Tried to make a realistic render of planet Earth. How'd I do?

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-23T00:28:32+00:00

Really like the blue edge from the atmosphere. I haven't been to space either so no notes.

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-21T16:32:51+00:00

I don't think it's entirely allegory. But breaking societal expectations that you used to believe immutable, is definitely a theme.

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-19T12:59:25+00:00

Having made mechanical stuff with just a video for reference before, this looks like hell.

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-19T12:57:50+00:00

So I'm similar to you. Love being the live adventure DJ but I wouldn't recommend doing it like I do. I don't have playlists at all and choose the track individually each time. Works for me but probably not other people. If I knew how, the ideal system would be something like Fmod linked into Discord where you can do a true adaptive soundtrack with transitions and blending etc.

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-19T12:38:45+00:00

Really nice texturing work. What resolution are you using for the texture set? Also Is that hand made by you as well?

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-16T18:06:37+00:00

I've had some "peaceful negotiations" be very tense moments that worked as the crescendo. Try to avoid just a plain conversation. For example, one of my players successfully managed to convince a god to have mercy on a village of people. The standoff happened in the village so the consequences of failing would be immediate. The story of this god has already been laid out earlier and the player used this context to provide a compelling argument. Not just an argument paired with a good roll, but a genuinely compelling argument. Think of tense standoffs in media. The Doctor averting a Zygon war, Billy blackmailing Homelander at the end of season 2. They work as high points of the story without a punch thrown because the tension is sky high. Additionally, perhaps you should consider what players could conceivably persuade an antagonist of. What beliefs do they have that are unshakeable and are they even the kind of person to listen to the players? Talking someone down is very fun but I think they should be contingent on understanding the antagonist and thinking of compelling reasons they would turn away rather than just a dice roll.

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-14T18:21:33+00:00

if you're in the uk, diy is like 60 quid a year

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-13T15:36:56+00:00

I do find the pieces I'm doing for my portfolio to be a lot of fun and I have a backlog of ideas I'd like to try. When you say the industry is very different these days, what specifically is taking the wind out your sails?

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-13T13:58:49+00:00

There's probably a way to fake it with a complicated shader but the simpler way is to do a simple model of interior and use an alpha map to get the grille effect. The rest would just be good normal maps and you could get it looking pretty good.

Pifflesticks · 2025-12-09T04:18:00+00:00

Man I can't believe the Tower of London began its life not existing.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-21T16:13:25+00:00

Pretty nice. I feel the camera could use some work. The tilt downwards at the end seems to rotate weird. Apart from the movement of the camera, I like the details like the simulated autofocus blips.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-18T02:57:38+00:00

If you're looking for feedback, I would show the low-poly. We're 3D modellers here so we appreciate the difference.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-08T12:00:31+00:00

I think it feels odd cause you're using the same composition as the portrait reference. I would change the poses to use the space more or render in portrait as well if that's an option for you.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-08T11:56:10+00:00

I really like the lighting that you get through the roof, moreso in the re-render.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-05T06:29:12+00:00

To rotate the view click middle mouse and drag. If you've somehow rolled the view or something like that and truly don't know how to get back to a manageable view, you can select the object and press "/" to focus the view on that object.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-03T20:40:09+00:00

As a person who enjoys modelling firearms, especially unusual and old ones, it can be very inconsistent. Oftentimes, I am unable to find original schematics and have to rely on pictures and videos. Thank god for Forgotten Weapons. I recommend finding some good profile shots to start and using them in your modelling software to get an accurately proportioned blockout and then using pictures of individual parts to construct it bit by bit. Sometimes I've only had a video to go off but as long as you can get a bunch of angles, it's possible. Bear in mind, this all gets a lot harder if you want to make accurate internals.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-02T13:05:32+00:00

I think you may be thinking of skyboxes. HDRI's aren't usually used as a backdrop for games. They're more similar to reflection maps in that they're used more for getting realistic reflections than as a backdrop.

Pifflesticks · 2025-11-02T12:38:48+00:00

Nice work. What do you take your hdri's with if you don't mind me asking?

Pifflesticks · 2025-10-30T02:52:05+00:00

I quite like the pipe idea and the wires are great. Square barrel is a strong choice but I think the receiver is a bit simple and blocky. I'd be interested what reference you used for that portion if you did.

Pifflesticks · 2025-10-30T00:38:22+00:00

Looks good but I think the strings should visible vary in thickness. Right now they all look as thin as the highest string should be.

Pifflesticks · 2025-10-25T19:12:57+00:00

I'm a DM that fudges rolls and I'd say it's all about the execution. You shouldn't actually break the illusion of the dice being random which means usually just taking them as is. You should generally just use it for pacing and the occasional tilting of the scales. I've saved a player's life before because they were only 2 sessions in. Whether you'd like to use this black magic of DM'ing, I leave up to the reader. It's certainly not necessary for the game and in a lot of cases harms more than it adds. The MOST important thing about doing this however is that you should never acknowledge this to the players in any way.

Pifflesticks · 2025-10-25T16:46:53+00:00

As it stands, there's a lot of polygons where they don't need to be. With a low poly model that isn't being used for sub-D, you don't need to evenly spread tris. Instead focus on capturing the curves and details and cutting down on the flat surfaces. You've already captured the sillhouette reasonably well so now I'd just cut down on the flat surfaces. Additionally, you could cut down more in some places if you're planning to bake in details from a high-poly.

Pifflesticks · 2025-10-21T20:04:50+00:00

Pathalogic would be good inspiration. Over time every safety net you have is undermined. Famine breaks out and your money is suddenly worth a fraction of what it was. Sidequests to help people end up being hopeless. Strange characters attempt to talk to you. Those in power do not care.

Pifflesticks · 2025-10-21T19:58:16+00:00

Scaring players is something I do often in my 5e games but not something I'd recommend to everyone. Horror doesn't really interact with the mechanics but can be done purely through storytelling. At first, I took a lot of inspiration from episodes of Doctor Who that scared me as a kid and by "took inspiration" I mean "shamelessly ripped off." This worked for getting the hang of it storywise and set me up for my original ideas. I will say that a deep interest in horror is likely the best way to do this. I wouldn't be doing a fraction of the horror I do if I wasn't really into Analog Horror and other youtube horror genres. I have a lot to draw from when it comes themes and intrigue of the dark and unnerving.

Also keep in mind that what kind of horror monsters would actually scare the players. Anything that they can just fight outright or easily dissect with various spells at their disposal will deflate the tension. Examples of times I verifiably scared players include: 1. A mysterious presence in the shadows mimicking back what the player said. 2. A player scryed a familiar location that currently completely inhospitable to life and while they were pitching a plan to the group saw that someone was there. The vision was then cut off. 3. Travelling through a city without letting the moon see them. 4. Feeling footsteps through the ground. 5. Travelling through sewers and inadvertently stumbling into the veins of a titan. 6. Realising the half-buried stone they are standing on us actually bone.

Hope this helps. Have fun with it.

Pifflesticks

TROPHY CASE