Here's an update: I've been considering the idea of dropping SFM and picking up animation in Blender instead, as Source 2 doesn't have the functionality I need to get the NCU project going. I've figured out a lot of tools I can use for the project, the only issue is just... learning the software. Blender's UI is pretty daunting in that a lot of options are presented to you at once, and compared to SFM's UI (alongside SFM just being an animation-only software), makes it appear harder to learn - but that might not be the case. Regardless of all that, I've got another NCU video in the works which I'll hopefully be getting to soon. Story, audio, scenebuild, pretty much everything is done, aside from the animation. Shouldn't be too complicated with the idea I've got for it, and I think it's a fun concept to work on as well.
Here's also a neat little thing for Blender - there is an add-on for Blender called "Source IO" that allows you to import GoldSRC, Source and Source 2 models. maps textures etc.
I see more and more good SFM animators that I look into almost always decide to start transitioning into using Blender instead due to the limitations behind Source. Personally, I didn't find the transition from me originally using Maya to using Blender (when 2.8 came out a while ago) that challenging - and of course, Blender just keeps getting better and better with each update. I don't use Blender for animation that much personally - but one thing that really helped me when transitioning to Blender 2.8 in my first few days was switching to the "Industry Compatible" keymapping, as I was much more used to Maya's camera controls and using W, E, and R for move, rotate, and scale respectively - which I believe should be similar to S2FM. I did tweak a few keybinds to my own personal use - but that's also pretty easy to do since you can search for the function you're looking for (for me it's TAB), and right-clicking will you let you assign it to a new keybind, or you can add it a list of Quick Favorites too.
@@McMessenger I have a decent amount of experience with Maya, and I would have chosen Maya over Blender if it wasn't for the ease of access Blender has over Maya (Maya is $$$, multiple programs needed to achieve a task, etc.). I've been using Blender for a little bit now and I'm familarized with the camera controls, the only need I've really needed to work on is the new animation system (both character movements and lip sync, not really looking forward to re-learning lip sync again).
@@NealSFM Definitely recommend Auto Rig Pro if you want to have bipedal character rigging set-up fairly quickly and easily - that's somewhat similar to how S2FM has the "Rig ---> Auto Attach Rigs" thing I've seen when dabbling in S2FM - there's also Rigify which is free, but I didn't find it as easy to work with as ARP. Lip-sync stuff I can definitely see the challenge in learning. I don't know S2FM that well at all, but I do remember SFM had an auto-lipsyncing from phonemes feature for HWM character models - which from what I understand was a fast way to get a decent base to modify the lip syncing from further. Closest Blender-equivalent I can think of is Blender Rhubarb Lip Sync (free plugin), but that requires the face to be rigged with bones rather than using morphs / shape keys that Source uses - due to how the engine handles per-vertex animations.
![[S2FM] Half-Life: Vortal Kombat - Character Selection](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EfAX1EpvIR4/mqdefault.jpg)
Here's an update: I've been considering the idea of dropping SFM and picking up animation in Blender instead, as Source 2 doesn't have the functionality I need to get the NCU project going. I've figured out a lot of tools I can use for the project, the only issue is just... learning the software. Blender's UI is pretty daunting in that a lot of options are presented to you at once, and compared to SFM's UI (alongside SFM just being an animation-only software), makes it appear harder to learn - but that might not be the case.
Regardless of all that, I've got another NCU video in the works which I'll hopefully be getting to soon. Story, audio, scenebuild, pretty much everything is done, aside from the animation. Shouldn't be too complicated with the idea I've got for it, and I think it's a fun concept to work on as well.
Here's also a neat little thing for Blender - there is an add-on for Blender called "Source IO" that allows you to import GoldSRC, Source and Source 2 models. maps textures etc.
Stick with it, I'm sure you'll get good in no time!
I see more and more good SFM animators that I look into almost always decide to start transitioning into using Blender instead due to the limitations behind Source. Personally, I didn't find the transition from me originally using Maya to using Blender (when 2.8 came out a while ago) that challenging - and of course, Blender just keeps getting better and better with each update.
I don't use Blender for animation that much personally - but one thing that really helped me when transitioning to Blender 2.8 in my first few days was switching to the "Industry Compatible" keymapping, as I was much more used to Maya's camera controls and using W, E, and R for move, rotate, and scale respectively - which I believe should be similar to S2FM. I did tweak a few keybinds to my own personal use - but that's also pretty easy to do since you can search for the function you're looking for (for me it's TAB), and right-clicking will you let you assign it to a new keybind, or you can add it a list of Quick Favorites too.
@@McMessenger I have a decent amount of experience with Maya, and I would have chosen Maya over Blender if it wasn't for the ease of access Blender has over Maya (Maya is $$$, multiple programs needed to achieve a task, etc.). I've been using Blender for a little bit now and I'm familarized with the camera controls, the only need I've really needed to work on is the new animation system (both character movements and lip sync, not really looking forward to re-learning lip sync again).
@@NealSFM Definitely recommend Auto Rig Pro if you want to have bipedal character rigging set-up fairly quickly and easily - that's somewhat similar to how S2FM has the "Rig ---> Auto Attach Rigs" thing I've seen when dabbling in S2FM - there's also Rigify which is free, but I didn't find it as easy to work with as ARP.
Lip-sync stuff I can definitely see the challenge in learning. I don't know S2FM that well at all, but I do remember SFM had an auto-lipsyncing from phonemes feature for HWM character models - which from what I understand was a fast way to get a decent base to modify the lip syncing from further. Closest Blender-equivalent I can think of is Blender Rhubarb Lip Sync (free plugin), but that requires the face to be rigged with bones rather than using morphs / shape keys that Source uses - due to how the engine handles per-vertex animations.
I love S2FM and Collabs.
good job
how did you manage to make the snow leave footprints ?