I was hoping to have three minutes worth of fight done on Episode 3 by the end of 2009, but I must report that I am about fifteen seconds short of that goal. However, progress is being made. It's just being made a little slower than expected. It's probably not going to improve much over the next few weeks, either. The reason for this is that a very recent series of events have made matters a bit complicated.

A few days ago, my external HDD backup died. Pretty much my entire sound effects and mugen character archive went down with the ship. After being initially pissed, I realized that I had not lost anything that wasn't fairly easy to replace. (I was looking for a reason to clean out and streamline my computer...) Anyway, it had seemed that my normal technique of taking visual effects out of mugen characters had been dealt a serious blow. I had just reached a point in the fight that could have used some advanced smoke effects and now my ability to get them had been compromised.

Facing this, I found myself pondering the following: "Why should I rely on the limited effects placed within mugen characters? Why not make my own?"

To that end, I have procured Adobe After Effects and the literature I need to teach it to myself are now on their way to me via the wonder of eBay. For those who aren't aware of this resource, it was primarily responsible for the visual upgrade between Proxicide's second and third MK vs. SF. Now I have it. Uh-oh.......

The simple fact of the matter is that I have hit a plateau. The graphic quality of Episode 2 is about as advanced as I can get at this time. Looking at my Episode 3 tests, I realize that while I can make my current graphics more complex, I cannot improve them as a whole. Given the advantage it has provided to other animators, I have every reason to believe that After Effects can provide me with the same boost.

I can already feel some of you wringing your hands with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Some of you may be thinking, "OH NOES! R1 is going to get wrapped up in the graphics aspect and lose his cutting edge! He just might abandon spriting altogether and disappear into the wastelands of the internet like at least one other famous former sprite animator we could name!"

Let me reassure you. It is my belief that updated graphics should be for the benefit of the action, not the other way around. I also have no desire to make my fights "pretty". Anyone who follows sprite fighting knows exactly what I am talking about here. I don't do "pretty". I don't do "uplifting". I do "bloody", "brutal", "dark", and "gritty". Any graphic enhancements I add to the series will be to that end. You may also rest assured that the day I quit sprites will be the day I quit flash altogether.

-------------------------

Anyway, being the raging autodidact that I am, I have decided to suspend production of VG EXILES EPISODE 3 for a few weeks until I can properly use After Effects and evaluate it's potential usefulness for the series. This short break will also allow me to get some writing done for the story segments. It will also give 3XStudios more time to work on the necessary artwork. I've been very negligent in providing him with my artwork needs, so he will be under even more pressure to get it done than he did for the previous episode. That said, any delays in artwork are definitely going to be my fault here.

I should also mention that I later realized that most of my lost data had been backed up on various thumb drives, so the data loss from my hard drive crash was much less serious than I had previously thought. Had I not taken the time to back up my more useful resources, I would have spent quite a bit of time replacing my lost archives. Had it been my main hard drive that failed, I could have lost six months of utterly irreplaceable flash work. That kind of setback would probably end my career as an animator.

Luckily, it is my policy to make LOTS of backups just for this reason. Take my example as a very important lesson:
ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR STUFF!!!!!

A catastrophic hard drive crash can occur at any time and with little to no warning. A night spent backing up your files is a small price to pay to avoid the soul-crushing hellish nightmare that is irreplaceable data loss. I dodged a bullet because I follow this method and take no chances with my flash work. Make sure you do, too.

This public service announcement has been brought to you by:

R1665

Among my strongest character flaws is a tendency towards wrath.  I'm the guy who will happily burn down an entire village just to get back at one douche living in it.  Looking back on these last four years, I wish I were enlightened enough to walk away.  I wish I were zen enough to view it as a learning experience and move on.  That's definitely something I need to work on.

For now, however, I'll just have to settle for smashing CE-Rap in the nuts with a sledgehammer.  Here we go.

- - - - -

Way back in the olden days on 2011, I was stuck in a very troublesome predicament.  I had just parted ways (amicably) with 3XStudios, the man behind the artwork of VG Exiles 1 and 2.  We had both agreed that the professional separation was for the best, but I still had no artist.  I still had no way to bring a non-sprite detailed story into a sprite movie.  I couldn't draw worth a crap and was left with an unfinished VG Exiles 3.

Then, CE-Rap came along.  We hammered out VGE3 and formed a strong professional relationship.  Well, as professional as it gets for hobby work.

