BEW - Ongoing Dev Thread (DAZ Artists Still Wanted)

[Chappers]

Keep up the good work Wolfschadowe!

Been following this game since you first posted about it.

Demo was awesome, and is probably due a another play through shortly!

[Wolfschadowe]

Keep up the good work Wolfschadowe!

Been following this game since you first posted about it.

Demo was awesome, and is probably due a another play through shortly!

Thanks for playing and for your patience Chappers! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Wolfschadowe

[Wolfschadowe]

HELP WANTED – (maybe)

I’ve come to the conclusion that BEW may be too big to complete in a timely manner on my own. I’ll still complete the game on my own if necessary, but I’d like to get it out FASTER. A wise person from this forum once told me, “Delivery is a feature.” :-) You know who you are!
With that in mind I have two to four positions open. Payment is eternal gratitude, Collaborator acknowledgement, and the joy of getting the game out faster. Opt-in for “profit” sharing in the unlikely event of incoming donations. (Don’t expect more than enough for coffee or a beer. I certainly don’t, that's not the point.)
I estimate about 1500 pages remain to be built, and about 1000 more images to create for ACT 1.

Position 1: Render Monkey – (Artist). (Up to 2)
Requirements:

• Daz Studio
• Skill equal or greater than my own. (not hard to do).
• Ability to read MS Visio files, follow direction, and meld into the existing artistic style of the game.
• Able to collaborate through Dropbox.
• Patience.
• Scene assets will be provided. (Please delete when you are done, honor system.)
• Mouth Shutitude (First rule of BEW, Don't talk about unreleased BEW content.)
• Posing skill, D-forms creation for clothing a plus.

Position 2: Writer/Programmer (2 if separate writer and programmer, or 1 combined)

General Requirements

• Adventure Creator usage
• Mouth Shutitude (First rule of BEW, Don't talk about unreleased BEW content.)
• Ability to read Storyboards in MS Visio files. (Reading my mind a plus).
  Patience.

Writer Specific Requirements:

• Ability to develop story and characterization from a Visio storyboard.
• Ability to portray emotion and eroticism through text in support of images.
• Short story skills for proper brevity of the medium while maintaining story flow and continuity.
• Able to collaborate through Dropbox

Programmer Specific Requirements:

• Enough JS skill to debug and program in the game.js file.
• Ability to find and squash bugs in a (probably too) complex environment.
• Code Commenting ability.
• Troubleshoot and solve playtester bug reports.
• Able to collaborate through Dropbox and BEW Development site (for bugs) (Anonymity friendly).

If you are interested in either of these positions, please PM me and I will provide a link to the “test.” For that role. I am very, very picky, so please don’t be offended if you fail the application test and aren’t selected. The tests are not a one-time pass/fail. Part of the test will be to see if you can “dial in” based on feedback, so perfection on the first pass is not expected.
I also won’t feel bad if nobody applies.

This is a NO PRESSURE development project. All I ask is that you deliver what you say you will deliver, when you say you will deliver it.

Those that do apply, preference to existing playtesters, second preference to playtest groups that haven’t started yet. Third preference to everyone else. Willingness to stay on through Acts II and III a plus.
In the unlikely event of more qualified people, I may consider expanding, but at some point, I will be the bottleneck.

Thank you all for your patience and consideration.

EDIT - Also, anyone interested in localizing, let me know. First assignment will be to localize the Alpha/Demo.

Wolfschadowe

[Super]

Yeah, you'd probably need help

I would volunteer, but I dunno if I'd even enjoy working on this for various reasons and also I want to experience it firsthand. But good luck anyway

[Comis]

I might be able to be a render monkey. I have the latest version of Daz Studio and an extensive library for it. I don't have MS Visio, but at $189, I could buy it. I've never used Dropbox, but it's free so I could sign up. I probably own most of the assets needed. I'd probably end up buying anything I'd need, if you told me what they were. I can keep my mouth shut. I'm alright with posing and clothing, but I still need work on expressions.

My biggest issue is time. I haven't had a day off in over a month, and, for the foreseeable future, I won't have a lot of time to dedicate to this. There would be days or even weeks where I couldn't work on this at all. So, I may not be the best choice if the desired result is getting this out with celerity. Still, if there are no other takers and you are truly desperate, I'm willing to help in my limited free time.

If you want examples of my renders:
http://www.legendofkrystal.com/forum/vi ... &start=227
http://www.legendofkrystal.com/forum/vi ... &start=245

They're under spoilers. I post there as Commodus. Those are the only two fully composed renders I've ever done. Most of the time I just play around in Daz Studio experimenting.

[Wolfschadowe]

I would volunteer, but I dunno if I'd even enjoy working on this for various reasons and also I want to experience it firsthand. But good luck anyway

I understand on both counts. It's a little game ruining for the people making it, and It's a long-haul ask, and a lot of work. Everyone has lives, jobs, etc... I actually don't expect anyone to be both interested in making the commitment and be available to help out, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. I'll never know for sure until I ask.

I'd wager that even few of the playtesters wish they'd never signed up at this point. No worries guys, I understand.

I don't have MS Visio, but at $189, I could buy it.

Just to clarify, No need to buy Visio. Files can be opened via free OpenOffice/Libre office Draw, or via a free MS Visio Viewer download from MS. The requirement is more in the ability to read and understand it. Don't need to create or modify the files and certainly don't need to spend $$ to buy it. I just happen to own it for work, and am familiar with it which is why I use it.
Time is the major factor

I don't expect anyone would need to actually spend their own money to help me out.

