12/23/2022 - Reasons why I am not entirely against piracy (also Fuck Epic!)
NOTE : This is a rant article.
Given the recent news of Epic 'Failure' Games delisting the Unreal franchise off of Steam and GoG resulting in Unreal becoming abandonware. It's now appropiate to make this rant article.
Before I give out the reasoning of why piracy will still be a thing, I want to get this out of my chest about Epic.
I understand the idea of shutting down master servers considering that costs money to keep alive plus the people at OldUnreal and 333networks run their own master servers for both Unreal and UT. OpenSpy (a reverse engineered GameSpy alternative) has support for UT2004, The only UT that might not survive is UT4 (2014 - 2018) and UT3 (temporary for the time-being).
What doesn't make sense is the fact that the games are getting delisted off of digital storefronts without a clear reason. Like considering the first Unreal has a singleplayer campaign and the Unreal Tournament series has a Single-player Tournament and Botmatches, Epic delisting the entire franchise pisses me off to no end!
Epic is taking a massive shit on their legacy while catering to low-IQ children (or manbabies) with, Fortnite..
If Epic would've kept the games up, maybe they would make extra-money from their recent COPPA lawsuit they lost.
Fortnite is also the reason that Unreal Tournament 4 was never going to be finished, and that also pissed me off because they could've had the community finish their game, but then again.. With the way Epic has been over the past years, wishing for them to allow the community finishing their game is like wishing they open-source Unreal Engine 1. Not going to lie but I personally felt like wishing for Epic to open-source that engine is almost like trying to wish Microsoft to release their source-code for Windows.
As for piracy, it's companies like Epic and even Gearbox Software that what encourages people to download games off of Archive.org or other abandonware sites. People may ask me, why not just purchase a used copy off of eBay/Amazon/etc?
Because people can scalp prices for these games! I mean good fucking luck if you going to hunt down a copy of a obscure game for horrendous prices. Seriously I hate that route so much, people who are anti-piracy can be annoying at times.
If it were me, I would only allow sharing downloads for games only via private messages because sharing stuff publicly could risk places getting taken down.
Another benefit from pirating games is the fact you can try before you can buy the game and support the developer. The reason for this is because barely anybody puts out demos/sharewares of various games anymore. So if I were to say download a GoG installer for some throwback shooter that has no demo out, I try it for a bit and if I like it I would wishlist the game on Steam.
But yeah.. Before I conclude this article, keep in mind I don't recommend pirating the game you like, (especially from indie developers) because that can damage game sales. It's only okay if you are either trying the game out (if it doesn't have a demo out yet) or the game is no longer on sale anymore.
As always, support indie developers and buy their games.
Today's article will also explain why I quietly retired the 3D Vtuber model of Dakki from Senkaiden Houshin Engi. I put together the model using MMD models and Milkshape (for the shoulder pads) but let's face it. I am no good with 3D modeling yet.
There were two reasons I decided to retire the model. The reasons are the various errors (like one of the eyes not working properly, giving her lazy eye) and the worry in regards to using a copyrighted character.
The original plan after retiring the 3D model was to become a PNGTuber. I used Krita and a reference picture to draw this. However I became less satisfied the more I tested this. So I used screencaps instead.
I was originally planning to debut the PNGTuber on April 8th 2022 for the Freeform Friday - Terminal Velocity livestream event. However, a fellow friend from my personal Discord server (I was in VC testing the PNGTuber) Manjaruntu would show off his VTuber model created using VRoid Studio. (I don't have any screenshots of his ponytail variant, so you are seeing his short hair variant)
This would inspire me to fire up VRoid to make a model of myself but it didn't look good in my opinion, so I kept experimenting till I realized that I could just remain using a female avatar by creating a original character. Now I originally refrained myself from using VRoid because my brother told me that he heard about some people's dislike of VRoid because it was effortless. But I realized that VRoid is only good if you are terrible at 3D modeling and don't want the hassle to throw in MMD model parts just to get a working VTuber model.
It is no secret that I am attracted to redhead anime characters. Hence why the character is a redhead. I also made the character based on my personal tastes. It's kind of funny to me because it felt like a "Create your own dream girl/waifu" thing. The glasses part was because I wear glasses more often than wearing contacts.
The symbol on her shirt is based on the icon used for the Unreal December 1995 Tech Demo.
I ended up testing the model out in a private voice chat a day after the PNGTuber test and it actually went well. I would debut the model on April 8th, 2022. Ever since then I've been starting to use the model more often than the Dakki model.
This wraps up the follow-up article, but I want to talk about something before I go. So I realized I have been doing quantity over quality when it came to my YouTube channel. So as of recent I have been editing my highlight videos (unedited ones remain on my Twitch channel) to shrink as much time as I can to make sure it is more watchable by cutting the boring parts out.
