altosandherdone
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Art and Software Developments
🕑 Added 2024-09-25 16:04:03 +0000 UTCHey guys,
In this post, I wanted to talk about the software I use for The Headmaster and to show off some newer software I’ve been messing about with in my spare time. To be clear, I don’t have any plans to switch, I just thought you guys might find the test videos I made interesting.
For context, I started working on The Headmaster in 2018 and the 3D software I chose was Playhome Studio, which is a 3D sandbox sex game created with the Unity Engine by a Japanese company called Illusion. Playhome was an awkward middle child between two of Illusion’s other major titles; Honey Select (HS) and Honey Select 2 (HS2). Most Devs ignored it as it wasn't a huge step up from HS (which many people still use) and they were waiting for HS2. However, I had never played HS by the time Playhome came out so I had no attachment to that older software. I thought Playhome had better textures and lighting. I decided I would figure out how to use it to create characters and shoot scenes for the game I had in mind. The rest is history, as they say.
Between updates, I always dedicated a week or so to improving my capabilities with Playhome and over the years I have learned to do a lot of things which I couldn’t at first, with smoother animations, better body physics etc. Between every two or three updates I also dedicate a little time to keeping up with software developments more generally. I think it’s important for me as a developer to keep up with the times. I tried my hand at HS2, and although it was an improvement over Playhome in some areas, it was a step back in others. So I decided not to spend too long with it. The company Illusion has since gone bust, so there will be no more games from them, sadly. I’ve also tried Unreal Engine 5, although I never really got anywhere with it to be honest. Then, at the end of last year, I took the time to teach myself how to use a piece of software called Virt-a-Mate (VaM). Just like Playhome, VaM is a 3D sandbox sex game created with the Unity Engine. However, that is where the similarities end as VaM is a far more advanced piece of software. VaM has been around for several years, however, recently developed mods (or plugins) have transformed it into something a little special. As long as you have a beefy enough PC to run it on of course, which fortunately I do. Purely out of curiosity, I set myself the task of creating a handful of good looking characters and recording a few random animations. I never originally intended to show these to people, however, they turned out rather well and I think people might enjoy them. So, without further ado, here are a couple of the test videos I have made using my own original models. They are all 4K with a high bit-rate, so please excuse the very large file sizes. I would advise downloading the videos rather than trying to stream them.
Video 1: Dancing
VaM might not be able to create as pretty still renders as other similar software (e.g. Daz3D), however, it really shines when it comes to animations. This is because everything is physically simulated, right down to each individual public hair. After figuring out the basics and creating some cute models, I wanted to figure out how to record videos. The most obvious thing to test first was a model dancing, as there is plenty of dance motion capture data available on the VaM’s in-built download hub. I ended up using two animations here by VaM artist, VaMtimbo (posing/stripping and dancing). I used dozens of plugins to create this video, however, the main ones are automated camera tracking, automatic spot light tracking, and a camera linked to several big screens in the background. To improve the breast and bottom jiggling, I am using the Naturalis plugin by the modder, Everlaster. For the automatic muscle flexing I am using the plugins “Flex It” and “Shake It” by the modder, Cheesy. Now, some of you may ask why an American cheerleader is dancing in a British football stadium, but try not to think about it too hard. I certainly didn’t. The video is around three minutes long and you can download it here.
Video 2: Conversation and Spanking
I originally made this set of three animations over the Christmas break, but I recently re-recorded them with better models and lighting (including Ray-Tracing). Don't read too much into what is happening here, I just wanted to create a familiar looking set up with two naughty girls getting in trouble. Only this time it’s two cheerleaders and an angry dean. The scene starts off with the characters in conversation using mo-cap ‘idle’ animations from VaM Artist, CuddleMocap. You'll have to imagine what they are saying, but presumably it's the two college girls being told off and consenting to a spanking, because that's what happens next. These spanking animations are my first (and currently only) attempts at making my own animations with this software. Interestingly, rather than carefully positioning the hand and bottom for each frame of the animation, I just set the arm swinging in the direction I wanted and adjusted the physics settings of the hand to control the velocity and force behind the spank; the game’s physics engine did most of the rest. This didn’t make the animations any easier to make (far from it), however, it did produce some impressive results. I particularly like the way their bodies jiggle and you can see the muscles flexing in the girls’ legs (from Cheesy's plugins). I didn't add the fading in red-butt effect, however, this would be entirely possible. The video (consisting of three animated ‘scenes’ filmed from multiple angles) is three and half minutes long and you can download it here.