...and looking back on it, it didn't take long for things to start sliding downhill.  Because artwork was such a time-consuming and difficult thing to do for free (the series made absolutely no money and I'm poor), I was very receptive to any ideas he would bring to the table.  If he wanted to put something in, he pretty much got it every time.  My reasoning was that it's entirely too much work to heap on somebody without giving them some creative control.

Unfortunately, he started abusing that control.

It started as minor changes - stuff that hadn't been scripted and finished already on VGE3.  A change in attitude here, a planned character use there.  When he discovered that I never actually had a plan for the series but rather made it all up as I went along, he wasted no time writing out an entire series plotline.  It was this giant, convoluted "lore-heavy" saga that extended from ten years before the current team to however the fuck long it would end up being in the end.  He kept established canon in mind as much as he could, but he wrote a hundred times what could ever be displayed in the video format.

Eventually, the plot changed so much that it became necessary to scrap the entire series and start over.  I resisted at first, but once again cowed to the dozens of seemingly rational arguments he had in favor of that action.

You see, Rap was a manipulator.  He was a silver-tongued bullshitter who knew how to talk his way in and out of any situation with lawyerly precision.  He saw (and even described) himself as a super quick-witted guy who was always forty steps ahead of whoever he was working with.  He was above.  He was advanced.  He always felt that other people were too slow for him and he eventually realized the problem was that he was so fucking brilliant that "normal" people couldn't keep up.  He was always the smartest motherfucker in the room and could make no mistakes.  He could work out all the possible future consequences of an action, and therefore always knew the best route.  Not just "knew", KNEW.  Uppercase.  He was the professional.  He was the head-down-eyes-forward-self-driven-uber-rhino-badass and he KNEW WHAT THE FUCK WAS UP.  He was FOR REAL.  He was UP FRONT.  He DOES NOT BULLSHIT.  (...and his real name is "Carl", not "Carlito" as he claims.  Because obviously the first personal detail you're going to learn about him is complete and utter bullshit.)

Now, you take a guy like that who lives up his own asshole and partner him with somebody like me.

I've been told that I write with an air of "authority".  It creates the impression that I'm more knowledgeable, assertive, and confident than I really am.  People who know me IRL know that's not the case at all.  I'm insecure as fuck.  I constantly second-guess myself.  I look for flaws in my own reasoning and I am acccommodating to a well-reasoned counter-position.  I value being wrong.  I value being mistaken.  This makes me vulnerable to bullshitters and manipulators.  I've been taken advantage of a few times because of it.

...and THAT'S where I've been for the last few years - in CE-Rap's World of Bullshit.

The original Exiles canon was the first to go.  It had to be rebooted to meet Rap's new story.  We worked through a good 75% of the fight scene for a brand-new VG Exiles Episode 0. (or rather "1" this time.)  We swapped Ken out for a souped-up version of Vice from KOF.  We changed the setting.  We changed the setup and the story.  We did custom spriting.  Everything was looking good.

Then Hurricane Sandy happened and Rap disappeared.  While he was gone, I created FAILtality 2 and stuck his name on it.  I organized the Random Select Collab with other fine animators.  I started up new solo projects knowing that everything would have to go on the back burner when he returned.

...and go on the back burner they did.

It wasn't long after Rap's return that we got back to work.  He was a big Captain America fan and had to make himself part of the Random Select Collab after learning that I had drawn Cap and the Hulk.  We spent a few months putting that together before stopping at around 75%.  (Never to be completed...)

You see, Rap now had a slick new plan - making money.  Advertising.  Sponsorships.  Partnerships.  YouTube revenue.  Making a living off this, son!  Doing this for money!  (Some of you might be seeing the flaws in this already and you are 100% fucking right.  More on that later.)

Nooooowwwwww, The VG Exiles reboot was no longer good enough.  The Exiles is copyrighted by Marvel.  The sprites, sounds, and music we use are also third-party owned.  If we were going to monitize this, we had to eliminate all of the copyrighted material.  It had to be "our" series.  So we could sell the fuck out of it.

XEUS WAS BORN.

Xeus was a once-again rewritten version of the VG Exiles with all-new content.  It was still based on video game characters, but those featured were amalgamations of already existing ones.  Take Jon Talbain, mix him up with some Ifrit from Final Fantasy, some whatever the fuck from Skyrim, give him fire powers, and call him SOVENSBANE.  Take Stryker, mix him up with some Solid Snake, some Stargate, make him a couple of decades older, and call him JACKSON.

