk or later, then it's a question of tone and intent. Is it supposed to be a dramatic scene? If so, it needs a lot more contrast for it to work, and the silhouette needs to pop. If it is supposed to be porn, then we need to able to see the actors properly. The sun or moon needs to facing the subjects' profile, the background needs to be dark, and camera needs to be up close so we can see the detail. I don't think many people find two shadows going at it workable material.

Lastly, the reason why I suggest changing ISO is that that's how you properly expose an image. Doesn't matter the time or day, light or dark, if the camera can't capture the right light, it's not a good image. Even intentionally dark shots have the subject exposed properly. Eyes, hair, hands, gun, torches, etc, things that tell us what the image is trying to tell.

 

[SeveredRealms]

then you have to ask is he going for realism or porn actor set with lots of lighting? i prefer realism. the scene is at night. stars are out no your not going to see them perfectly

 

[Gallant Trombe]

then you have to ask is he going for realism or porn actor set with lots of lighting? i prefer realism. the scene is at night. stars are out no your not going to see them perfectly

Everyone can have their opinion, there's nothing wrong with wanting realism, but executing it is a lot more than just pointing a camera and click render. Also, it's not realistic for a yacht to have no lights on at night anyway, so it isn't realism either.

I'm confident if he releases the rework as is, people will still complain about brightness.

 

[MichaelFenix]

Everyone can have their opinion, there's nothing wrong with wanting realism, but executing it is a lot more than just pointing a camera and click render. Also, it's not realistic for a yacht to have no lights on at night anyway, so it isn't realism either.

I'm confident if he releases the rework as is, people will still complain about brightness.

I did purposely turn off all the yacht lights, to get a feel for how much light is being provided by the scene alone. I wanted to see if people would be able to see the image on their monitors. If they could see it as is relatively ok then I know they would see it fine when actually lit.

 

[Gallant Trombe]

I did purposely turn off all the yacht lights, to get a feel for how much light is being provided by the scene alone. I wanted to see if people would be able to see the image on their monitors. If they could see it as is relatively ok then I know they would see it fine when actually lit.

That's a lot better. Nice.

The only thing I'll criticize is the night sky is too bright.

 

[kirigaya12315]

 

[MichaelFenix]

That's a lot better. Nice.

The only thing I'll criticize is the night sky is too bright.

I agree that was at the 5 intensity still. Once the story resumes again most night scenes are only going to be lit by fire. (As it will be a requirement at this point in the story.)

 

[cxx]

The only thing I'll criticize is the night sky is too bright.

maybe but looks nice.

 

[MichaelFenix]

Ok, everyone. Currently working on the infamous sauna scene that started the whole lighting debacle. Added two more ceiling lights pointing right at the characters. They show up good on my screens and phone in moderate light so this is it for them hopefully 3rd time is the charm.

 

[cxx]

still quite darky.

 

[Poser_Voyeur]

I did purposely turn off all the yacht lights, to get a feel for how much light is being provided by the scene alone. I wanted to see if people would be able to see the image on their monitors. If they could see it as is relatively ok then I know they would see it fine when actually lit.

That's the best one so far.

If you are going back and reworking the night scenes to this broad level, then I might give the game a second go.

 

[MichaelFenix]

That's the best one so far.

If you are going back and reworking the night scenes to this broad level, then I might give the game a second go.

Yeah, it's been a bit of a job so far. I quit actually counting, but I'm in the ballpark of about 800-1000 renders either re-done or brand new for extending certain scenes. I started at the beginning and went forward I'm currently on version 7 content. Now granted some scenes are still going to be dark-ish I think. I'm trying to get them to show up relatively well on my screens in the living room with the windows wide open and the sun pouring in. So far I've come to the conclusion that if they look a tad too bright on my screens for the scene I'm trying to set then they should work. I'm also repositioning certain scenes 1. because different poses let the light available hit differently. and 2. I am shit at saving scenes while rendering. a scene of 50 or more images usually has only 10 saves to revert from because I just pose, hit render, save the image, rinse and repeat. Unless I happen to realize "Oh shit I haven't saved in a while." so that has caused a bit of work in itself. Now below is where I'm currently re-working. As you see still a bit dark to show a nighttime scene, but increased the light by about 150% according to DAZ and it's considerably brighter next to the original scene.

 

[cxx]

2nd (right pic) is better although could be much brighter. it suits on soap operas etc that sex happens in dark but doesn't suit to games.

 

[MichaelFenix]

2nd (right pic) is better although could be much brighter. it suits on soap operas etc that sex happens in dark but doesn't suit to games.

Fortunately one of the things I learned with lighting allows me to write in more light as you'll see in this scene.

 

[cxx]

most right has best lightening but still could be better.

 

[MichaelFenix]

Ok a update on things for everyone. The project suffered a pretty serious delay about mid july. As I told everyone on my subscribestar page my roommate was a cunt and trashed all my electronics. So had to get all my systems fixed and am currently up and running again at about 65% I'd say. Fortunately everything I had done was backed up online and V 0.1.1 will be released soon. I plan to release that version on my subscribestar as soon as I get internet back up at home, (bill was in the roommates name and there is complications getting it switched over due to him not turning off service at this address.) Then releasing it on here a few weeks later for everyone. As for the overall speed of releases I'm unsure of that at the moment due to financial constraints. 3 towers, 1 home server, 4 screens and a set of brake lines on my truck is a costly repair bill all at once. On top of having to still buy a lot of assets needed for the next build version yet. So I hope to have the systems for the project and internet up by the end of the month and working on the next version by mid to late September.