Moved....

did i forget to mention...?

Bloodsong's Blog is now Bloodsong's Blog II at WordPress.com.

Link

Whitespace Test 2

This is typed in Compose mode. This is a paragraph with five leading spaces for an indent. This is a sentence after two spaces after the period. This continues on and on for quite some time. Trigger's wife is hurt bad; Bugs loses a child.
Then this paragraph comes along after hitting Enter and five spaces for a leading indent. And my word order is screwy. I've been doing that lately.




Then five enters and five spaces and THIS happens. la la lal lalala....

Whitespace Tests

This is a paragraph with five leading spaces for an indent. This is a sentence after two spaces after a period. I seem to be in Edit html mode. I wonder if I'm supposed to be in Compose mode. Ugh.
This is the second paragraph with five leading spaces for an indent. I'm not using the and-en-bee-ess-pee trick. The thing is... what will this turn out to be like?




This is another paragraph with four lines skipped between it and the prior. If it doesn't indent, then this is useless. As well as the extra lines typed in. And all that other stuff.

Handwriting Recognition's Greatest Misses

    i have a serious video game injury, from playing doom for 5 hours a day, two days straight over one weekend. this was a couple years ago, i strained my elbow. yes, the tendons in that joint are important to how i play with keyboard and mouse. and type in general. it's not quite tennis elbow, it's pain in a different area.
    at any rate, because i love to write/type, this put a serious cramp in my style. (gawd, at one point my arm hurt so bad that i was typing in aol-ese to my friends.) so i got a nifty handwriting recognition program to use with my tablet: Rite Pen. it is a great product; you write right across the screen, and then an app pops up so you can adjust what it thinks you wrote. all without typing anything.
    i used to write notes with it, and at the top i would put 'any typos are not typos, but bad handwriting.' and then i started collecting a few doozies of how the software interpreted some of my scrawls. i haven't used it lately, so here's the collection of "Handwriting Recognition's Greatest Misses"!



When Detected Touch functions come along, I thought, reef, (can wax my or menu win fixtures and fwaxiiglext!
-or-
I thought, fusi lam make pry own nevis with texture and fwvtmg Init.

(When Detected Touch functions came along, I thought, hey, I can make my own menu with textures and floating text!)

neediest scoffin mine.

(needless to say it's in mono.)


If it isnt halfway down the side by the time curs phallus

(..by the time class is half over)


Iftherj Avnet narc in tine,
-or-
If thing do not bare iritis
-or-
Itll, do not bare the tire

(If they do not have the time)



Inimal.)
-or-
(Arthral.)

((optional))


wlan
-or-
More Stipa,

(before step 2,)


it almost touches atheists sdesbxvescrveve

(it almost touches at least 2 sides of square.)



If yon barathea compatible app,
-or-
If gon bark Photoshop' cryphtlble app,

(If you have a PhotoShop-compatible app,)


Thy hadn't made lulu wavy bellum

(They hadn't made him feel any better)

Dragon Age Cutscene Tutorial: FaceFX Studio Setup

Dragon Age Toolset
Cutscene Editor Tutorial
FaceFX Studio Setup Quickstart
===============================

    This is the fast track to setting up and using FaceFX Studio in the Cutscene editor of the Dragon Age Toolset. (Or, basically, just what the title says! :P )

Part 1: Transitioning from the Cutscene Editor
-----------------------------------------------------------

1: Create a New Track; name it FACE (so you know you can't put anything else in this track).

2: Add Action: Animate Face.

3: Type in "humanmale" as the FXA Override. There's no drop-down list to select from. You're supposed to remember this.
Lord Metrhid says, "there are other FXA overides that you can use besides humanmale :) humanfemale, child, elfmale and elffemale are available depending on the character used."

4: You must save before editing the FaceFX. If you don't, it will pop up and tell you. This generates the FFX ID number.

5: Then right click the Animate Face block and Edit. This will launch the FaceFX Studio.

Part Two: Setting Up FaceFX Studio
-------------------------------------------------------------

1: Preview: Adjust view of face (if needed).

2: Create New View. Check Fixed Aspect Ratio and use the default name.