So, I think these videos turned out pretty well given that they are my first real attempts at creating art with this software. Obviously, I’ve spent some time working on these. Altogether, I probably spent about 3 weeks learning the software (a couple of weeks over Christmas and another week after the most recent update). The animations also took me a couple of days each to make and record. I have no idea how long I spent working on the female models though as, I confess, I’ve been playing around with this software in what is supposed to be my time off. In any case, I’ve used it for a tiny fraction of the amount of time I’ve spent working with Playhome and I’m definitely still scratching the surface as to what is possible.
However, to be very clear, I have no plans to change my current software any time soon. For the foreseeable future, I will be continuing to work primarily with Playhome. Moving my existing character models from Playhome to VaM (while technically possible via Blender) wouldn't produce good looking models. Also, VaM has some major limitations, especially when it comes to the number of models you can put in a scene without the software becoming unstable; with serious lag, frequent crashes and corrupted saves. Not to mention the fact that I have invested thousands of hours into my Playhome models, environments, scene files etc which would take years to recreate. Playhome also has an excellent balance between quality and production speed which VaM cannot currently match. Making The Headmaster with VaM would be impossible. So, please don’t ask me to do it. I was thinking that I could use VaM for close up shots of things like spanking, penetration, jiggling breasts, bouncing bottoms etc. It’s certainly a huge improvement in all of those areas. Other than that, it's probably not going to be much use to me at the present time.
Having said all that, I am very curious to know what people think about these test videos. So, please let me know in the comments what you think about these models and the animations. Personally, I feel like VaM has a lot of potential for ENF, public nudity and spanking content. I also really enjoyed trying out this software. It was a fun change of pace and I found myself learning a lot about anatomy, physics simulations, animation, lighting and 3D rendering; experience that I can hopefully bring back to use with Playhome. Who knows, perhaps I’ll use VaM for something else, someday. VaM 2 is supposedly out as a beta later this year, so I will be sure to check that out as well. For those that are interested, I have half a dozen or so more random test animations like these (including some VaM approximations of Headmaster characters) and I will add them to the custom art folder available to my top tier patrons. The link to the custom art folder can be found in the Headmaster’s Study section of our Discord, be sure to link your Patreon and Discord accounts to gain access.
Also, just to casually toss a second cat among the pigeons, I have an in-house 2D artist currently in training. I am looking forward to showing off some of her work in the near future.
Altos
Comments
D
the cheerleader video is amazing
Edmund Porter
These are very good for a trial run, the actions in Headmaster are realy good, don’t change.
RYXP3D
I've seen some work produced from Vam (Mafavam is the main one that comes to mind) and it's very impressive stuff. These sample animations you shared are impressive initial demos too. I recently re-joined as a patron and wanted to note that I'm sure others have seen this too that your animation and general production quality has noticably improved for The Headmaster recently. I know it wouldn't make sense to port the whole game into a new engine (and it's not necessary by any means). I do like the idea of selectively using additional software though for the Headmaster or potentially future projects. Your writing and humor is one of the top reasons I love your work, so the visuals are much less important to me than when people's writing isn't so strong.
Xenophore
VaM 2 is in the works.
Altos and Herdone
I was actually talking about my wife, Herdone, who has been teaching herself to draw NSFW art, so I mean in-house training very literally.
Eveti Ijonen
"in house" & "training" may be misleading....esp when considering the game content.... But that caught my attention as well. 😜
Jbobber101
Nice work! The cheerleader one is amazing! Yes - please incorporate some high quality videos like this into the game! Would be a great addition.
Candelario
That's great! Thanks for answer. I'm gonna try VaM myself. Your game totally deserves a spot in those platforms btw, but I understand why you continue with your old tools. I'm very, VERY glad yo do to be honest, considering how many indie projects stagnate or completely stop after changing tools/engine. Maybe you will have more options in some years with "the next game", if you decide to continue as developer.