That kind of shit.

Needless to say, this turned a relatively simple flash series into a nightmarish clusterfuck requiring custom EVERYTHING and the next two decades to produce.  That would take money.  Lots of money.

Fortunately, we had a mutual contact in California.  This guy had gotten into the toy business and was doing pretty well for himself.  You know, the kind of business that Rap could latch onto like a leech and suck dry for support money while we went around selling our Xeus humunculus to any internet group who would show it and pay us.

He wanted us to move out there and get started CREATING THE FUTURE.  By this time, he had me hook, line, and sinker.  Full assortment of stars in my eyes.  I was ready to commit to the great California Quest!

...buuuuuuuuut he wasn't.  He was still neck-deep in shit from Hurricane Sandy.  I was eight hundred miles away in Kentucky.  What could I possibly do?

Well, I could rent a large SUV, drive all the way to New York, pick up him and his stuff, drive everything back to Kentucky, and let him move in with me.  ...and that's exactly what I fucking did.  Because I'm an idiot.

August - December 2014.

Rent free.  Utility free.  I'm buying his groceries.  I'm buying his metric ton of cleaning supplies.  I've given him a cell phone and now I'm paying to put minutes on the thing.  I upgrade my cable internet to the best possible speed so he can stream hi-def videos while he does whatever the fuck he does all day instead of watching DVD's like a more considerate person might.  I'm paying extra for his subsequent data overages.  I'm working in a warehouse.  So... needless to say...  I'm going broke.  He's not paying for shit.  He deeply regrets not paying for shit.  Wait, scratch that.  He deeply regrets that I CAN'T HAVE A PAYMENT AT THE MOMENT.  Not that he can't pay.  There's a difference.  The former is a "gift" he can't give, but shouldn't be expected to.  The latter is his failing and fuck knows he's not gonna word it like that.  Because lawyer.

By that time, Xeus had been put on the back burner as well.  Mortal Kombat X was due to drop in April, so we had to drop everything and do FAILtality 3.  With FAILtality being easily the most successful thing I had ever done, Rap felt that releasing one on the heels of MKX would propel us forward and get the ball rolling for the California move.  That's right.  His plan was literally

FAILTALITY 3

??????

PROFIT.

I mean, how the fuck else were we going to get out to the west coast?  Rap certainly hadn't shown any ability or desire to carry his own weight, so where was this miraculous windfall of money coming from?  We didn't know, but Rap ASSURED me that it would all work out.  All we had to do was take this extremely complicated set of FAIL scripts we had written and cram eight months of work into an impossible five.  ...and when I say "impossible", I mean literally fucking impossible.  I did the math.  He gave no fucks.  We just had to make the attempt - even if it meant working for five solid months with no real breaks and 1.5 hours of sleep a night.  Unpaid.

So there I am - slowly losing my bank account.  Working a production schedule in which he gets to tell me when to work on flash and when to go to bed between my normal work shifts (which are paying all the fucking bills).  I have a manipulative, egocentric, (and I suspect sociopathic) prick setting the rules in MY FUCKING HOME.  All in the name of "brotherhood".  Rap was the BOSS.  He had made himself so.  (Hell, no sooner had we decided on the name Rhino Rex Studios that he appointed himself as the CEO of the "company".)

By this time, I had lost complete control of absolutely everything.  In my desire to make him feel welcome both in my flash projects and in my home, I had surrendered the captain's chair.  My desire to give him creative control for his hard work was not reciprocated.  If I didn't like an idea, I was "not seeing the bigger picture" or "not imaginative enough" or "not really committed".  If I wanted "my" idea done, I had to argue against his counter-idea that he had already built a giant tapestry of support for and could argue with his usual manipulative lawyer bullshit.

By the time Christmas rolled around, I was done.  I was out.  I officially walked away.

...and he stayed.

For the NEXT SEVEN MONTHS he continued living rent-free in my home.  I didn't have the heart to kick him out.  By his own statements, doing so would result in him going back to a Hurricane Sandy relief shelter and living in squalor.

...and still he remained controlling and manipulative.  He ruled the roost.  I continued going broke.  I eventually had to stop buying his food because I couldn't afford it.  I couldn't afford decent food for myself, either (the positive upshot of this was that I turned it into a weight loss game and dropped fifty pounds).

