Shock Value

23rd March 2003 23:33 UTC

"Pixels" Sneak Peak
Here's a sneak peak at my second pack, "Pixels". The reason that I am releasing it to the forums is so that you can give me comments and advice on the presets I have made so far and what kind of presets I should start on next (IE: DM based, SC Based, color, BW, more intense, calmer, etc.). I don't want a full review, so please don't take the time to write one. Once the pack is finished, I intend to combine presets from this pack and my first pack, "As Seen On TV", and release them all in one pack on Winamp.com and DeviantArt.com, most likely also titled "Pixels".

There are 15 presets so far, but I don't know what the final number will be (at least 25). In addition, I have included an image that will probably serve as the thumbnail on Winamp and DevArt. The released pack will contain at least 40 presets from "As Seen On TV" and "Pixels". It will be fully commented, and the order of presets is definitely subject to change.

Finally, please post any remixes from either this sneak peak, or from "As Seen On TV", to be included in the released pack. Thanks!

EDIT: These presets are NOT zipped into a folder.

Shock Value

23rd March 2003 23:37 UTC

Here are the APEs used, which wouldn't fit on the first post.

Jaheckelsafar

23rd March 2003 23:50 UTC

I though heli over vegas was abit boring, and system crash too chaotic (though the BSOD was nifty).

For the most part they were pretty cool.

Raz

24th March 2003 00:57 UTC

*deep breath* ok here goes nothing...

Firstly... PLEASE will people mention whether or not the presets are zipped in a folder or not. Too much cocking about moving them around and messing. moving on, presets:

00 intro - now this is a sweet intro. I love the way the DM's take time to come into action, it kept me watching for a while, i love that whole pixels thing going on to, you're great at relating the intro to the pack name (or vice-versa). Theres just one thing i dont like about it. The colour scheme of things, its grainy and just in general looks dull. Also dont use that scatter effect on your name, it ruins it, makes it look a bit crappy. 4.5/5.0
01 painting tiles - i like the tiled effect and the way the shape of the "wall" that the tiles are on moves around. It moves to fast to see the painting effect though slow down the zooming in and out to make the effect clearer. Also work on the effect of the actual paiting, the left behind, type tail effect on the scope is nice but the scope is just a line, make it swirl and maybe make shapes. good idea but needs developing a little more. 4.2/5.0
02 night driving - now that has got to be the sweetest road i have ever seen in avs. Really that is mother fucking awesome. The horizon needs developing. The "lightning" only vaguely looks like lightning and the black is boring. Try and make rain or some pointly mountains in the distance or something. btw did i mention that i love that road effect :up: 4.4/5.0
03 liquid voltage - really nice effect with the outlines and the colours. I *really* like the way this looks, its so nice on the eyes and so smooth and clear, if there were some way you could make this 3d it would be perfect. Excellent job 4.8/5.0
04 graphics card - hmm, reminds me of Undefined's computerised nebula. It's a nice computer chip effect but its bring. The interlocking DM's dont really make it that interesting, it moves but its like it just sits there. UnConeD has already perfected the computer chip effect but this is nice in a 2d but cheaply made 3d sort of way. Try making the compter chip clear and make it float about and have electricity shoot out of it maybe. 4.0/5.0
05 marker on the wall now this i like watching. Ive always liked watching things like this without the clear every frame on. Also i like the way you've turned it 3d, although it does make it a little obvious that the 3d of avs is just projections onto a 2d surface. I think the colours need work, they are too dull like in the intro, it reminds me of my colorfade + fast brightness set on darken by 2.0. ALso the background is nice but its too jittery and jerks around. SMoothen that out. 4.5/5.0
06 heli over vegas - very good idea but not very well implemented. The movement is good but if you're going to do this i suggest you turn it into an actual 3d city. Use 3d scoping and make shiny buildings. just build it out a little. Right now though its not bad, the shine to the ground is nice and the movement is good like i said but its a little boring and what *is* that thing in the corner? again needs more development. 4.0/5.0
07 lonely puddle - i really like that water effect, that is one of the best water effects i have seen but the scope and the preset in general is boring. I lost interest after about 5 seconds. I dont really have any suggestions for improving this, i cant think of any but it needs work. Great job with the water but... somethings missing, somewhere. 4.1/5.0
08 trailing a UFO erm, this needs a lot of work. Lets begin, the UFO's movement is jerky and looks like its being moved around on a stick. MAke it smoother and flow around the screen and every so often make it jerk, not jerk all the time. secondly, it looks like the background was just something you pulled out of your ass because you couldn't be arsed finishing it, put some work in and use gradients or something. It dosent compare to some of your other presets. 4.4/5.0
09 misfired neurons - i like the flowing ******d efect and the idea behind it. The neurons look like actual neurons, that is a really nice thing youve done with the lines there. One thing though. The background continually flashes and the colours are again dull. Try and stop it flashing and make the colours a little better and it'l be sweet 4.6/5.0
10 negative colours- now this is what i like to see. This is so sweet. I love and i mean love that effect, this goes straight in my favoroutes folder. I love it when someone can make such a kick-ass preset using just some 2d effects. excellent job. Just one way i can think to improve it. Make the scope into something complex like a cube or something. Otherwise :up: 4.9/5.0
11 system crash - this was sort of a letdown after the last preset at first glance. Nice idea with the texts and the patching but the bit of the preset that matters just looks all noob-like, its like a simple with a roto blitter. I love that windows thing that pops up occasionally but make that part better, ive attatched a remix below to show how, maybe to make it better. 4.5/5.0
12 refreshment haha great idea. Those ice cubes are awesome and the bubbles look great. Try and make the bubbles 3d and shiny though, and maybe actually show a glass and the ice cubes in it? great idea but many ways to improve it. I really like the colours in here too but maybe smoothen them out a little? 4.5/5.0
13 pyrotechnics - really nice flowing effect going on here, maybe mae it more dynamic and have different blobs flowing at the same time. I like the look of the orange with the backgorund but i think you shouldnt make it so grainy, it just looks tacky and it is less easy on the eyes. If that's supposed to be exploding which ive just noticed you should make it explode then stop exploding then explode again onbeat, it will make it much more interesting. 4.4/5.0
14 rainbow river whoa that is one nice scope. Its a little boring though, firstly i wouldnt have it rainbow coloured. It whites out and looks all flashy noob colourd, try and make it realisticly coloured, that would be better. Next try and make the bank and river solid, that would make for one mother fucking sweet preset. All outof one scope as well. Also make a horizon for it. The backgorund shouldn't just be black. Excellent but with more wok put in could be even better 4.5/5.0
15 end credits - i really like that light show effect going on in the background, the colours are nice and smooth but it runs a little too fast, maybe slow it down a little. Otherwise no problems here, maybe make the background more interesting by a scope 50/50 blended or something. Not really important. 4.3/5.0