Altos and Herdone
You can do pretty much all the same things in VaM as you can with my current software. Unlike my current software, art created with VaM is considered Creative Commons and I would be able to sell my work on platforms currently closed off to me (e.g Steam, DLsite etc). So, yeah, that is a big incentive to switch, when the time is right.
Candelario
So if it's a proper sandbox "game", that means it can't be used as freely as with Daz3D scenes isn't it? Do you know if these VaM scenes could be used safely to publish on Steam? That would be a clear advantage for hundreds games using defunct Illusion games for renders and videos for sure...
Altos and Herdone
Yes, this could be fixed. These are only my first tries at making animations with this software, and I've no doubt I could improve them. With VaM I could even record my own motion capture animations using some cheap home equipment. It's something for me to think about for the future.
Altos and Herdone
A total switch isn't really practical, unfortunately. However, I could remake some animations or even scenes from the headmaster without too much trouble. It's all a matter of time though. Finishing the headmaster with my current software has got to be my priority.
Redmess
On the second video, the girl getting spanked looks great, but the guy's arm looks completely stiff and unnatural as he spanks her. I hope that is something that can be fixed, the videos look very promising.
Paul P
These are absolutely brilliant. That cheerleader dancing is uber-erotic compared to the 'normal' animations which can look quite stilted...and well, that spanking scene is a wow!
C
this is very impressive. I've been hopin gfor a while to see some updated scenes, like rachel locker room scene and such. I have no idea how long it would take to redo some of the old scenes even, much less port a whole game onto a new engine. I have been playing more games recently though, and I have to admit the technology has gotten crazy and there are some really incredible things out there, that do sometimes make me wonder if dropping HM's existing software and doing something with the modern stuff is more worth it. the recent updates have been very good too tho, and I don't want to discourage you in the slightest. it's definitely a pickle with pros and cons.
Altos and Herdone
These are both actually screen captures. I have the software running at 25% speed to maintain frame rates. Then I've speed it up while video editing. It is possible to render videos with VaM though. With a 4090 I can render a 15 second clip in about 10 minutes.
shoprat
I can believe that. Fluid flow tracing across 3D surfaces, liquid pooling, and random splat generation could keep one busy for a long time. Who said physics can't be fun? The file sizes and download times could become a consideration your distribution. I'm assuming your render times are non trival too. How long does it take for your video card to generate a 15 second clip? The animations are gorgeous though.
Altos and Herdone
Yeah, I could definitely improve these animations if I spent more time on them. There are literally hundreds of physics settings I could tweak in the hands and buttocks alone. It's a very deep rabbit hole I could fall down if I'm not careful.
Altos and Herdone
The cloth physics is very impressive. It's possible to have models lift thier skirts and lower their underwear for example. Unfortunately it's also very temperamental and requires a lot of fiddling about with the physics settings to stop the cloth clipping through the models bodies.
shoprat
Excellent work.Very good body dynamics. The jiggle and flex motions are done very well and look more natural. The models are as 'cute as a button' and posed well. The spank looked a little stiff, but I think it could be improved by just relaxing the spanking hand and give it a bit more curvature so it mimicked the contour of the buttocks. The hand was too flat and stiff.
Clever Username TBD
I really like the way the clothes act like clothes and not a skin stuck on the model that doesn't move or act the way clothing does naturally.
Altos and Herdone
VaM is almost amazing. I think if I had enough time I could overcome, or find ways around, a lot of it's issues. However, I definitely don't have time for it.
Altos and Herdone
Maybe. I like this software and I think has potential. By the time I'm ready to start my next game though, something better might have come along. I'll probably come back to it from time to time, as well as keeping my eye out for anything better.
squid44
The model physics and model look are very realistic. It might be worth it to add in some closeups, although I don't know if you can model existing girls. I know you had difficulty trying to add (very unrealistic) animations in MyBestFriendsDaughter. This looks like something for the future. Next game?
Arkadios
That last bit piques my interest...
Jameson Huddle
I have yet to download these on my computer, but very interesting stuff, while I don't know how to use the software I've seen it's use in many videos and definitely agree with you on its current limitations.
Edmund Porter
Looking forward to chapter 3 Can’t get enough