I went through multiple mental and emotional breakdowns.  I would have these moments of lucidity and fire off an angry email, but I was always willing to be walked back into the fog by his silver-tongued lawyer bullshit.  Our personal relationship rapidly deteriorated.  We eventually reached a point where we couldn't even interact (except for that one time where he blew up his own fucking computer and spent three hours dressing me down for it).

The end finally came one night when he knocked on my bedroom door and asked me to clean the kitchen.  I flatly refused.  An argument began.  It escalated.  I went to shut the door between us and he shoved his way in.  At this point I'm just repeatedly telling him to get the fuck out of my room.  Then he puts his hands on me.  That kind of "arm touching yeah-whatever-dude" male dominance bullshit.  I shove him.  He comes back and now we're nose-to-nose UFC style about to come to blows.  I tell him to take his swing.  All the reason I need to throw his ass out of my home.  After many more angry words he finally walks out, determined to use whatever legal recourse he can get to remain in my home, including paying part of my rent so he becomes a "tenant" and must be formally evicted.

Thankfully for me, my landlord and her husband live one floor beneath me and heard everything.

The next morning, I'm looking into eviction possibilities and Rap comes at me with the whole "we BOTH went too far" line of bullshit.  If ever there was a time for him to stand up and admit he was wrong about something important, that was it.  And he failed.

As it turns out, you don't have to actually strike somebody to be charged with assault.  Him pushing his way into my room was assault.  Him putting his hands on me was assault.  His nose-to-nose escalation was assault.  He did it and I had witnesses.

Interesting tidbit - when you give somebody the option of GTFO or go to jail, people tend to GTFO.

Now, he's gone.  His shit is gone.  My home is mine.  My future is mine.  ...and if there's anything in this universe resembling cosmic justice, CE-Rap will spend the next twenty years chewing a tunnel through the base of Shit Mountain.

- - - - -

That grand finale happened back in July and I've been struggling to get back on my feet ever since.  I'm fighting like hell to come back to flash, as it was pretty much the only thing I ever did that amounted to anything.  I've decided that I'm not going to let this mooching fuckhole ruin the only good thing I ever did.  That said, I am un-cancelling the VG Exiles.  It will return.  Just not in the same form it would have taken with Rap and most definitely not soon.  I need to perfect the art of sprite-based storytelling and be able to do the entire thing on my own if need be.

To that end, I am going to finish some older back-burnered projects while getting started on my brand new series.  It will be hugely story-driven and will help me build the skills I need to bring back the VG Exiles on my own.

I'm a brand new man, now.  I'm the Captain.  Time to take back my ship.

R1665

(This is, of course, the abridged version.  There is a LOT more.  Some of it WAY worse. I will answer any questions that I feel I am able.  I will also post a link to this journal in every future journal I do until I get tired of trashing CE-Rap's already beshitted reputation.  Why?  because fuck you, Carl.  That's why.)

As I said in my last post, September was a very productive month for my latest flash. October? Not so much.

I've only added about ten seconds to my overall length. In my defense, those few seconds included the building of the most intricate arena I have ever made. I am also working on some of the most complicated choreographic sequences I have ever done. So there.

Even though October wasn't my best animating month in a while due in part to some gaming distractions (DAMN YOU, GAY TONY AND XBOX LIVE!!!!), November will definitely be a better month for animating. Why? Because it's NaNoWriMo time again!

Those of you who have been following my news posts for a while may remember this event being mentioned before. "NaNoWriMo" is shorthand for "National Novel Writing Month". It is a an event in November in which participants are encouraged to write a 50,000-word novel in one month. I learned about it a few years ago from a writer friend of mine who takes part in the annual exercise. I've never actually taken part in order to write a novel, but I have used it in recent years as kind of an artificial motivator for getting other kinds of work done (namely movie scripts and flashing).

I'm very interested in getting this video done, but some good artificial motivation on top of that doesn't hurt.

If any of you are interested in checking out what it's all about or taking part, you can visit the main site at the official NaNoWriMo site!

--------------------

Now, on to new details of the flash.

One of the things that I have greatly increased in this flash is BODY COUNT. If you thought I left a lot of corpses lying around in Episode 2, then rest assured that you haven't seen anything yet. Of course, when you're dealing with two of the most ridiculously dangerous characters in the MK and SF lineups, the bodies will pile up.