3: Scroll to the Face Graph on the left. Click Node Name to alphabetize.

4: Workspace Tab:
Select Animate in the drop-down list. If you forget this part, you will be doing a whole lot of nothing!
Turn on Slider Labels. That's the X:Y: button. This leave the labels visible on the sliders at all times, instead of only when you have the slider selected. Much easier to see what you are doing with all labels on! (More cluttered, though.)
Edit. Click the pencil button to go into edit workspace mode.

5: Click the viewport icon and load the new camera view you just created in the Preview tab. It's next to the load background icon, in the middle.

6: Click Node Name on Right to alphabetize list. Notice how it looks a whole lot like the Preview list on the left. Because it IS!

7: Fiddle with sliders on left to Preview face. Add sliders you want from Right. Just drag and throw. You can skip all that make X axis and make Y axis and click this part to drag a slider stuff. Just throw the mohonkers in there. They'll pop to a default size.

8: Stop editing, save Workspace with default name.

Note: You can re-open the Workspace at any time to add more sliders if you find your animation needs them.

Part 3: Animating the Expression
------------------------------------------------------------

1: Start at Zero. Hit Key All. This will start your animation from a neutral expression and go into the expression you want. This prevents abrupt transitions -- remember, you can't squiggle-edit or X-fade Face Animations.

Note: Remember to see how long you need your facial expression(s) to last. Count how many frames it should cover in the Cutscene editor, then pad it about 10 on each side.

2: Go to about halfway (more or less), and animate your expression. Adjust all the sliders to where you want them.
Hit the Key All, or use Auto-Key. If you turn on Auto-Key, it should create a keyframe every time and everywhere you jiggle any of the sliders. I'm not too keen on using this, as I don't think it keys zero points. That, plus I tend to jiggle sliders when I'm not exactly on the keyframe, and it makes a mess.

3: Preview. Use the rewind and play buttons on the lower left.
Use the Animation tab to tweak the timing. You can see an example of this in the video, where I end up with overlapping keys that zero out the eyebrows.
If your expression is crossing the face too slowly, drag the first keyframes closer to zero. If it is leaping onto your character's face too fast, drag them further along the timeline. If one part of the face jumps as if it has a muscle twitch (and you didn't mean to do that :X ), adjust the keyframes and their handles to smooth out the line and values between them.


4: End at Zero: Go to end time minus 5 frames. Key All.
Go to end time. Right click each slider to zero it out. Key All.
This is to zero out the facial expression at the end of the animation. If you fail to do this (at least on conversation lines), your character's face may get stuck in one expression. As fun as that sounds, it really isn't.

5: Animation Tab: Flatten out expression hold time. If you keyed the (end - 5) frame first, then zeroed the last frame, the lines should be flat. If they're not, adjust the last keyframe to be on level with the previous one. (The last non-zero one, of course!)

6: Post to Local. When you're satisfied (or when you want to see it live on your actor), hit the Post to Local button up top.
Remember to also hit F5 back in the Toolset, to refresh the cutscene.

Note: You must keep the Studio open if you want to go back and edit the FaceFX again. Once you close it, your facial animation is locked in. I'm working on a tutorial that explains a workaround for this. In the meantime, get used to setting up and using the Studio as in this tutorial.

What Are The Odds?

    when i was little, people called me 'unique.' and i really basked in this label, i wanted to be as unique as possible! although lately, the past few years or so... it has kinda gotten to be somewhat of a drag. i mean, i just can NOT find anyone that i can really relate to.
    not to say that everyone else is *not* unique. i mean, NO ONE in the world has the same gene combination you do, after all -- and the experiences and thoughts and feelings (for you twins/triplets/etclets out there :P ) but there IS the realm of 'normal.' i don't want to insult anyone, but most of y'all are way more normal than i am.

