Quick-Crit 2010

[rossmum]

http://www.facepunch.com/showthread....3#post23706133

fuck off and die if you expect me to repost all this here. my thread needs periodic cpr anyway b/c facepunchers are big dumb babies and don't like to comment on my threads so they die real fast

[Rob Oplawar]

I get eyestrain from trying to make out your dark pictures, Ross. I would like them if they weren't so goddamned dark. But we've had this discussion already.

[Cagerrin]

Is it your monitor? I'm not having any trouble with it.

It looks great until you realize it's just a colour shift. After comparing it with the original, it just doesn't seem to have a night-time atmosphere anymore.

(maybe it's just my monitor making it too bright)

[ExAm]

My monitor is calibrated to proper color and brightness standards for design work, and Ross, that is really damn dark. I can make it out without straining too hard, but it's so dark that it hides a lot of the detail.

[SnaFuBAR]

Is it your monitor? I'm not having any trouble with it.

It looks great until you realize it's just a colour shift. After comparing it with the original, it just doesn't seem to have a night-time atmosphere anymore.

(maybe it's just my monitor making it too bright)

plz adjust your monitor black/white point and gamma. thx.

Ross, as said before, too dark. Also, the fire on the aircraft is too contrasty and brings it forward. The fire on the tanks could use some work, too, as in the explosion looking bits on the tops of the flames are bad. Try something else with the tracers as well, because they're very fuzzy streaks as of right now and i feel that your depth of field jumps around way way too much. Those aircraft should all be nothing more than silhouettes, especially since the houses (being relatively midground) are lacking detail that you can plainly see on the aircraft. I know you're crazy about the aircraft, but your personal like of them is showing much more over wanting to produce a quality piece of work. This happens with almost all of your work. Not to mention, with the fire coming off the destroyed tank, you need a LOT more local light. The shadows in your scene are all sunlight source at high noon, which is BAD BAD BAD. Make all of your shadows with a quick falloff/gradation/softening and be sure they actually taper towards the object casting the shadow. and they'll all be going in different directions. You probably need to cast a secondary shadow as well, since you have at least 2 light sources. The moon (which counts as local light because it is sunlight reflected off of the moon) and the fire.

E: i would google images for you for tracers but... i HATE what they did to it. A photograph like this would have some motion blur on all counts because of the long exposure time required to gather enough light on the film. that's something else to consider.

[ExAm]

Black/white point are largely TV settings. for LCD monitors, brightness and contrast are more prevalent.

[rossmum]

attn: snaf

(spoilered for longpost)

plz adjust your monitor black/white point and gamma. thx.

Ross, as said before, too dark.

Yeah, this is why I try to avoid night pictures. They look fine on my monitor and on most of my mates' monitors, but someone always comes back with "too dark". I really wish these fuckers were universally calibrated at the factory, it'd save a lot of headaches.

Also, the fire on the aircraft is too contrasty and brings it forward.

Yeah. I initially tried to blur it to match the DoF and dim it a little, but it turned from obvious fire into a vaguely orange shitstreak. Although it does break the DoF I blurred it very slightly and left it at that, so I take full responsibility for it being fucked.

The fire on the tanks could use some work, too, as in the explosion looking bits on the tops of the flames are bad.

Ingame fire. Very stupid. Will not use again.

Try something else with the tracers as well, because they're very fuzzy streaks as of right now and i feel that your depth of field jumps around way way too much.

Yeah, I'd agree. I tried to get them a bit sharper but they stopped looking like tracers and started looking like really horrible 1px streaks. I fucked around a bit but I just couldn't get them to look right. I'll see what I can do next time, though... maybe draw 2-3 tracers properly, scale them down, move into place and dupe them to form a stream.

Those aircraft should all be nothing more than silhouettes, especially since the houses (being relatively midground) are lacking detail that you can plainly see on the aircraft. I know you're crazy about the aircraft, but your personal like of them is showing much more over wanting to produce a quality piece of work. This happens with almost all of your work.

That was actually a by-product of using skybox models in the map itself, rather than the skybox (it would've taken forever to get the fuckers into the right spot otherwise, as the skybox for that map is a considerable distance into the Hammer void). Obviously this means they're really fucking close (as close as the far Panther, almost) but their skybox model status makes them small. I didn't even think that this meant they needed more blur until you brought it up, thanks. I'll keep that in mind next time I do similar.

Not to mention, with the fire coming off the destroyed tank, you need a LOT more local light.

Yeah, I knew this but I didn't really follow through on it because by that point there wasn't much I could do. Definitely noted for next time.

The shadows in your scene are all sunlight source at high noon, which is BAD BAD BAD. Make all of your shadows with a quick falloff/gradation/softening and be sure they actually taper towards the object casting the shadow. and they'll all be going in different directions. You probably need to cast a secondary shadow as well, since you have at least 2 light sources. The moon (which counts as local light because it is sunlight reflected off of the moon) and the fire.

That's because the map itself is high noon and I am too dumb to fiddle with the shadows like that I'll give it a shot next time though.

E: i would google images for you for tracers but... i HATE what they did to it.

Bro, don't even start me on what they did to it. Same with YT. They're dumbing everything down so much that it physically hurts my brain to use it.

As for tracers, yeah, I know what they look like. Usually they come out OK but when there's DoF involved it tends to fuck me.

A photograph like this would have some motion blur on all counts because of the long exposure time required to gather enough light on the film. that's something else to consider.

Holy fuck. I would never have realised this. Good spot.

Also how did you like all my little sperglord details, like the ranks on the Germans, the Panther commander having a proper tanker uniform, the B-17 turned into a Lanc, the heat haze, embers, exhaust, and all that good stuff

[Hunter]

Last render

[neuro]

excellent, now make something original :P

[Hunter]

so its okay for first attempt at sub'd? apart from the fact that its unorigional.

(and tight edges).