That's not to say that these characters are homicidal maniacs like Gambit was. Quite the opposite, actually. They are driven by neither rage nor insanity. They are a couple of highly-experienced, professional killers. Definitely NOT the kind of people you want to screw with, as SEVERAL assailants are now realizing. Suffice it to say, they won't be remembered for their intelligence.

Now I gotta figure out how much of the arena I can realistically cover with blood...

R1665

(Awwwww... why the hell not? ARENA SHOT!)

Well, this has been a very productive month, indeed. At this moment, Episode 3 is just over a minute long. Half of that is the sprite part of the story intro without stops for text. The other half is, of course, pure fighting. I am amazed with how quickly this project is progressing. I am in full "animate" mode, meaning that a portion of every waking thought is dedicated to this project.

In this fight, I am incorporating new choreographic techniques due to the style of characters that I have selected. It will be unlike any other sprite fight ever created. It has an entirely different style, even from my previous works. The "style" is really the only thing I can change at this point. That fact was known to me long ago and my fight cards are planned in such a way as to challenge me to work with characters with varying abilities. By using different characters with different abilities, I avoid the trap of tedium and monotony that many animators fall into by using the same "type" of character over and over again. (I'm looking at you, shoto animators...)

That said, I am now working with some very interesting fighters. As you are probably already aware, this fight will be waged between MK and SF. I am not willing to divulge the identities of the fighters at this time, but I can give a few nonspecific bits of information to people to chew on.

My chosen Street Fighter is one that has been seen in flash before but, in my opinion, has never been used to their full potential. Looking at this character's sprites, I am shocked that they aren't used more often in fights like this. The choreographic options for this character are almost limitless. I look forward to unlocking this character's true awesomeness. I say "looking forward to" because I have yet to do it. Let's just say that the Mortal Kombat fighter is damn good and has pretty much owned the first thirty seconds. Heh... heh... heh...

Oh, and on a more shameless note, It's my birthday! Twenty-six isn't really a milestone, but I'll take any opportunity I can to celebrate. I started celebrating early by taking the entire week off from work. Paid vacation and all that. Considering that October 7th is one of the very few "holidays" that I actually bother to observe, I might as well make a week out of it!

R1665

My side projects are now complete! That means that I can now focus on flash without having other overdue responsibilities pecking at the back of my brain.

That said, production on VG EXILES EP. 3 begins TOMORROW! After three long years of waiting, I am finally going to do my dream fight! I can't stress enough how important this upcoming fight is to me.

( WARNING! Extremely long, personally reflective story ahead! )

When I first saw MK vs SF 2 by Proxicide, I imagined what kind of fight I would make if I had those kinds of skills. The match-up was no question. From the moment I learned that these kinds of videos were possible, I knew who I wanted to see fight. Part of my drive to learn was the thought that if I didn't make this match-up, nobody would.

Way WAY back before I even knew the first thing about flash, I had planned to make this match an unofficial sequel to Proxicide's series. It would have taken place weeks after Ryu returned to his home dimension and been fought between two characters not previously seen in the series. To that end, I got myself a copy of flash and prepared to animate this fight.

I got about twelve frames into it before I realized that I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I put the project on the back-burner to pursue a live-action movie project. I figured that I would someday return to flash and learn how to use it properly. In the meantime, I worked on this live-action movie project while constantly gathering all kinds of resources: sprites, sound effects, etc.

Fast-forward two years.

My first live-action movie had failed. It was a joint development between myself and my best friend. Very long story short, I realized that he was a jackass and ejected him from the production. I haven't spoken to him since and wouldn't care to. I wrote a second script and prepared to shoot it on my own, but the project never really got to the shooting stage. Scheduling complications, the onset of winter, and other such things.

After I made the announcement that this second movie would go on the backburner, I found myself with little to do. I soon decided that it would be a good time to revisit that old flash idea I had. THIS TIME, however, I would do it right.

I got a guide book to Flash 8 from my local bookstore and spent the next two weeks going through it cover-to-cover. As soon as I had finished it, I was ready to rock my first flash. By then, I had thought up my own story that was not connected to Proxicide's story. It was going to be called MK vs. SF: INVASION. It was going to be a six-part series and my original match-up idea was going to be fight #3. That way, I would likely have gained the experience needed to do the job right from the first two fights. I had read in an interview that Proxicide had regretted using his favorite character in his first video. That was a mistake that I would not make.

