Source engine rant + Freeman's Mind update

[Ross Scott]

Well I know you guys like updates, so here's what's happening:

 

Progress is continuing steadily on The Tunnel, but it's going slowly. To give you an idea of why things take so long, I did animation work on two scenes I though I was going to be able to complete in one night. The actual time ended up coming out to seven days. These weren't especially complicated or complex scenes either, it's just the nature of animating in the Source engine. The Source engine is such a convoluted means of animating scenes. Every little detail requires about 12 steps to complete. I'm often animating the scenes blind, meaning I don't know what will happen until I compile a map. It involves crossover work between two programs where you can only make rough guesses on the timing and how everything interact, leading to a LOT of trial and error to get things to look right, and this is when everything is functioning smoothly with no bugs, which frequently doesn't happen. The whole experience leaves me kind of bitter and I hope that at some point I can find a more efficient method of animating in the future, either on Source or something else. Most other engines I'm familiar with either don't have good animation tools at all, or else suffer from a different set of problems and/or limitations.

 

I'm absolutely going to continue The Tunnel to completion, however I realize this is taking significantly longer than I hoped and there's literally nothing I can do to speed it up. This is nothing new to the series, but since the fanbase is much larger than it used to be, I realize it's frustrating more people than ever before, not just myself. On that note, I'm going back on what I said and will produce one more Freeman's Mind episode, then go back to working on The Tunnel. I'll try and make it a longer one, hopefully this will tide some of you over since Civil Protection is taking so long. I am giving no more time estimates for The Tunnel; I can't, there's too many variables. Freeman's Mind is a much simpler affair however, I think I can safely say it will be done by next week.

[Guest]

1ST!!! also, finnaly, an update.

[Guest]

to bad things aren't going well

 

 

and 2:nd

[Guest]

oh and with the updates, at least its more frequent than blackmesa source.

[Guest]

4th!!!!

[Guest]

Ross take as much time as you need. The quality of your work is shown in your all your videos and I'm sure most people can figure out why it takes as long, as it does, to do your magic. Just don't burn out on the projects, keep em coming!

 

David,

[Guest]

No problem, Ross; I've learned to be patient for stuff I KNOW will be good. For the rest, I'll steamroll everyone in my way to get to it, then be bitterly disappointed when the hype doesn't match the product's result. Never the case with these.

 

In between new episodes, I go thru the FMs again chronologically, and again I laugh and pick up something, maybe an archaic reference I didn't before. The rest I search for and say "now I've got it!". The search for the multiple definitions and Navy references for the "in the barrel" comment took a while, but now I'm glad I didn't ask my Navy father about that. Yikes. What a hoot.

 

Tunnel looks pretty spooky so far; can't wait for the final product, even though I just KNOW it's just Rosie O'Donnell at the end growling for her usual buckets of food (oops, sorry! Spoiler alert!).

 

And thanks to FM, I wouldn't have bought Half-Life and have enjoyed it much more, since now Gordon has a personality and dark humor I can relate to. And a hilarious one at that.

 

Keep 'em comin' at your own pace and thanks for the updates. Have a life too while you're at it

[Guest]

I'm just happy that you're not giving up on it. I love your work and I can wait considering the quality of each video.

[Guest]

I'm sorry to hear you're having so many problems. I'm a big fan of yours and I can't wait to see the next episode of civil protection, however I do understand that it may take a while. Another Freeman's Mind episode will surely help with holding us over, just keep up the good work Ross. I love your stuff : )

[Guest]

Thanks for the update!

[Guest]

Ross Your work on Civil Protection is the best animation i have ever seen and i can understand why it takes long hell

we are still waiting for HL2 Episode 3

so give it everything you got mate

[Guest]

Sorry to hear you're having issues with the source engine, I can only imagine how much of a PIA it is to animate stuff like that, but the end result is AMAZING. Can't wait for the tunnel.

 

I am happy to hear an update from you, thanks for the new FM in advanced, and I hope you dont encounter too many more bugs in ur work.

[Guest]

No worries, bro. Take your time and have fun with it. If you're not having fun 'cause you're worried about your fan base, that's a problem. Just have fun and the fans will be here.

[Guest]

Have you considered a series called Scott's Mind where you keep a camera rolling while you work with the source engine?

 

"I didn't tell your arm to do that! Why is that happening? WTF? Oh, great, now what? If you would just do what I tell you to do then I wouldn't have to murder drifters to feel at peace."

[Guest]

It sounds almost like it would be easier to produce original animation with 3DS max or something.

[Guest]

That seems alright, so I will just wait for the next freemans mind episode that will be coming out next week.

 

P.S. That is a some smart thinking you did for us, thanks!

[Guest]

Well it stinks it takes so long. At least we get THE TUNNEL.

[Guest]

LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Have you tried the Filmmaker?

[Guest]

Don't worry about deadlines. Just work at your own pace and we trust you to deliver a quality movie. Good things come to those who wait.