    first, i'm a highly sensitive person. i have well-attuned senses, and... well, a lot of things bother me that 'normal' people just don't even NOTICE. i've been reading a book about this phenomenon. there was some advice in it, but a lot of it.... well, each chapter was like a painful flashback on my life.
("The Highly Sensitive Person" at amazon.com)

    highly sensitive infants and toddlers, and how their parents screw them up. highly sensitive young children and how the school system screws them up. highly sensitive teens -- and you thought YOUR high school years were bad. :X highly sensitive adults, etc etc. very good for 'normal' people trying to understand us, but very touchy. i recommend skipping a lot of the example stories, really.
    now it seems that highly sensitive people (if i'm recalling the numbers right) only make up 1/4 of the human population -- 25%

    next, i'm an introvert -- i know all you folks who know me online can NOT believe that, but it is true! introverts make up about 1/3 or 33% of the human population. now, introverted does NOT mean shy. i read a really excellent book, "the introvert advantage," and it helped me *immensely* in understanding myself.
("The Introvert Advantage" on amazon.com

    the brain wiring and chemistry of an introvert is completely different from 'normal' people. the major difference is that the pathways introverts use to think are much longer than the pathways that extroverts use. this is why it takes them 'such a long time' to think. each thought gets a lot more processing time than an extrovert thought.
    as a quick example, let's say you ask me what i want for lunch. a simple question, right? a 'normal' person just blinks and says, "ham and cheese sandwich," and goes on with their life. what they want just pops right into their head. not so for introverts. for me, my brain is going: "what do i want for lunch? well, gee, a sandwich would be nice, but i think i'm down to my last two pieces of bread. when am i going to the grocery store next to get some more? will i want a sandwich more on one of those days before i get there? is it my day to eat yogurt because that's how i take my st johns wort? if i don't eat yogurt today, what will i put my SJW in? do i NEED to take it today? have i been un-depressed enough to skip a dose or put it off til tomorrow...?" and you wonder why i hate making decisions when i don't have to!
    the most amazing thing i've learned in this book is... normal people don't think. well, not what *I* consider thinking, anyway. i mean, i've always SAID normal people were abysmally stupid, but... :X ::cough:: seriously, though. the book says that 'normal' people do not have a constant inner dialogue going on. their brains are SILENT! this just totally blows me away. i honestly can't imagine that. my brain is *constantly* talking to me. sometimes, in fact, i canNOT shut it up!
    'normal' people get bored alone in a room. extroverts need someone to talk to, to amuse them, to break up the tedium. introverts, on the other hand, do not like people to be around, because that interrupts their ability to think. if you guys have ever wondered where i get all my creativity and ideas... it's in all those mundane little pockets of time throughout the day, where your brain is just humming to itself and not saying anything. you know, getting up to go to the bathroom; going to make lunch; brushing your teeth; combing your hair; getting dressed; making dinner.... my brain is going a mile a minute, halfway across the galaxy and back throughout all this. i'm sorry, but these mundane tasks in a mundane life just do NOT hold my attention!
    the other thing i discovered is why i can't talk to people. as you all know, i can type up a storm, i'm opinionated and not afraid to insult anyone, im hella fast at trivia, quick-witted.... but THAT part of my brain doing that? that's the introvert thought-process center. writing and typing, i can directly access those thoughts. the VOCAL and AUDIO processing portion of my brain are a totally different area. and, when i'm trying to process verbal communication, the part of my brain that does my thinking actually shuts down, so the vocal part can try to work. and it don't work so hot!

    last, and also 'least' in terms of population percentage -- i'm an asexual. for those who have never heard of that, that is the FOURTH human sexual orientation. there's bi-sexual (who like both genders -- btw 'normal' heterosexuals, they out-number you), heterosexual (who like the opposite gender), and homosexual(who like the same gender). and the forgotten child in this family, the asexual (who doesn't like anybody) :P yes, asexuals are NOT SEXUALLY ATTRACTED to anyone or anything. we don't WANT to be, thank you so much. we're NOT broken, diseased, mentally unsound, traumatized, etc etc.
You can find out more at AVEN

    now, i've seen the percentage of asexuals listed as 4% of the human population. i'm going to go and say that it is more than that, because SO many asexuals don't even realize they are asexual -- or even that such a thing exists. they think they are heterosexual, but just haven't found anyone that arouses them. or fear they are homosexual. or think they need medical or psychiatric help to have a 'normal' libido. so i'm going to say maybe even up to 8% of the population is asexual.
    the thing is, i can't do percentage math. but 33% of 25% of 8% is really, really vanishingly SMALL. what does this mean? well, yeah, i'm 'unique.' it's pretty lonely in this category.... :/