The problem was that INVASION was going to feature some of the less popular characters, including one of my own design (essentially a palette-swapped cyber ninja). I would have to make high-quality fights to give these characters extra appeal. At that time, I wasn't even sure that I could animate a good fight. To that end, I decided to make a test flash just to see if I had what it takes.

I spent the next eight weeks animating VG EXILES Episode 0.

The reason why I started with zero was because I had not planned on making any more afterward. I finished Episode Zero and submitted it to Newgrounds. Despite what one may think looking at the stats now, Episode Zero actually came out to a lukewarm reception (It initially passed judgment with a 3.22).

I needed practice. I needed to hone my skills further before tackling the juggernaut that was the INVASION project. That was when I decided to do another flash to show people what I had learned and what I could really do.

That flash was VG EXILES Episode 1.

Even though I knew what would happen in the story, I figured that I would return to it in a few years after completing INVASION. However, the more I thought about it, the less desire I had to animate INVASION (for reasons I outlined in my last post). Eventually, I scrapped the INVASION project and devoted myself to the series that was originally meant only to be practice - the VG EXILES.

Gambit and Talbain got their fight.

------------------------------------

This upcoming match-up started as an unofficial Proxicide sequel. It then became the planned bout for the third INVASION episode. Now, it will be adapted for the VG EXILES. Three years of planning are about to become reality.

I'm finally ready for it. Let's rock.

R1665

Well, my most recent flash is now off the front page and things are starting to calm down on my account. I guess now would be a good time for me to reflect on this last flash as well as my upcoming plans. I won't be front-page posting this because I have no screenshots. I also see no reason why I should bore complete strangers with my ramblings. Those of you who frequent my page should be used to it by now!

VG EXILES Episode 2...

I must say that I am THRILLED with the way this movie was received! I also wasn't expecting to get a weekly 5th out of it. I guess that's why two other top-notch animations showed up and knocked me down to third - competition for those weeklies. I might have to consider submitting on Tuesdays from now on! Yeah, the competition is fierce, but the rewards are great.

What surprised me most is how well the movie did considering all of the things that it had going against it. First of all, is was the first movie that didn't rely on the Proxicide influence in some way. (You know it. I know it. Let's not bullshit ourselves here.) It was the first movie in which the choreography and setup was all mine. It was the first movie that showed the real nature of my Exiles' series, meaning that B-listers and the underused got the glory while lots of "popular" characters bit the dust. (Although Ibuki and Makoto didn't appear because they were "popular". They appeared because they lost out on getting their own fights when I cancelled MK vs. SF: INVASION.)

For the record, I usually put more weight on how often a character appears in flash than their fandom when I determine "popularity". Since the cat is out of the bag on this flash, I will finally state for the record that I am sick to the teeth of seeing headswapped shotoclones being headlined all the time. Believe me when I say that I took GREAT pleasure in dispatching the two that showed up in Episode 2. I will only accept Ken as my "token headswap shotoclone". At least he has some personality I can work with. I find the rest to be completely without appeal for the VG Exiles. Sorry, Akuma fans.

In fact, that's one of the reasons why I canceled MK vs. SF: INVASION. The story I developed required two Ryu fights and an Akuma fight. By the time I reached the end of animating VG Exiles Ep. 1, I realized that I'd rather chew glass than spend a year and a half animating shoto fights. The thought of animating that actually started producing real symptoms of nausea. That's why INVASION went in the scrap heap and will stay there. What can I say? I guess I just developed a strong distaste for the status quo of sprite fighting somewhere between Episodes zero and one. With the entire roster of fighting game history open to me, it's kind of hard to generate any excitement for a half dozen jackasses with nearly identical moves and appearance. I'm not just picking on Street Fighter here. I hold MK ninjas to this standard as well. The only reason why I don't cringe when I see them like I do shotoclones is because I don't see them as often.

----------

Okay, I've covered reflections and ramblings. That leaves the future.

I have a few projects to tackle before I can get started on Episode 3. They shouldn't take long. I have to do them now because they are grossly overdue and I won't get them done if I start on the next flash. I am notorious for my inability to focus on more than one thing at a time.