I estimate the render test would take a few hours to complete. Essentially it's working from a modified storyboard and scene setup to render about 5-6 images based on the storyboard. I haven't finalized the test yet, primarily because I don't want to expend the effort/time to set it up unless there is someone with a strong interest. If you're interested in giving it a go, let me know.

Wolfschadowe

[M]

Oh god, you are so much further away from finishing Act 1 than I was hoping you were.

[Wolfschadowe]

Oh god, you are so much further away from finishing Act 1 than I was hoping you were.

Haha. I agree. I was hoping to be closer to finishing by now too. In fact, I was hoping to be done by now, but alas...I'm a slowpoke. I'm putting in about 3 hrs a day, but...It's big and a surprising amount of that time is just staying organized. Having some folks to grind out some stuff could really, really speed things up.

Wolfschadowe.

[Comis]

Just to clarify, No need to buy Visio. Files can be opened via free OpenOffice/Libre office Draw, or via a free MS Visio Viewer download from MS. The requirement is more in the ability to read and understand it. Don't need to create or modify the files and certainly don't need to spend $$ to buy it. I just happen to own it for work, and am familiar with it which is why I use it.
Time is the major factor

I don't expect anyone would need to actually spend their own money to help me out.

I estimate the render test would take a few hours to complete. Essentially it's working from a modified storyboard and scene setup to render about 5-6 images based on the storyboard. I haven't finalized the test yet, primarily because I don't want to expend the effort/time to set it up unless there is someone with a strong interest. If you're interested in giving it a go, let me know.

Wolfschadowe

If you put the effort into making the render test, I'll take it. So, it really comes down to if you think I'm worth giving a shot. If you think the time issue is too great, you might want to hold off until others show interest, and I'll take the test then. Based on your renders, I'm betting you use the 3Delight engine, and I don't think you use UberEnviroment or anything. I'd need to know what render settings you're using, shading rate, raytrace depth, etc., and what type of lighting scheme you typically use in order to mimic your renders as closely as possible. As for the money, I've already spent more on Daz Studio than I can justify given how little I do with it, but I promise not to spend money buying anything I wouldn't have bought eventually anyway.

[Wolfschadowe]

If you put the effort into making the render test, I'll take it.

PM'd you information about the test.

On some of your points, I do use the 3Delight engine. It's the best bang for the buck in DAZ that I've found regarding quality vs. Render time. I've played with others like LuxRender, but for my purposes, the effort/payoff isn't there for this project. I've used it for other things though.

Depending on the scene, I use UberEnvironment, although it can be a time hog during render. I also use AgeOfArmor lights, area light panes, Advanced spotlights, or whatever the scene and story call for. I just happen to suck at lighting, but I'm improving.

I'm not concerned about mimicking renders so much as mimicking style, living world feel, etc.. If render and lighting quality go up...I'm happy.

The Daz store is evil. It has a love/hate relationship with my bank account.

Wolfschadowe.

[simarimas1]

The Daz store is evil. It has a love/hate relationship with my bank account.

Wolfschadowe.

Hahaha. Tell me about!! I have had DAZ for about 3 weeks now, and have already spent several hundred there. And don't see an end in site either!iiiiiii

[Greyelf]

The Daz store is evil. It has a love/hate relationship with my bank account.

Wolfschadowe.

Hahaha. Tell me about!! I have had DAZ for about 3 weeks now, and have already spent several hundred there. And don't see an end in site either!iiiiiii

This is one of the reasons they realized giving away the based product was a good investment, because people know the value of their own time (read "are lazy" ) and will buy assets and addons.

[Wolfschadowe]

From the front page:

September 8th, 2014 Working to finish up the short campus scene. Short for BEW is 74 pages total. That scene is about 31% complete taking into account all phases, (Storyboarding, rendering, writing, programming). That number is deceptive though, compared to the time as the Day two bar scene is about 20% complete, and it's a large complex scene that will probably be about 400-500 pages all told. Storyboarding is only 60% or so complete on that, and rendering is 17% done, give or take what the final value will be for total pages.
I've also been taking some time setting up for bringing on some help, and I'm very happy to announce that a writer/programmer and a second programmer have joined the team! I have one Artist working on the application exam. Considering the size of the game, having two total artists helping out would be great, but it's a huge time commitment, not for the faint of heart, so no disappointment on my part if nobody else has time/interest to help.

The Writer (primary) / Programmer (secondary) needs no introduction here. I am happy to announce that Lady Tlaero herself has volunteered to help out with the writing. Considering that her Keeley games are the inspiration for BEW, and the AC tool she wrote is key to my ability to make a game like this to begin with, I am honored and humbled to have her help!

Also joining the team as a Programmer is Kexter. Recently Kexter has been helping Tlaero with the latest release of AC, and has already shaken his head sadly at my clumsy coding and begun cleaning it up. Thanks Kexter!

BEW will be a better (and available faster) game with the help of these two, and I look forward to being able to announce a couple of artists joining in the near future.

Also, in spoilers, a few more images from the game.
From Day 2 at the office

Emily crying in Brad's arms

From Day 1 at the strip club

Brad getting a private dance from Natalie

Wolfschadowe

[Cochise]

Holy hell every time this thread gets updated I get a pang of hope. Still waiting patiently.

[MysteryMan2333]

I sense a new update soon...