Freestyle development update

Best free NPR tool out there

Freestyle has certainly come a long way since I first wrote about it. Two years ago it was an obscure script that could produce nice results on condition that user was proficient with Blender, had some knowledge about Python scripting and was determined enough to do quite a bit of trial and error. I covered Freestyle back then, because it was a free alternative to commercial products, but frankly, for an average Blender user, it was unusable.

Fast forward to 2010, Freestyle is now functioning inside Blender (in special builds available from GraphicAll.org), with full graphical interface and a large number of parameters to customize the line output, such as variable thickness, color, line ending and dash spacing. The whole project is on its way to be incorporated in the main build of Blender at some point next year, as this dev comment reveals. In the same comment you can see the list of priorities for the dev team together with completion estimates:

1) the new artist-friendly GUI - 30%
2) feature edge detection at mesh intersection - 0%
3) finalization of Python API improvements - 80%

Personally, I think that the developers are doing excellent job. Some neat looking results can be found in this very long Freestyle thread on Blender Artists (go to the last page and then go back in order to see the most recent renders), as well as here. Click the trailer above to see it in action.

Enoshima experience

This blog post is an aberration of sorts, so let me explain where it came from. I do not intend to write about my travels, even those that take me to Japan, which is an important topic here on Barts News. This is, principally, a gaming blog, with only occasional forays into software, visualisations, Japanese and other geek stuff. However, I have written this piece for a travel writing competition a few years back, came across it recently and was saddened to see noone will ever read it, so taking into account it is about Japan and I like it, I've decided to let it slip this one time. Hence, below you can read a brief impression of one of my Japanese trips...


Enoshima is a beautiful island, depicted by Hokusai and Hiroshige, but unfortunately often overlooked by tourists hurrying to Kamakura. The legend says that it emerged from the ocean to accommodate goddess Benten stepping down from heavens.


The train is almost touching the walls of Japanese houses cluttered on the sides of railway when I arrive at Katase-Enoshima station, built in the shape of Ryugu-jo, legendary underwater Dragon Palace. The trip begins with a walk down the long bridge leading to the island, but before I even reach it, I stumble across traditional matsuri (festival), taking place on the beach. Naked men wearing only fundoshi, skimpy loincloth, carry mikoshi, portable shrines, on their shoulders. On each of them a priestess is standing in ceremonial robes, chanting.

Reaching the island, I climb up the hill, passing through a narrow street filled with shops, where adventurous souls may try octopus crepe or fried squid on a stick. In Hetsunomiya, one of many Shinto shrines on Enoshima, I buy omikuji, a little paper with fortune. It turns out to be bad, so I tie it to a special rack, so that the bad things stay in the temple instead of happening in my life. The shrine has a small pavilion displaying Benten statues in two aspects : one naked, smiling, playing biwa (kind of lute), other one dark, threatening, with a sword - a perfect allegory of femininity.

Nearby, there are racks with pink wooden plates adorned by heart, on which couples write their names, praying for good fortune in their relationship. Most are in Japanese, some in English, and some contain only one name, expressing warm wish of some lonely soul to find the missing half.

I climb to the top of Enoshima Lighthouse, a futuristic tower located in the middle of botanical garden, founded by Samuel Cocking, British merchant. The view is breathtaking, with Mount Fuji towering the horizon. I then descend to Saifukuji, the only Buddhist temple on the island, where meditation by fire takes place. Drums, chanting, scent of incense and smoke – the experience is truly mesmerizing.


Tired, I sit down in one of numerous izakayas (traditional Japanese taverns).While I chew on my food (English vocabulary is too limited to describe the taste), the owner opens the window overlooking the cliff and throws small piece of meat. Soon the air is filled with falcons circling over our heads, swooping down to catch the meat.

Following down the stone steps to the rocky shore, I pass by a stone lantern overlooking the Sagami bay and a tsunami warning plate. I finish the trip by taking a ferry back to the mainland. I am rewarded with a great view of the island from the sea and a glimpse of hidden World War II bunker overlooking the bay, otherwise invisible from the shores.

It is a shame that in guidebooks Enoshima is but one point on the list of things to see in Kamakura. It deserves at least a full day to discover it.

Persona 3 Trailer

Of Personas and Promises

One of the best games I have played during this year was, surprisingly, a PSP game. Not only was it a great addition to my PSP library, but it turned out to be so great that it actually got added to my personal list of best games ever. After I spent 60+ hours completing it, that is.

The title in question is Persona 3 Portable, a reiteration of the PS2 game that first appeared as Persona 3 and then as extended version Persona 3 FES. It totally deserves all the praise it's been receiving and 91% scores on both Metacritic and GameRankings. I promise to review it soon(ish) and for now have a look at this excellent trailer:

Other than Persona 3 Portable, there will be other reviews coming up next. Frankly, there hasn't been enough reviews on Barts News recently, the main reason being that in the last months I have been writing them in Polish for gaming websites that actually pay for them. Still, this ought to change, as I realized recently that in the midst of gaming news and tidbits I have let a couple of truly great titles slip. So here is my promise to you, gentle reader: we will have a bunch of reviews coming soon - so stay tuned!