As for the next flash, It will be another bout between Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. This next fight is one that I have been planning, literally, for YEARS. The first sprite flash I ever laid eyes on was MK vs. SF 2. At that time, I thought of this upcoming match-up and wished that I had the knowledge and skill to pull it off. It was that dream fight in my head that fueled my desire to get into sprite animation. I put it off for so long because I didn't want to attempt it before I could be sure I was ready for it.

Well, now it's time. After three years of waiting, I'm finally going to do the fight I've wanted to do since the very beginning. The best part is that I can do this with no pressure. I have nothing left to prove to anyone.

I'll be going underground with this next episode. The identities of the fighters will remain secret. I may release a few tidbits here and there, but this next production will pretty much run silent. I probably won't do monthly updates with screenshots, but I will keep you guys informed.

For all of you folks who have stuck with me through this whole wild ride, I want to say, "Thank You". Those of you who actually read this whole long-winded rambling tirade of mine are extra special!

THE VG EXILES WILL RETURN.

R1665

After roughly seven months of work, I am proud to announce that VG Exiles Episode 2 is finally complete! This 16.5 MB behemoth is over seventeen minutes long from "Play" to "Replay" and is the most ambitious project I have ever undertaken.

It could be described as a "season finale". It will signal the end of the current story arc. The question is, how will it end? When the dust settles, will Jon Talbain have avenged Sonya, or will Gambit have killed another Exile and escaped forever into the wilds of the Multiverse? Hopefully, you won't have to wait long to find out.

I have sent a PM to Tom Fulp regarding the file size. When, and if, I receive the "all-clear" from him, I will upload this monster around noon the following day (Eastern Standard Time).

It's time to unleash this beast!

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In accordance with my "Front Page Post Policy" I offer you yet another screenshot. Since you got to see Gambit getting a hit in on the last one, it's only fair to show the other side.

So, enjoy this image of Jon Talbain getting his shred on!

R1665

It seems that I'm probably not going to hit my July 11th deadline after all.

However, the problem is due to quality, not a technical mistake. It seems to be taking a bit longer than anticipated for the original artwork to be completed. I can live with that setback, though. I'd rather have the work be a bit late and looking its best than on time and looking rushed.

I'm also having to re-record some of the voice work I did earlier. My previous recordings are not on par with the excellent lines that my voice actors submitted, quality-wise. Over the last weekend, I actually built a padded, fully-functional sound booth in my apartment and I hope to get some lines recorded very soon that sound on par with those of my outside contributors. Voice acting and the process of setting it up is relatively new to me, but I'm a VERY quick study.

Except for the art scene, the movie is pretty much done. Once I get that art in, it should only take me a couple of days to wrap this thing up. I'm afraid that I have to leave that deadine in the air, but you can rest assured that I will get VG Exiles Episode 2 out very soon.

In the meantime, enjoy the following screenshot...

R1665

VG EXILES Episode 2.

I'm so close to finishing this beast, I can taste it. Over the last week or so, I have done all of the menu stuff as well as finished the sounding on the fight. I tried out a new sound technique tonight that I thought up months ago, but couldn't implement until the main sounding was over. I'm proud to say that it shaved nearly a megabyte off the project with NO REDUCTION IN QUALITY! It is one of several techniques that I used to optimize file size.

It still won't be under 10 MB, but at least now I know I've done everything I can to optimize it without sacrificing quality.

I hope to get the artwork this weekend as well as some of the voicing. I've still got one voice actor to get lines from and I will be doing some live recording this weekend. Also, in case you were wondering, I will be lending my voice to one of the supporting roles. That's right, you'll get to hear what R1665 sounds like!

This will be my last news post until I have completed the project. It's been a long seven months since I released my last flash, and I'm just about ready to show everybody what I've been doing in the meantime.

R1665

The good news is that I've identified the cause of a pesky little problem that was keeping my first arena's backgrounds from synching up correctly. The bad news is that it is going to take a few extra days to fix it. I was working on a tight schedule to begin with and this new time requirement throws off my calculations.

I was hoping to have the arena work done tonight so I could start on the preloader and menu stuff tomorrow, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Due to the methodology I developed for background synchronization, I must correct this problem before I can do anything else.

It's not a catastrophic failure, just enough to irritate me and screw with my plans.

Assuming no further complications arise and I get support from NG admin for the large file size, I estimate that VG Exiles Ep.2 will be released in early July.

Fingers crossed!

R1665