As part of this month’s CCC are new skyboxes and I’m just seen it myself, here is a link to a photograph of an interesting sky that might just be too complex to replicate as a skybox.
TR
Just came across this and thought it might prove useful for those wanting to learn how to use JSON -
TR
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It may be twenty four years late but Space Hotel Aiming For 2025 Launch. Hal 9000 may take some time yet though…
TR
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Please note, if it is not obvious, the Mig 15 section is not to be taken too seriously.
Makes you wonder what the North Korean equivalent of the Boy Scouts are up to…
TR
Some people think that Peter Jackson sank to a new low with the Hobbit movies. I tend to disagree. This is a new low -
TR
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This movie has already had its release date delayed a number of times and is currently set for a march 2023 release. Chris Pine (apparently) in the lead is an interesting choice. Here’s the (current) trailer.
TR
ack… crushed to an absolute pulp beneath the veritable avalanche of clichés…
but the owlbear was kewl.
The question has to be would Boris Karloff have been remembered if not for the old black and white movie? Also, should the monster have been included in the July 2022 CCC?
TR
Just starting to get over a summer virus. Came across this for anyone interested -
TR
this is absolute bullshit.
‘one d&d – the one bullshit to rule them all’.
i see nothing more here than the misbegotten offspring of d&d and nintendo from a quick one-night stand after a long and bleary bender.
i think all their auto-adulatory hype phrases are particularly telling. an example : ‘we’ve added new spells!’ if you’re a 1st-edition baby, when the game was known simply as ‘AD&D’, you took it for granted that the spells in the PHb were simply ‘starters’ and it was quite all right for you and your dm’s to create new ones, which you did habitually anyway, along with monsters, classes, races, even rule changes. the dmg even promoted this approach, providing guidelines on how to do so. the fact that wotc vaunt their ‘new spells’, ‘new simpler rules’ and ‘new dm style’ tells me that what they’re really promoting here is a fundamental paradigm shift toward dependency – on them, of course, because obviously they want to sell content [the more, the better] even if it means suppressing all the manifold textures and complexity of the game that, while possibly making it more difficult to play, also make it sparkle w/that many more possibilities for invention. so for me it boils down to this : what do you get when you round off all the facets of a diamond? a rock. that’s all.
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I’m a second edition baby, but I got the same vibe you did I’d say
A site I find interesting is NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day. Yesterday’s picture of a colourful weather phenomenon that I had never heard of might give ideas for a special skybox -
TR
Just stumbled across this short video on YouTube - Neverwinter Nights In 2022…
Finally, someone who doesn’t just look at how it used to be 20 years ago.
TR
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Very good video. It sums up how i feel about the game very well. Glad you posted it
One YouTube channel that I find both reasonably accurate and definitely informative is ExplainingComputers. On this channel I came across a video on converting photos to 3D models just using a pair of free programs - Meshroom and Mesh Mixer. Enjoy (nearly 22 minutes long - watch on YouTube for bigger images).
A number of things to note.
- You need a large number (20+) of high-quality photos to get an acceptable result.
- The whole process takes hours (and maybe even more hours depending on the object).
- It appears that the software is only available for windows and linux.
- The models produced are liable to be high-poly - decimate on Blender could well be useful here.
So enjoy.
TR
Really interesting Tarot. Thanks for this. Open source as well. I’m guessing that with the quality of phone cameras these days they could be used although keeping them still might be an issue. I’m also not sure if the different photos need to be a set distance apart or if it’s just a catch all to make sure every angle is covered. Surface of the elephant is also pretty smooth. A human face might be a bit more tricky !
The time factor seems to be largely the program itself processing rather than requiring a human presence or have I got that wrong?
Can only get better and quicker . . .
That’s the way it looks. FWIW I’ve added links to the software in my previous post.
TR
And enough processing power to chuck high quality photos about I suppose. Still, it’s a start.
And now for something completely different and primarily for a certain person who’s handy with bricks (aka @PLUSH_HYENA_of_DOOM ) -
Although I don’t think that drooling plays much of a part - more like ooo or ewww!
TR
Thought that maybe someone might find this useful, especially if you use EE’s databases -
TR
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