But anyway, I hope to make more articles in the coming months.
3/1/2022 - Soldat & Liero
Alright, so let's rewind to the few days prior to the last Freeform Friday of February 2022. I wasn't feeling the best that week, as I kept trying to fight off with my personal demons from 2021, along with some frustrations trying to make Rise of the Triad multiplayer work out.
This resulted in taking time off of Twitch live streaming till sometime between March or April due to a mental breakdown.
Prior to announcing my break on Twitter, I announced Soldat for Freeform Friday at DOSBox Deathmatch Club on the same day.
I started to recover more faster after talks with my close friends in voice chat and my mother.
But anyways, I actually had a lot of fun playing Soldat, especially with all the knife throwing. Basically Soldat is a 2D side-view multiplayer shooter inspired by a mixture of Liero, Quake, Counter Strike, and Worms. The game first released in May 2002 and is currently somewhat active especially when the game is also on Steam.
I'm actually fond with these kinds of games because of the fast-paced action these games give you. You got the open-source Teeworlds being known for that fluid grapple hook and a fork titled DDRaceNetwork, and you got Soldat being known for having great movement.
Liero is also interesting to me because when I first try to play, the controls took some time to get into, a bit similar to when I started playing Tomb Raider. I recently picked it up via WebLiero (only version with internet play at the time of this writing), and I was pretty hooked.
Liero is originally a MS-DOS game released in January 1998 by Finnish programmer, Joosa Riekkinen. It was best described as Real-time Worms (artiillery game by Team17). The game was mostly played hotseated, which is a shame if this was nowadays considering the global pendemic we currently have going on, Thank god for WebLiero.
If you are ever interested in picking it up I recommend starting with WebLiero and getting used to the controls in a private room first. I have my controls like this :
Left/Right Arrows = Moving
Up/Down Arrows = Aim
Z = Fire Weapon
X = Jump
C = Ninja Rope
Space = Dig
A/S = Weapon Switching
Also do some target practice on medkits to get the hang of it. ;)
That wraps up a somewhat quick article, see you around!
www.liero.be
1/3/2022 - Origins of the Dakki VTuber model
This is a follow-up article where I talked about how I decided on becoming a VTuber. I suggest reading this article before reading this one.
CLICK HERE.
Today's article will focus on when I shifted from a Live2D model to a 3D model using MMD (Miku Miku Dance), Unity and VSeeFace.
On August 6, 2021, My brother's friends made him a 3D VTuber model. While he was showcasing this, I felt so doubtful about my Live2D alongside getting feedback about the Live2D model being a bit cursed looking. (After all this was made using screencaps from the anime adaptation)
I was in a doubtful mood that I considered retiring from being a VTuber. Keep in mind I have expressed that I didn't want to reveal my face during livestreams. This isn't because of privacy, especially since I already had my face revealed in the past (I kind of regretted that) it is likely due to nervousness. The nervousness is also the reason I never took much photos from my phones, plus I don't show my face on camera very often and when I do it is meant to be in private.
August 6, 2021 was when I started putting together a 3D model using MMD parts along with some crappy modeling with Milkshape 3D, and it was also the last-time I used the Live2D model on stream.
This was one of the WIP photos of the 3D model, it lacked a few things that would've worked as a VTuber model such as a moveable mouth. While also getting feedback that it looked small, and one saying that it was a good start. So I kept working on it, such as improving the hair and using a new head model. But I was in a rush because I would be streaming on that day because "DOSBox Deathmatch Club event at 8pm CST"
This was the first iteration of the 3D VTuber model which I later dubbed it, the "Botched Hairstyle" version. This would be a major improvement from the earlier WIP one. It was quite impressive to make it that far while racing against time otherwise, the last-time I used the Live2D model would've been August 7, 2021.
This model was used for my first-ever Q&A video which went live on my 21st birthday (August 21, 2021). September 11, 2021 was the last-time this version of the model was used as more improvement (including the hairstyle) needed to be done.
September was a terrible month for me personally.
This was the second iteration of the 3D VTuber model that debuted at the September 12, 2021 livestream that finally fixed her hairstyle. More minor improvements took place nine days later.
Yeah. it took a month to perfect it somewhat, a alternative outfit version of the model was later made back in November 2021 and a modified (OC kind of?) variant of the 3D model would come to be in December 2021.
Now I only use this for personal-use as I don't plan on profiting or making money out of this model. I always leave that up to the generous people, like I said not necessary but always appreciated.
That wraps up the follow-up article, I haven't been making articles as much due to some procrastination and other activities being in the way. Hopefully I can make more articles this year.