Overall, excellent work. some presets need work but the majority are excellent, great work Excellent but with more wok put in could be even better 4.6/5.0. Hope to see some more presets and maybe these improved soon *sigh* an hour has passed :eek:

Tuggummi

24th March 2003 07:22 UTC

What can i say? Your coding is great, your aesthetic skills to my liking and the music/beat response is good too.

Maybe i can finally quit doing presets and enjoy yours :)

shreyas_potnis

24th March 2003 09:02 UTC

great pack, :)
some has already given a very good review of this. ;)

Shock Value

24th March 2003 12:40 UTC

Heh, Raz, you didn't have to write a full review, but I appreciate it anyway. I like your remix also, it's much better than the original. Thanks for everyone's comments so far.

UnConeD

24th March 2003 14:10 UTC

Raz: just look at the 'path' column in winzip to find out if it contains folders. Why should people tell you what you can find out yourself?

UnConeD

24th March 2003 14:54 UTC

Toyed a bit with your nightdriving preset... added rain, car headlights, changed the background glow and recoded the lightning bolts :).

skupers

24th March 2003 16:04 UTC

I made a remix of the pyrotechnics preset, which you can include in the final release of your pack. It requires the color map ape.

Shock Value

24th March 2003 22:35 UTC

Thanks again for your comments and remixes. I am working on a few of the more boring presets to make them more interesting, while continuing to make new ones.

If you want to see some real eye candy (at least I think it is) open up Rainbow River and make the AVS window large (at least 1/2 of your screen). Now click on the scope and set "Draw As" to dots. Next, change both the xDetail and yDetail variables in the Init bar to '1'. Now sit back and wait for the window to redraw (might take upwards of ten seconds). When it does, you'll see a really cool and smooth looking image of the scene. It really looks like it came out of a 3D renderer, not AVS. This is the method I used to make that thumbnail image, by the way.

Phaze1987

24th March 2003 23:42 UTC

G R E A T pack ! You`ll get 5 stars for sure if you submit it to winamp`s staff :) Why didnt you upload the preset with the changes...you know,some of us are lazy :p Once again,SWWWWEEEEEEETTTTTT presets!

hungryskull

26th March 2003 01:21 UTC

Very nice presets!:) :)