EPT![[image loading]](http://www.gameproc.com/meskstuff/BlackSun/Header-BG.png)
Part 1
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Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
The days grow long. Finally, the insufferable heat of summer has begun to pass, and the gears of life once more creak to life.
This project has suffered immensely during the agonizing heat of humidity during long, sleepless months.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/7X18vsFl.jpg)
Nonetheless, progress has indeed been made. From new FumeFX sprite sheets I hand crafted to hundreds of new sounds, the Sins portion of the project slowly and gradually comes to its finalle. The Royal Anahn fleet and the Undead are both considered "beta" and their ship counts are frozen. The Xy`Kranasha near this stage as well. The DyiithJhinn continually inch forward ever more.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/FHfASIgl.jpg)
As models grow more difficult for me to make, I looked elsewhere for base meshes to build off of. A friend offered a few meshes, and I was able to use two of Sol Command's meshes. I strip these down to only a few hundred polies at most, interested only in their base shapes, then build my details on them. A good shape is the most absolute difficult part of a ship. Without it, no amount of extruding can get me anywhere.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/UoqVeosl.jpg)
DyiithJhinn ships are truly troublesome. For their textures, I split the mesh apart. I must select each face I desire to be split one by one. This ship required nearly 3000 faces total to be selected so I could split them from the body. This takes near a day of nonstop work, and is murderous on my wrists and finger joints. Each and every ship also requires hardpoints. The more complex of ships have two hundred or so individual hardpoints that must be precisely placed at the weapons for effects. Holding the mouse and buttons down to manage this incites extreme physical pain. Pain I have been trying to endure since the dawn of 2010. I can no longer hold cups in my right hand, and everyday tasks are rendered excrutiating or impossible due to the pain. I often lose feeling in my arms. I am at my limits in my ability to endure...
My goal is to get the Sins portion finished in terms of meshes by the end of December. Thus, I can then devote the entirety of 2014 to learning the UDK and building the UDK meshes. It is expected I will need to make over three times more the number of models for my UDK scenes, and I'll also need to UV and texture the most of them, skills I have not been able to learn since I began 3d work in 2001. Overcoming the doubt and learning disabilities that have crippled my ability to build my dreams is mandatory to have any success in this project, and this project is mandatory to have any hope of justifying the lifetime of work I have invested into building the world it seeks to bring to life.
Yet, through the heat and pain, through the doubt and despair, I have not yet yielded. I did not yield when I created Salvation, either. But I succumbed to another evil back then I must be ever weary of. The evil of impatience. I must be prepared to extend work through 2015 if it becomes troublesome, and I must never allow myself to burn out.
Summer has been mostly idling. The time to act is now. The time to strike, now. The following weeks will determine if this project is ever to succeed.
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QUJgMkZl.jpg)
Particle systems begin to reach their 10th revisions. It is expected I'll be in revision phase 20 by the time I begin recording production-level scenes.
However, a big problem has begun to surface. It is quickly becoming apparent I will be unable to use Vegas for the compositing of the project. It is far, far too unstable to handle such a huge undertaking, and it is incapable of the effects I'll need for blending and overlays. I'll have to somehow learn After Effects on top of the UDK and on top of intermediate modeling techniques.
When I began my winter production, I quickly slapped together a prototype trailer that shows a tiny taste of the advancements in Sins since Salvation. I also experimented with Vegas and tried to see what I could do in terms of blending effects. In short, it was a disaster.
http://www.gameproc.com/meskstuff/BlackSun/Hymn.mkv
Indeed, this small video effort was the killing blow to my intended production pipeline when both UDK and Sins scenes begin to be completed. Now, I must consider how I'll use After Effects to process the three-hour movie's content.
This video was created to assess the trailer in many ways, and to address the audience in the project's current state and what the future holds.
http://www.gameproc.com/meskstuff/BlackSun/ret_hymn_assess-muxed.mkv
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/5tlWTM0l.jpg)
The road is yet long and uncertain, and as my heart weakens and my anxiety continues to strengthen, I know not if I will live to see its end. Yet, to whatever end, I march.
Until the next time.
.
. But what's strange is you're doing it all to yourself because this project is so important. I guess I'm trying to say, I've never seen someone like you before and I feel a bit weirded out. 