    now, my wandering brain began thinking about fae. first off, i was never into fae and faeries and suchlike. i thought pixies and brownies and bogarts were kinda stupid. little flittering bug people and their pixie dust didn't do anything for me. lately, though, i have begun to understand that 'faerie tales' aren't really exactly what the fae are like. 'real' fae (if i can even say that!) are alien, powerful, and really, REALLY nasty. okay, so sue me, i kinda like that :X
    but now, what if, just for a second, we contemplate the fact that the fae can be real? well, it stands to reason i might just be one. i mean, look at the specs for the alfar (fae elves, as opposed to fantasy elves, like in lord of the rings and dnd etc) -- they have sharp eyesight and hearing, right? highly attuned senses? above and beyond those of mere mortals. well, that's what highly sensitive people are. and the alfar are old and wise and all that (or at least annoyingly clever and tricksy) -- probably like introverts. they take a longer time to think and do things. (though that's mainly because they are immortal and a few years doesn't mean much to them.) and fae aren't asexual at all, near as i can tell. but then, they can't be TOO fecund, because (again, being immortal), they'd overpopulate themselves.
    so, i dunno. maybe there ARE fae among us. or some sorta changelings, who knows?
    naaah. just my restless brain putting things together, going down all kinds of crazy avenues. you know how it is. or... well, i guess you don't, but i did try to describe it. :X meanwhile, my brain would like to continue with one of its 3 1/2 epic stories it is telling me, instead of doing REAL work, like i want it to! hello? braaaaain? remember SL? remember the stuff we wanted to build? here brain, here brain! look at the stick! see stick? see stick pointing to what we are supposed to be doing---- oohhh, no, don't run off into the forest aGAIN! ::sigh::

misc: Bloodsong's Ponystars Fund

    i've recently become hooked on ponystars through... a completely random quirk of fate search on google. i really shouldn't. i really should give it up. i really OUGHT not to waste so much time playing around with imaginary ponies and lusting after expensive wardrobe enhancements for them. !!!?!

    but i have always been fascinating with breeding and genetics. oh, ages ago i had el-fish. a truly ground-breaking concept back in its day, with simple ascii files as genotypes for fish, that would render into beautiful (or downright bizarre) 3d fish. i remember i spent hours and hours and over 150 generations trying to breed a sky blue guppy with an american flag on its back. no, really, one of my fish came out with an american flag on its back fin. i'm serious! but trying to get THAT fin with the right body and the right colour... omg!

     then there was creatures and docking station. now these guys had genomes and artificial life. not artificial intelligence, artificial life. the first inception of this was also a ground-breaking concept. instead of trying to make the creature's brain smart, it maps stimulus-response-result chains that develop behavior. my first blog even charted some of my experimentive exploints in docking station. (tip, read it in chronological order; that would make more sense.)

     alas, i didn't have time to continue running avantasia-narnia. well... i had time to RUN it (it's on my old computer), just not time to observe and talk to my creatures and see what happened and what behaviors developed and.... well, my narnians grew up so blissfully peaceful and happy in the docking station, i never had the heart to open up the portal to the main ship and all those dangers.

     thank goodness i didn't get into scion chickens in sl. oh, *awen* did. and the appeal was there, too. i mean... okay, the chickens looked dumb. (sorry, scion). and only the tail and wings changed colour. but you could mix so may colours and see so many options that might result and you could try for.... aaaah, well.

    anyhow, now i have two accounts on ponystars, and next to no idea what i'm doing, but i want to breed ponies and see what turns out. call me nuts. but anyway... once per day (per ip address), you can visit my accounts and i'll get 25 fairy gold (game money) to care for my ponystars. clicky clicky!


13T Ranch

13T Studs


but whatever you do... don't get an account and start raising your own ponystars! and like requesting breeding from my studs.... or anything :X unless you really WANT to!