And to wrap up this post, there's one additional piece of information. You see, when I finished Persona 3 Portable, I immediately wanted to play Persona 4 that is, sadly, only available on PS2. I have already arranged with my friend to borrow his console and with other friend to borrow a TV set (I actually have none at home, believe it or not), to have a go at the next installment in Persona series as soon as I'm done with organizing TEDx Kraków.

However, there is a hint that I might not be needing PS2 in order to play it: Siliconera reported that Atlus is releasing Persona 4 cell phone themes in Japan. Why would they do it four years after the game has hit the market, if not to remind their fanbase about the title prior to its rerelease? After all, they already have working PSP engine (developed for P3P), they have the content (from P4), all they need is to transfer the content to the engine, test, maybe garnish it with a few extras and voila, here comes the new PSP game!

Personally (pun not intended), I'm keeping my fingers crossed to see that happening. Persona 4 Portable is just what I would love to play next.

Outlandish

How the heck did I miss that?

Doing my usual brwosing of game-related sites, I have stumbled upon Outland, a game that has completely slipped under my radar, which is a shame, because it looks pretty darn promising. It comes from the creators of Super Stardust HD (the PSP version of which has gotten lots of my love) and that's a good sign in terms of quality of both gameplay and visuals.


As for the game influences I sense in Outland, I could list Castlevania, Shadow Complex, Flashback, Oddworld, as well as a bit of Patapon and Ikaruga - quite fine selection, I dare say. Have a look at the trailer on Youtube and read more about Outland on Playstation Blog (incidentally, there's also a bit on Eric Chahi's From Dust - another two reasons for me to finally cough up a few bucks for that PS3).

[ via VG247 ]

Real-life Starcraft II Armor

I want one of these!

During Starcraft II launch we have all seen big men in Marines suits, big, burly and blue. I couldn't help but wonder - where did they get their armors? And is there a chance I could get one, too? Recently a piece of news surfaced, giving answer to the first question - they were made by Atelier Fantastic Art.


You can see a lot of "making of" photos on their Facebook page, as well as watch the marines in action in this movie on Youtube and the other one on Russian gaming site. Unfortunately, the chances of ordering one are rather slim, due to legal constraints. Still, they really look neat, don't they?

[ via StarcraftSource ]

Undercroft for iPhone goes free

Retro RPG goodness

This post is as simple as it gets. There is a nice retro RPG game for iPhone called Undercroft. It used to be available for money, now you can get it for free. As you can judge from the trailer, its authors have slightly Monty-Pythonesque sense of humour and a soft spot for classics, such as Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder, Ishar or Lands of Lore.


In other words, if you have an iPhone and a knack for retro gaming, you would be stupid not to download Undercroft, either from its webpage (alternative address here) or directly from AppStore. The only problem I have with Undercroft is that it is not available for other platforms and I have already sold my iPhone long time ago. But if you got one, then go get the game. I mean it. Do it now.

[ via Gnome's Gaming on the Go ]

Beyond Good & Evil HD announced

Bueno, Yade!

Just a short post to share a piece of good news with you: there will be a HD remix of Beyond Good & Evil game appearing soon on PSN and XBLA (unfortunately, only as digital download).

Initially, I was somewhat meh about it, but seeing how pretty the game looks and realizing that my old PC version can only be displayed in 4:3 format, I changed my stance to a more positive one. It is, after all, one of the greatest games I have ever played, not without flaws, but with memorable characters, nice visuals (now even nicer), great music (available for free), interesting story (even if somewhat cut). It also is one of my father's favourite computer games, mainly thanks to its likable protagonist, Jade, running an orphanage for little aliens - sadly, an idea that is under-developed in the story.


What this means is that my list of games I would like to play on PS3 when I buy it is therefore getting longer. It's true that I have already played and finished Beyond Good & Evil, but similarly to coming back to a good book or a good movie, I tend to revist the best games that I have fond memories of/from. I have seen my favourite movies (for the record: Fight Club, Boondock Saints, Kontroll, Lost in Translation, The Boat That Rocked) at least four or five times. I have read some books by Pratchett, Sapkowski, Zelazny, Chandler and Bulychev more than that. However, I do not revisit that much the best games I had played, mostly because of how badly some of them have aged - I did finish Deus Ex three times from the very beginning to the very end, though.

Refreshed HD versions allow me to go back in time without the shock that results from taking off the pink nostalgia goggles and staring at the naked truth of how ugly some of the old classics look. I have just recently bought Special Edition bundle of both Monkey Island games, because not only there is a great amount of storytelling and humour in there, but they also look gorgeous and make going back in time so much more enjoayble. Similarly, I have spent quite some time replaying original Quake with DarkPlaces mod and high-res textures at some point. In the same vein, one of the first games that I will get once I buy a PS3 will be Team Ico Collection and God of War Collection - and of course Beyond Good & Evil HD.

Additionally, this new revamped version constitutes a hint that Ubisoft is in fact working on the sequel. It makes perfect sense to remind players Beyond Good & Evil before the second part gets release, as it's been a while since the game was on the market and there's a whole generation of younger players who might not even have heard about it.

[ via Destructoid ]