ModCast Episode 35: "Self-Promotion"

[DanQ]

Judge for yourself whether or not it was successful. The thirty-fifth episode of ModCast is now netcasting. Entitled "Self-Promotion", it features core panelists Tony "GarretSidzaka" Kiehl, Wouter "Locutus" Snijders, Kenneth "Impaler[WrG]" Ferland and John "bt_oz" Archer with first-time guest co-host Jay "The_J".

ModCast is a bi-weekly audio production in an ongoing effort to give the Civ community an interactive voice on game modding; sibling show PolyCast focuses on Civ strategy and RevCast focuses on Civilization: Revolution. The summary of topics is as follows:

- 03m01s | Code Corner
New Sentry Actions by Pep, using the latest Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword patch (3.19).
- 10m46s | Artist Sketchpad
For the Planetfall MOD, Mobile Infantry by GarretSidzaka; then, in recognition of some centuries past, Industrial Spaniards by bernie14.
- 20m55s | Cartography Room
Marking a quarter-century gaming anniversary with the Tetris Map by Minor Annoyance.
- 23m55s | Modding Spotlight
Interviewing the creator of the Mars, Now! MOD about the work, The_J.

As always, enjoy.

 

[xienwolf]

In episodes where you don't have a guest (glad to see you will have one for this epi), you should totally add a "Trying Tutorials" segment where one of the panel members grabs some random tutorial about something they don't know, and tries to follow it through to make something (preferably before the episode, then give a rundown of your success during discussion, but could also be cool to just open it up while recording and give things a whirl, though mostly you'll just be asking for clarification then).

Such a segment could really highlight a few of the talented tutorial writers we have, and help improve the work of up-and-coming folks. Plus it lets people know that at least ONE person did indeed use their Tute

 

[The_J]

Haven't heard in yet, fearing, that i haven't done a good job .

Doesn't matter, i've linked it in my thread, and will link it in the german forum.



And i think, that the utility programs are maybe better to be examined.
Could sure be combined with the tutorials, especially when you look at the xml editors.

 

[Lord Tirian]

Haven't heard in yet, fearing, that i haven't done a good job

Just listened to it... but I think it's fine - especially considering that you're not talking in your native language - been there, done that - and I think you handled it fine! And despite the scary modcast crew!

By the way - art consistency is a thing that does bother me a lot as well - but I agree that you can only really do something with artists doing art specifically for a mod instead of general purpose models.

Cheers, LT.

 

[The_J]

Just listened to it... but I think it's fine - especially considering that you're not talking in your native language - been there, done that - and I think you handled it fine!

Thanks .

I've now listened to it, it's not that bad, but i feel, that the dialog could have "flown" a bit better.

And despite the scary modcast crew!

By the way - art consistency is a thing that does bother me a lot as well - but I agree that you can only really do something with artists doing art specifically for a mod instead of general purpose models.

Cheers, LT.

I don't really understand what you mean here, sorry.

 

[Lord Tirian]

I don't really understand what you mean here, sorry.

Ah, out of context posting!

I was listening to the cast while I was writing and the issue of art consistency in mods came up (close to the end of the podcast) and I just typed about that issue in general - it wasn't directed at you!

Cheers, LT.

 

[The_J]

No, i've meant that i didn't understand it grammatically.

But you're right, it's a kind of problem.
But if you look around, most mod creators are no artists, and if you can't do the art yourself, then you also can't come in here and press for it. Then you have to be happy with what you get (which is here most times excellent). That it doesn't consist, is then a minor thing.

 

[Lord Tirian]

No, i've meant that i didn't understand it grammatically.

Oh, sorry - das passiert, wenn man 'nen Physikstudenten, der nebenbei wohl ein klein wenig an Schlafmangel leidet, dazu bringt deutsche Bandwurmsätze auf Englisch zu formulieren!

But you're right, it's a kind of problem.
But if you look around, most mod creators are no artists, and if you can't do the art yourself, then you also can't come in here and press for it. Then you have to be happy with what you get (which is here most times excellent). That it doesn't consist, is then a minor thing.

