Strangetown progress and teaser

[strangetomato]

So... *crosses fingers*... the computer seems to be fairly stable for now. I'm not sure how long that will last, but I might be able to get a chapter finished while it holds out. I'd love that to be tommorrow, but we'll have to wait and see.








 

Comments

[music-simbol.livejournal.com]

First off, that shot looks FUCKING FANTASTIC!!!!!!

Second, is that a Nervous clone? I'd recognize that eye anywhere!!!!

Third, I hope you figure out your computer stuff soon. Make sure to back up anything you can before it goes kablooey!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. That light worked out better than I thought it would. I just had to play around with it for a while. I got a couple of nice shots there.

It's definitely someone who looks like Nervous. ;) That leaves you with five options (but it's obviously not the female clone).

I've done my backups, and the system went through a scan and error fixing process, and seems okay for now, so maybe it wasn't as fatal as it seemed. I'll have to wait and see, and make frequent backups.

[leskuh.livejournal.com]

creepy. as. shit.

in any case i'll keep my fingers crossed for you and the computer and the updates.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Heeheee. :) I'm glad the creepiness comes across. I was just about killing myself to make this scene as dark and foreboding as possible.

So far, so good on the computer, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed too.

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

Nervous clone- scary, every cool shot though.

*hopes chapter will be out tomorrow*

[smjoshsims.livejournal.com]

very*, gah, I'm a fool.

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

*snicker* I'm laughing with you, not at you. I do stupid spelling things like that ALL of the time. I'm a boob.

Thanks. :) I'm glad my dramatic lighting is working for you.

And you should be afraid. There are some scary things happening... but you'll see. ;)

[simgarooop.livejournal.com]

Oh, so that was the scene you were trying to shoot the other day, right? It came out awesome! That Nervous (?) Clone reminds me of the "alien" from X-Files parody on the Simpsons (who was actually Mr. Burns... eh... yeah, I used to be a fan :P).

I'm sorry your hard-drive is giving you trouble again. I hope it gives you time to make a back-up of all your important files before it "blows up". I've never had an HP, but I had a Compaq and it was just as awful. By the time I got rid of it I spent 20 minutes just trying to turn the piece of junk on! (I had to press the "power" button over and over until it "reacted").

I then bought a Gateway desktop and it has barely given me trouble (it's not the best machine for the Sims, but it was perfect while I worked on my thesis). That's why I bought a Gateway laptop two months ago. It is much cheaper than the "big companies" and has a lot of stuff. I'm not sure if I should rec it for Sims, because it lacks a "true graphics card" (it has an integrated chip) but so far I've been able to play the Sims with 2 Gb of CC and most of the graphic options on high without trouble.

When you get your new computer, I can link you to the tutorial I followed to get rid of most of the annoying Vista crap that just slows the machine down (and that the regular use never uses) if you are interested.

I'm looking forward to the next chapter :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the scene I was struggling with. It was really challenging to do for something so simple (and short, as far as scenes go). The key was using one of the club lights from Nightlife, since it comes with that great built-in dust effect, but it was tricky to wait until it was positioned right. Ofter than that, all I need was some plain black paint.

I thought that episode was pretty funny, even though the show was a little past its prime by that point. I used to be a huge fan of the show too. This image does have sort of the same glowing body effect, doesn't it? I really like how the figure appears to be completely white in most areas, and I was able to obscure the figure. You can do so many things with this game. I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of it. It's great.

Thanks for the computer advice. I'm still weighing my options. I'd be interested in seeing that computer tutorial. I've done some things to turn off a lot of the visual effects of Vista already, but I'm always open to learning more. :)

[zepheera.livejournal.com]

I have a dell, and it was a good computer when I got it. However, I would recommend finding a local computer store and having a computer custom built to your specifications. Dell uses a special tower that only their parts will fit, like the power supply, motherboard, etc. And after a short time, they stop making the power supplies and/or motherboards that you could use to upgrade it.

My computer has the most powerful power supply dell offered for it, and it won't support better than a geforce 8800, so when I need to upgrade, I'm going to have to buy a whole new computer.

I know I'll be either finding someone who builds custom computers or building it myself when I do.

[muslemura.livejournal.com]

Nice shot! Love how you can only really see one eye and that it's still recognizable :) I'm sorry you comp is giving you trouble again :(

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Nervous has very distinctive eyes, doesn't he? I love how dark they look with those Lyran contacts too. They seem almost black in this shot.

I'm just going to hope for the best with the computer. I might end up investing in a better PC, so that would be exciting.

[a-gates.livejournal.com]

WOW!! What a shot!! I am tempted to do the artsy-crafty square frame that the sims are so fond of. just WOW!! I love it, hopefully your comp stays stable!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. The thought of you framing this up with your "art hands" makes me smile. I swear I'll never get sick of that animation.

*crosses fingers again for computer* If I hope hard enough, it might pull through.

[birdtooth.livejournal.com]

wow. that is a great picture, made even greater by the fact that the sim so recognizable even when the features are almost completely obscured. good job!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It helps that the sim is so recognizable.

[cindyanne1.livejournal.com]

Awesome! What did you end up using for the light effects? It looks fantastic!!

Can't wait for the next chapter! I'll read it whenever you get it posted, no rush!!

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It's one of those club lights from Nightlife, so it comes with great built-in atmosphere (it's supposed to be dry ice, I guess, but it works as dust too).

I'm going to have some time to work on it this evening, so I'll make an effort to pull it together, but if it doesn't work out, it'll probably be done by Friday. It's coming along pretty well.

[dragancaor.livejournal.com]

That looks absolutely fantastic! Very dramatic effect. =D

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

WOOT, you got the picture you wanted and it looks fabulous.

*crosses fingers and does the please chant*

Hopefully that will give your machine JUST enough good mojo so you can get what you want done. Then it can go to the light. (I made that deal with my computer the last time it fell ill, "just let me make one quick backup, then you can rest")

[applesafter.livejournal.com]

excellent picture...and of Nervous - you tease!

[hannahspring.livejournal.com]

I. Love. It.

So, how did you make the room dark? :) I guess it's not that Apartment Life bug.

[franwi.livejournal.com]

Wow, fantastic shot! Definitely looks like light shining through an upper window in a prison cell.

[http:/// (from livejournal.com)]

I really hope you can update without the computer blowing up!

[showercapfrog.livejournal.com]

Oh my god - such a good shot!

You reminded me that I saw a real life Nervous clone last night... I was tempted to take a picture of him but I think he would have been scared by a random taking pictures of him...