Note to self

It's too easy to panic and be taken over by fear that due to my lack of skills I will fall behind in production and not get things done on time. That panic sends me into pretending I'm making some work while in fact I'm just throwing myself into a quicksand of unfamiliar programs and tools while hoping for the best. That did not work in Term 1, nor Term 2, and certainly won't start working ever. It is like being in the water - panic, and drown. It's all wasting time. The only thing to do is ignore the fear, ignore what other, more skilled people are doing around you (for now), and calm down and do the right thing - dedicate time to get familiar and educated about the process and tools you need for this particular step in this particular project (via tutorial video or text), and THEN start trying things out. Yes, learning and innovating comes from just trying and failing, but it doesn't hurt to charge into the jungle with a compass or a map. It only increase survival rate. In this world, nobody has unlimited HP for unlimited damage-taking from failing all the time at trying to do things. And I'm not even a tank!

In other, normal day, words, finish watching a tutorial, follow the exercise, and stop making shit base mesh.

Finally starting production stage

Finally not researching and Harvard referencing, or drawing concept art anymore.  Just started doing a couple of ground texture tile, and now just starting trying to model one of the fungi unit that will populate the environment.  Trying to do things modularly, but I don't really know what that means, so I'm going to pause modeling now and try to read up at polycount and watch some tutorial vids.  Don't have enough energy or time to type details here.  I've already gave up on recapping Personal inquiry.  And CAPT is just all the research and concept art designing for this project.

Hand-painted game texture tile

I'm going to ignore the vaccum of record regarding Personal Inquiry and hope to fill them in later. Time is scarce now. This entry is just to note that I just realized I should paint the texture FIRST, then offset and make it tile-able LATER. Not the other way around. *sweatdrop* Also, painting stylized game texture that looks nice is hard.

My first ever texture tile! And it's rather crappy! Woo!

TT_TT

I've had enough researching stuff, documenting my researched stuff, watching tutorials, documenting the tutorials I watched. Any further requirement of any kind of research is going to get a flat NO from me. I'm starting modeling and texturing. I don't care.

Group Project up

Group project from Yen S. Liao on Vimeo.

This is actually the soundless version with tags of my parts in this project. The credit list at the end was also cut out. This is meant to be used for portfolio.

.....

<p>"...used only online resource..." There are ONLY online resources for game environment lighting that doesn't cost even more money and time to order you phantom tutors!  There are no practicals because 1.) was told this unit doesn't require practicals, and 2.) school studio computers managing ITs are SLOTH at getting UDK installed, and there were only 3 weeks for this unit AS WELL AS the other one.  All in all, thanks for nothing, incomprehensible, useless tutor.  If masters degree means doing everything on my own only to get judged and marked by so called 'tutor' who's only job seems to pass down final judgement and not guide or teach, it's the same as a job.  BUT jobs pay, Masters cost.</p>

Masters Project

<p>Technically the Masters Project started with CAPT as its pre-production, and PI as its supplement, as we have been "strongly recommended" to do by our tutors once upon a time (March). <br><br>
Anyway this is just a quick log of what I need to add to the Production Diary hand-in:<ul>
<li>continued concept art for fungi units
<li>read article and tutorial on modular modeling
<li>bought udk modular modeling dvd, damn expensive
<li>laptop's C:\ died, rendering it un-bootable, fucking sad-face.  Lost all programs and games along with hard drive, spend £149 for repair, new hard drive, and some data recovery.
</ul></p>