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Hey everyone, wanted to do a quick update to let you know how it's going and possibly even provide a bit of justification for why the update is still in development.
So first of all, the script for 0.4k is nearing 30k words at the moment, and it's not quite done yet. That used to be the hardest thing, so I'm happy to report good progress has been and is still being made there.
The thing I've really been taking my time with lately is the art. I discovered a very powerful but very tricky method to inject post-processing to make the game look better called ReShade. If you've ever used ReShade, you're probably scratching your head and thinking, "Don't you just install presets and pick one you like?"
Well yes, but also no. Most presets are tailored to specific games and aren't necessarily a one-stop-shop for all environments. Nothing I found was up to my personal standards in the environment I was attempting to utilize them, so I made my own. A lot of them. Over the last few months, I've been learning the intricacies of using ReShade to pretty much replace graphics mod in Studio Neo. To get to the point where I could reliably craft a scene and preset from scratch--and make it look respectable--has been a fucking journey and a half.
You may ask: If it's that tedious, why bother in the first place?
Well, ReShade does do a lot of things graphics mod doesn't, but there's one thing in particular that's really convinced me to keep using it, and that's the crazy advanced lighting stuff you can do. Also it doesn't crash my game, or bug out and force me to restart studio, or any number of other annoying things the old graphics mod does.
Now, I won't say that what I'm doing with ReShade is impossible with graphics mod, but keep in mind I've been using graphics mod a lot longer than I've used ReShade and already I'm generally far more satisfied with the results of the latter. I'll post a few comparisons so you can judge for yourself.
Disclaimer: Potentially nothing but my own suck causing any real or perceived disparities in quality.
Top: Graphics Mod
Bottom: ReShade
HD album:
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Stupid thumbnails below
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To me, it kinda feels like getting one of those next-gen graphics updates to the game. Some of the lighting in these scenes looks so good it's actually baffling. That's not me tooting my own horn, but moreso the power of the tool.
Anyway, I figured I'd show these particular images because I've shown most of them before. I'm not really huge into spoilers, so I'll leave it there.
For everyone who's still here, thanks for sticking with me while I figure my shit out. I don't see any particular reason the next update should take nearly this long, but I won't completely jinx myself by making that guarantee.
'Til next time.