Oh, I never wanted to suggest that it's anybody's fault! It's actually one of the reasons why I picked up modelling - because I liked the Planetfall mod, but the art was a bit jumbled together. So I tried to find some line overlapping with the style of the original SMAC artists for the stuff I've done for Planetfall (which is, of course, a rather difficult thing to do, as I'm a mere hobbyist). So far, I admit, I haven't succeeded, yet. But I'm trying.

Furthermore, I think a lot of consistency can be achieved by a rather easy technique - a bit of retexturing (of course, I feel that texturing is the field where I'm most apt at... so your mileage may vary). If a single faction/theme/whatever uses models that keep a single colour scheme, it goes a long way towards consistency. Since GIMP and co. allow you to edit textures rather easily, you might even do something as simple as applying a colour filter to textures etc. - might help a lot. Plus, you can always ask around - for example the couple of building models I made: I always keep my textures around as big, layered files. If you want a modified texture for one of these, just drop me a message and I'd be happy to re-colour it or do similar small tweaks if I have time!

Cheers, LT.

 

[The_J]

Oh, sorry - das passiert, wenn man 'nen Physikstudenten, der nebenbei wohl ein klein wenig an Schlafmangel leidet, dazu bringt deutsche Bandwurmsätze auf Englisch zu formulieren!

maybe it was my problem, i also suffer from not enough sleep.

Oh, I never wanted to suggest that it's anybody's fault!

I also didn't want to say that.
I meant, that it is just the situation like it is right now.

So far, I admit, I haven't succeeded, yet. But I'm trying.

Can't say anything to the consistence, besides that the buildings are just beautiful .

Furthermore, I think a lot of consistency can be achieved by a rather easy technique - a bit of retexturing (of course, I feel that texturing is the field where I'm most apt at... so your mileage may vary).

It's "easy", when you know how to do it, and have a good eye for the aesthetic .
And yes, your work is good .

Plus, you can always ask around - for example the couple of building models I made: I always keep my textures around as big, layered files. If you want a modified texture for one of these, just drop me a message and I'd be happy to re-colour it or do similar small tweaks if I have time!

Thanks for offering , but i can't really complain about anything atm.

 

[GarretSidzaka]

wow, just read all that. very valid points

@the J
hey brotha you were great on the show. don't ever be afraid to speak your mind. we modcast guys are all "bark" and no "bite"!!

@xien
were can i get a comprehensive list on active tutorials?

@EVERYONE WHO LISTENS!!
sorry that this episode took so long to come out. i know ya'll had to stick it out with us. but i expect there to be less delays now. if you are interested in why i was so late, click the first link in my sig

 

[xienwolf]

Unfortunately I am not sure how you can figure out easily which ones are the "active" tutorials, meaning in my translation, the ones which are up to date.

Best bet would be to pop into the Tutorials subforum and mark everything as read. Whatever gets bumped ought to be decently "fresh." There is a stickied list of tutorials which shows you the ones which are "high quality" as of the last update of that post, it seems like Woodelf keeps it decently up to date.

You personally probably know quite a bit about modelling, especially for leaderheads, so most of the tutorials which I see are active right now probably wouldn't be very amusing to hear you struggle through, but you WOULD be able to offer an outsider's opinion on how comprehensive they are, and any "pitfalls" which they fail to warn the user about.

 

[Deliverator]

I do think it is easier and quicker to learn from YouTube tutorials than from reading a text tutorial. I've learned quite a bit from super3boy's YouTube blender tutorials which I recommend. It's definitely a good idea to have some video tutorials specific to Civ4 graphics as the learning curve with Blender and NifSkope can be steep.

 

[mechaerik]

Any news on 36?

 

[GarretSidzaka]

im going to start editing that episode now. i have to confess i havent been working on the show right now. i just had a baby daughter and i just bought a foreclosure house that needs some work. now everything is settling down i will release an episode soon

sorry for the wait

 

[mechaerik]

im going to start editing that episode now. i have to confess i havent been working on the show right now. i just had a baby daughter and i just bought a foreclosure house that needs some work. now everything is settling down i will release an episode soon

sorry for the wait

No problem. This is a big step in your life, and this probably isn't a big priority.


Congats on the baby.

 

[GarretSidzaka]

yeah and i got more good news. i just right now started on the pre-edit. so it just a matter of my spare time for the next week or so and i will have you and episode